AN exhibition which uses art as a positive force for change has opened at a North-East university's gallery.

The Optimistic Mood: a foundation for action, at the University of Sunderland's Vardy Gallery, features the work of seven international artists looking at how art can create change for the better in all of our lives.

The Possible Gesture, by Argentinian artist Sonia Abin, relates to empty promises made by politicians in her home town of Posadas.

In her video she walks through the streets of Posadas giving away T-shirts - on which are printed promises for social and economic change - to local people in the hope of a democratic shake-up.

Storyteller, inventor, musician and street orator Scoli Acosta combines poetic stories and bizarre characters in his Delusions of Grandeur, which opens the exhibition.

Filmmaker Ccile Hartmann creates seductive stories from still images in her piece Time and Tide, while Chris Johanson's paintings and drawings present a sensitive and non-cynical view of the world.

The exhibition, at the Vardy Gallery, Sunderland University, Ashburne House, Ryhope Road, Sunderland, runs until Friday, June 4

Published: 01/05/2004