STUDENTS at a North-East university have embarked on an ambitious project to provide artwork that will brighten up its new £13m campus building.

Fine art students from Teesside University are taking part in the project to provide art for the Darlington campus, which opened last year.

Professor Gerda Roper, dean of the School of Art & Media, is curating the project which will see students and staff producing work across the seasons.

Initial artwork was produced in December and has now been framed and put up on the walls of the campus.

Further sessions are taking place this week and in the summer, so eventually the collection will depict the campus across the seasons.

One of the students who took part in the first session has now been appointed artist in residence at Darlington.

Julie MacBean, who achieved an MA in Fine Art in 2012 is now based on the new campus and will be completing a number of additional works during her tenure.

Professor Roper said: “This is a wonderful opportunity to capture the spirit of the Teesside University Darlington campus.

“It is a brand new campus with fantastic facilities and an inspiring modern environment but set in an historic position next to Darlington station – the birth of the railways and now a key hub of transport connectivity across the Tees Valley.

“It is fabulous for our students to have this as a live brief and see their art on show as well as an exciting position for Julie to be part of the Darlington team.”

Ms MacBean added: “I am delighted to have been appointed artist in residence.

“The Darlington campus affords a myriad of opportunities to explore its depiction and you can already begin to see that from the work that is being produced and displayed. I am really looking forward to helping the project to progress.”