ART lovers have been flocking a new North-East venue to see how a former department store has been transformed into a gallery and performance space.

Darlington’s new art centre, run by Cornerstone Arts, opened on Friday and held a programme of events over the weekend and bank holiday to give people a chance to look around.

Louise Maddison, who is running the centre, in the former Marks and Spencer’s building in Northgate, said: “It has gone so much better than we could have anticipated. It’s been steady footfall for the whole weekend and we have had some amazing comments. People have been impressed with what we have done.

“In the beginning it had an empty shop feel and now it looks like a professional gallery. I can’t believe how we’ve done it.”

The Northern Echo:

Cornerstone is now looking at planning its upcoming programme and future exhibitions, as well as Halloween and Christmas events.

Ms Maddison added: “We've had so many artists inquiring about wanting to hang their paintings and we've had a lot of inquiries from people about renting space.

We’re really looking forward to planning an artistic programme for the future.”

The Northern Echo: