A NORTH-EAST quarry company is encouraging children to work with artists as part of a geology and landscape festival.

Seven artists will be taking part at the sculpture festival at Broadwood Quarry, near Frosterley, Weardale, from Friday until to Tuesday, along with children from Frosterley Community School.

It is one of the many events planned for Northern Rocks: The North Pennines Festival of Geology and Landscape, which is celebrating the region's mining heritage and the surrounding countryside.

Paul Allison, director of Sherburn Stone, which runs Broadwood Quarry, decided that the sculpture festival, some of which will be created on site, would be fun.

His company paid for an artist in residence to work with the children to produce their own work and asked six other artists, some of whom will be working on site, to complete work for the event.

He said: "We were planning on opening the quarry for visitors as part of the festival and I thought it would be fun to have some sort of sculpture exhibition at the same time.''

Staff from Sherburn and the British Geological Survey will take guided walks around the quarry at 11am and 3pm every day and the sculptures will be on display from 9am to 5pm.

Published: 26/05/2004