A vibrant arts festival which showcases the cultural heart of the city is to return for a fourth time this summer.

Carlisle’s Historic Quarter Arts Festival is set to be bigger than ever this year, with over 50 works of art on display around the oldest part of the city.

And there is an expanded series of events alongside the exhibition, with Carlisle Writers’ Group leading two writing workshops, Ben Heslop of Blank Wall Assassins taking a walk around Carlisle’s street art and children’s art workshops run by Abby Kilfedder of Artscool.

Amateur and professional artists have submitted work in a range of media, including painting, photography and sculpture.

Abby has worked with children from some of Carlisle’s schools to produce decorated plates linked to the theme of Carlisle’s Living History.

Artist Gregory Coburn has taken the brief literally, with a portrait of his neighbour Derek Gaughy, 82, who has lived through some of Carlisle’s historic moments.

Artist Gregory Coburn with his neighbour Derek Gaughy, 82Artist Gregory Coburn with his neighbour Derek Gaughy, 82 (Image: INTRO) He remembers sitting on a wall with his sisters just after the second world war and seeing Montgomery travelling up Botchergate in an open top car to thank the troops. 

He also saw Hopalong Cassidy, a star of cowboy films, throwing silver dollars to the crowd in Carlisle. 

Artists Sophie Steadmand and Molly Hughes of SoMo are curating this year’s exhibition and are 'excited' to be involved. 

“We are delighted to be collaborating with Intro and the University of Cumbria to curate this year’s Historic Quarter Arts Festival. We are very excited to be associated with an exhibition that showcases the creative talents of people in Carlisle and the surrounding areas”, they said.

“As a new arts-based collective, we feel incredibly lucky to be involved in an event that uplifts and celebrates both amateur and professional artists.”

Malcolm Wilson of Blackbox Architects is chair of the judging panel and is looking forward to the 'buzz' that the festival creates.

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“This festival is a fantastic opportunity for the artistic community of Carlisle to show what they can do and is a great way of celebrating the talent that we have in our city.”

The festival runs from Monday, July 22 to Sunday, August 18 and is open every day from 11am to 4pm