A NEW art gallery to show students and local artists' work has opened in east Middlesbrough.

Staff and students at Unity City Academy (UCA) have spent many months developing Gallery#1 which was officially opened by Eyv Hardwick, the academic links and professional studies coordinator for Cleveland College of Art and Design.

Gallery#1 has been established as part of the Princes’ Teaching Institute which promotes art in local communities where many people may not get the chance to visit art galleries.

Paul Lickley, head of art at UCA, said: “It is such an exciting time now we can unveil our gallery to the local community who we hope will enjoy visiting it. It’s also an absolute pleasure to be able to welcome Eyv Hardwick to officially open our gallery and we’re looking forward to being able to share both our students’ work and also that of other local artists in the coming months.

“The aim of the new gallery is to have regular exhibitions by UCA students as well as local art colleges and artists who are invited to consider using the gallery space for exhibiting their work.”

The first exhibition was launched by assistant principal, Paul Skeech, as part of ‘The Big Draw’, a national scheme to get people drawing and being creative.