Budding artists are getting a chance to express themselves on film and canvas as part of a new project aimed at people with learning dis- abilities.

Arts Council England has pledged £55,000 to Flash Frame — a two-year digital arts project.

The project is being run by OFVM Film Oxford, based in Catherine Street, East Oxford.

It will give 15 talented disabled people the grounding they need to be confident enough to create their own work — and then present it to gallery managers as a potential exhibition.

Richard Duriez, course manager at OFVM Film Oxford, said: "This is something that has never been tried before.

"It is a unique opportunity. Effectively, we are giving people the same kind of education you would get on an arts foundation course.

"One of the main aims is to give them the confidence to say 'I am a professional artist'."

The scheme follows OFVM Film Oxford’s recent Hidden Faces workshops, which taught 30 people with learning difficulties basic digital art skills on a three-day course.

Mr Duriez said the work completed by Hidden Faces had "massively exceeded expectations".

Chris Oakley, a professional digital artist who will teach the Flash Frame students, said: "We are going to open this up to people of very mixed abilities.

"The course is about seeing stories from people who have a very unusual experience of life."

A committee made up of learning disabled people, OFVM Film Oxford representatives will join Mr Oakley in organising an application process for people interested in taking part in the course.

Flash Frame students will start work in December and use a variety of arts, including painting, film and photography to demonstrate their creativity.

Committee member Amber Bratby, 29, from Horspath, who has autism, said: "It is a good project because it helps learning disabled people in all sorts of ways.

"It will give them a chance to do things they have never done before."