HUNDREDS of people visited one of the first exhibitions to open in Oxfordshire after lockdown over the bank holiday weekend.

With 38 local artists displaying more than 350 artworks, and about 100 pieces from students at the Cooper School, the selection of art spread across the three floors at Cinch Storage in Bicester was diverse.

The exciting exhibition at the newly-opened storage facility on Arkwright Road unveiled a broad and varied range of media and styles including print, photography, oils and watercolours.

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More than 400 people visited the makeshift gallery in Bicester, which event coordinator Aimee Kirkham confirmed was big enough to allow for social distancing.

A freelance photographer herself, Ms Kirkham added: “With all of the summer exhibitions cancelled, this has been the first opportunity for many of the artists to get back out and showcase their work.

“Some of the work was created during lockdown and largely displays a humorous take on the artists’ experiences.

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“Others found the exhibition really gave them a purpose to immerse themselves in creativity again, resulting in beautiful landscapes painted from daily walks and collages that highlight their changing outlooks.”

For some of the artists the weekend event was the first opportunity this year to showcase their work.

However, for many of the students from the secondary school on Churchill Road this was a ‘second chance’ to present their art.

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One Cooper School pupil Daniel Craft, who helped set up the exhibition, said: “It is amazing to allow students to have this wonderful opportunity.”

Visitors and artists said they hope this becomes an annual event for both established artists in Oxfordshire but also talented students.

Caroline Ritson, member of Abingdon Arts Society and prior teacher at Cooper School, said: “It is a wonderful opportunity to display many of the works created during lockdown in a very surprising environment.

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"A storage warehouse would not at first sound appealing as an art gallery but the long clean white corridors made a great backdrop for the work.

“The many people who came seemed thrilled to be able to wander about and view such a wide variety of exciting new works.

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“Certainly it should happen again.”

Cinch Storage, which has more than 300 different sized units spanning more than 20,000sq ft, was looking for a way to officially open by running an event for the local community.

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Ms Kirkham agreed that its long corridors seemed an obvious art gallery option and added this was a ‘fantastic opportunity’.

Visitor Sue Lyons commented: “ The exhibition space had an excellent layout and included very varied styles and mediums.

“The students’ work is very imaginative.”