A Carlisle art festival will be hosting two events this week to celebrate the city's culture.

The Historic Quarter Arts Festival will feature portraits of mayor Abdul Harid, Carlisle United manager Paul Simpson, and regulars at the city's former Turkish baths.

On Friday, the Carlisle Writers' Group will be holding a workshop inspired by the paintings at Tullie from 11am- 2.30pm.

On the same day, Ben Heslop of Blank Wall Assassins will be leading a walk around Carlisle's street art at 6pm, meeting at Intro on Paternoster Row where the central exhibition for the festival is taking place.

The exhibition has been curated by artist Seren Shaw and will be on display until the end of August.

Some of the work will also be exhibited at Shaw's StArt studio at West Tower Street.

Former University of Cumbria student Molly Hughes said: “It’s great that our work can be shown beside that of professional artists who have exhibited at the Royal Academy and the National Portrait Gallery. It’s so exciting for Carlisle to have such an eclectic exhibition.”

The main exhibition and sales point for the festival is located at Intro HQ on Paternoster Row, but artwork can be found in 18 different locations around the Historic Quarter.

The festival has been sponsored by local businesses, offering prizes in six different categories.

Visitors to the exhibition can also vote for their favourite works, with the most popular piece receiving the People's Choice award.

Historic Quarter Arts Festival will run until September 1.