A CREATIVE collective was inspired by its surroundings as it visited Egremont for an annual residency.

Emerging artists from across the country were invited to Florence Arts Centre for the artist-led residency called Doremifasolasido.

The residency culminated with an open day and a party last Saturday, with the public getting a chance to meet the artists and take part in workshops. The exhibition runs until September 4.

"The whole week was a great success, with 17 emerging artists taking over Florence Arts Centre for an artists residency," said Florence's building and marketing manager Craig Carruthers.

"The artists got the best and worst of the Cumbrian climate but were inspired by our surroundings, using found materials from the Florence Mine site and interviews with ex-miners."

He added: "The range of work is astonishing, from sculpture to digital media, and the week culminated in a party on Saturday night with spoken word from London-based Different Skies and artists' films.

"It was fantastic to see Florence's full potential with every corner of the building and all our resources being out to use to create this unique exhibition."

Florence was the chosen destination for the residency as the participants wanted to forge links between artists and arts organisations working in urban and rural settings.

The participating artists were nominated by partner organisations in London, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and Cumbria.

Visiting the arts centre were: Pippa Eason, Mark Essen, Stephanie Farmer, Merlin Fulcher, Freya Gabie, Jackie Haynes, Louis-Jack Horton-Stephens, David Lisser, Bess Martin, Jocelyn McGregor, Elizabeth Porter, Lisa Risbec, Sarah Tew, Esmeralda Valencia, Lillian Wilkie, Joshua Wilson and Jacob Wolff.

Over the week, artists created artwork, including sculpture, performance and film, taking inspiration from Florence Arts Centre itself.

To find out more about events at Florence, visit www.florencemine.com.