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Banksy, Hirst and Emin feature in Corby art exhibition

James Grant/BBC Woman with long light brow hair wearing black stands in front of pictures on a wall. One shows a guardsman.James Grant/BBC
Dinah Kazakoff, from Rooftop Arts Gallery, said she wanted to build the cultural profile of the town

People visiting an exhibition of work by famous artists in a town gallery said it was wonderful to see it in their area.

The Steel Nerve show is being staged at the Rooftop Arts Centre in the 'steel town' of Corby.

It features a collection of pieces by artists including Tracey Emin and Banksy.

The gallery director said the show was making art accessible to all in the community.

The Rooftop Arts Centre, a charity run by local artists, has worked with Essex-based Brandler Galleries to bring the exhibition to Corby.

The gallery director, Dinah Kazakoff, said: "We are very proud to be presenting an exhibition of this calibre in Corby as we strive to improve the cultural profile of the town and make the arts accessible to all in the community."

John Brandler, of Brandler Galleries, said: "I am thrilled to be working with this wonderful art project in Corby, away from the usual suspects of London, Bristol and Edinburgh.

"The collection shows the rise and transformation from what was thought as criminal art into high art."

James Grant/BBC Three paintings showing women with various slogans including "I drink to make other people more interesting"James Grant/BBC
Works by the Connor Brothers in the exhibition

The featured artists include well-known exponents of street art, including the French graffiti artist Blek le Rat and Banksy, whose identity is a well-guarded secret.

Mr Brandler was involved in the removal of Banksy murals in Port Talbot and Nottingham and recently exhibited another wall piece, painted in Lowestoft, in Suffolk.

Mick was one of the first visitors to the exhibition in Corby.

He said: "If I want to see a Banksy or a Tracey Emin, I would have to travel all the way down to London, it would cost me £100 plus on the train. For this to come to Corby is amazing."

James Grant/BBC Painting of a child hugging a bomb with the word "NO" in red letters at the bottomJames Grant/BBC
Banksy produced a range of placards for a demonstration against the Iraq war in 2003

Maddie and Tom visited with their mother Alissa. Maddie was particularly impressed by a Banksy image known as Bomb Love, or Bomb Hugger.

Alissa said: "I think it's wonderful that more regional cities are becoming the epicentre for great art like this and it's important it's accessible to all."

The exhibition continues until the end of January.

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