A MAJOR display of works by Carlisle and Cumbria’s artistic talent is set to be seen in a ‘pop-up’ exhibition.

More than 40 artists will be taking part in the Proseed event which is due to take place from August 21 to 27 at a former city florist’s shop at 29 Scotland Road.

The event has been organised by well-known Carlisle abstract artist Daniel Ibbotson, who is also a painter and decorator, after he became concerned that the area’s artists were not getting the exposure they deserved during lockdown and to give them a chance to sell work.

There will be a range of artwork on display, from gifted amateurs to professional artists.

All the exhibits will be £200 and under – there will also be some social-distancing measures in place with numbers in the shop limited at any one time.

The 51-year-old dad-of-two, whose worked has previously been shortlisted for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, said: “The shop is quite small but we have got to try something as there is nothing happening at the moment.

“We have more than 40 artists involved, we have tried to get a god mix of people you could say are outside the system.

“It is going to be very eclectic, the space is quite small only and we’ll only be able to get two or three people inside safely – I think you have to be very conscious of safety and that is why we are not having an opening night. I think this is really our attempt to get thing going.”

One of those taking part is artist and designer, Dani May Cook, 29, from Denton Holme, who mainly focuses on illustrations of birds – she is looking to go full time in the profession.

Dani works under the brand name of Fully Fledged Art.

She said: “It is really good to have somewhere to show your work – being an artist you spend a lot of time creating it but at the moment it is really hard to get any work out there to sell.

“This exhibition is a big step forward after spending time trying to get people to see it during lockdown.

“I’d just like to say a massive thank you to Daniel for doing this this.

“Artists in Carlisle are like a real community that help each other.”

The opening times for the exhibtion at 1pm to 8pm each day.