The ballroom of a Stoke-on-Trent town hall is currently filled with the work of over 140 artists from across Staffordshire, Cheshire and Shropshire.

The Three Counties Open Art Exhibition, which opened on Saturday 8 August, has returned to Fenton Town Hall for its 30th year with the largest display of artwork in its history.

The exhibition showcases the work of established artists and newcomers ranging from college students to 91-year-olds, demonstrating – as Deb Hilditch from ArtsKeele observes - that "the creative community across Staffordshire, Shropshire and Cheshire is thriving".

Deb explained that the Three Counties Exhibition aims to offer an accessible platform for this "thriving" creative community.

She said: "There is not always great funding for artists and it's often a struggle. Particularly at the moment with the cost of living crisis, there's not lots of work typically selling.

"So I think to have a platform that's free and judged by a panel, means that artists across the region at whatever stage they are in their career, get the opportunity to get their work out and get a really broad audience to come and view the work."

The Three Counties Exhibition aims to offer an accessible platform for the "thriving" local creative community (image via Nub News)

The exhibition, organised by ArtsKeele at Keele University in partnership with ACAVA Spode Works, Appetite, Burslem School of Art Trust, the New Vic Theatre, Barewall Gallery, PiCL (Partners in Creative Learning), and Restoke, will be open to the public for free until Saturday 29 August.

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As well as supporting artists, the organisers feel strongly that the exhibition should promote access to art for local residents – especially for those who may not usually visit art galleries.

"There's something really special about bringing art into a community, a space or a town that doesn't normally have anything like this," Deb said.

She added: "We feel really passionately about bringing it to places such as Fenton, and what a hidden gem of a venue the town hall is.

"It's wonderful because it does bring in a totally different audience. It's not just art lovers- who are obviously fantastic and we welcome them with open arms - but also people who would never normally experience this diverse range of art.

"Some have perhaps never even stepped into an exhibition or a gallery in their life before. So it's great to have this free, very accessible exhibition."

Art work by the youngest (left) and oldest (right) exhibitors featured in the exhibition (image via Nub News)

Deb also hopes that the exhibition can show visitors interested in pursuing a career in the arts that "it's possible".

She said: "I think it is really important for anybody who's considering a career or wants to do more within the creative sector, that it can be done.

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"All of these artists are from the locality, and they are all at varying points in their creative journeys.

"I think a lot of people come and get really inspired by the fact that these are people from where they are from and it's possible.

Deb added: "It's about opening those windows in people's minds to what is a possibility."

The exhibition runs until Saturday 29 August, and is open from Tuesday to Saturday between 11am and 3pm.

Entry is free, with a programme of creative events and activities taking place alongside the exhibition.

For more details, visit the website here.

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