AN artistic community rocked by the closure of its central base came together to stage Darlington’s first ever Arts Showcase event.

The arts in Darlington suffered a huge blow with the closure of the council-run Arts Centre last July but Sunday's event saw a wealth of stalls, live music, dancing and crafts take over the Market Place and Dolphin Centre.

Community group Darlington for Culture (DfC) joined forces with Darlington Council’s markets department as part of the Love Your Local Market event, to stage the showcase, which gave artists the chance to display their skills as part of the town’s month-long Arts Festival.

John Dean, chair of DfC, described it as “a brilliant celebration of the arts in the town”.

He added: “One of the big things that happened when the Arts Centre closed down was the fragmentation of the arts movement because a lot of the organisations that met in the Arts Centre had to find bases all over the town.

“What we want to do is keep that community together in some way.

“From our point of view we wanted the whole festival to shine a light on what is already happening in Darlington- we just wanted it to be a celebration really and I think it has done that.”

Among those taking part in the Showcase event was the Darlington Arts Academy with their West Side Story Project.

The group is running a summer theatre school for youngsters at a renovated warehouse in Lingfield Point, but are also involving the borough’s elderly residents by running a ‘memories’ project alongside it.

Emily Burns, volunteer co-ordinator, said the initiative is an example of making the arts accessible to all.

She said: “There are a lot of dance schools in Darlington, and of course their pupils are welcome to get involved, but our workshops will also include arts, drama, crafts and the memories project.

“It really is for everyone.”

Yvonne Preston, artistic co-ordinator of the Arts Showcase, thanked the council and all the venues which supported the event and the Arts Festival as a whole.

She added that feedback has been so positive that there are already plans to hold a second Arts Festival and Showcase event next year.