From over sixty applications nationwide The Old Courthouse, Thirsk, has been selected as a venue to host four artists films over the coming year.

Artists’ film is very popular in city locations however the rural population rarely has reasonable access therefore The Independent Cinema Office (ICO) has setup The Artists Moving Image Programming Development Opportunity. Catharine Des Forges, Director of the ICO, commented: “Artists’ film work is enormously popular – this can be seen in the success of venues such as Tate Modern and other landmark venues such as the Baltic in Newcastle. However despite there being a clear appetite, it isn’t always well represented in the programmes of regional venues due to lack of resources, and the programming opportunity is a response to this.”

Although the scheme was extremely competitive Rural Arts core ambition of enabling rural communities to experience high quality art matched those of the scheme - "We were quite overwhelmed by the response, and it's been a very competitive process," said Des Forges. "Really, this is a great testimony to the enthusiasm that's out there for artists' moving image work. The number of applications, and the detail given within them about each venue's plans for programming artists' film, showed that a great number of venues are seriously committed to expanding their programmes into exciting new fields."

Look out for details of the films soon!

For detail on upcoming events in the region call Rural Arts on 01845 526 536, visit their website www.ruralarts.org or follow them on twitter.com/ruralarts