BY day, she works in one of the most prestigious art galleries in the world, but as darkness falls, Rosie Pagan takes to the clubs of North London to perform as DJ Darlo.

The Darlington-born DJ is a former student of Polam Hall School and Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College.

She has had a hectic summer after winning the Big Chill Open Dex competition earlier in the year. Her prize was the opportunity to perform in front of 30,000 people at August's Big Chill Festival, in Herefordshire.

Following her performance, Miss Pagan was offered the chance to appear on BBC Radio 6 last Sunday.

She filled an hour-long set with records from her collection, spanning several decades and musical genres.

Her disc-spinning prowess provides a contrast from her day job managing a team of 90 staff at the National Portrait Gallery, in London.

However, she said her two roles complement each other.

"I really like making people happy," she said. "Whether it's through people coming to the art gallery and having a wonderful experience, or whether it's playing music to a crowd, it's one and the same.

"DJing is a release for me - the job can be quite hectic."

Miss Pagan decided to DJ when she launched club nights around the south coast - and later in North London - after completing a performing arts degree in Brighton.

As her Hot Lunch nights gained popularity, the DJs she employed started charging more.

Miss Pagan decided to go it alone and DJ Darlo was born.

"I'm a Darlo bird at heart and always will be," she said.

"Although I live in London, I'm still in the same group of friends from Darlington. We are known collectively as the Darlo birds.

"When I was looking for a DJ name, it had to be DJ Darlo. It couldn't have been anything else."

A spokesman for the National Portrait Gallery said: "We are delighted for Rosie and wish her all the best with her DJing - in fact the Gallery and its visitors have had the privilege of hearing her in such events as our late night Friday opening."

For more on DJ Darlo, visit www.myspace.com/djdarlo