HISTORIC venues across East Lancashire are set to provide the picturesque backdrops for an ambitious three-year programme of art installations.

Mid Pennine Arts is commissioning seven national and international artists to showcase their wares in the likes of Burnley's Towneley Hall and Clitheroe Castle Museum as part of the project.

Each location has been picked because it houses it's own 'treasures' and the concept behind the event is to draw out the merits of their special architecture, collections or grounds.

Other places also selected for the Contemporary Heritage tour so far include the National Trust owned Gawthorpe Hall in Padiham and the Helmshore Textile Museum in Rossendale.

The first exhibitor, at Towneley Hall, will be Geraldine Pilgrim, who has worked extensively with the National Trust and English Heritage and is artistic director of her own performance company, Corridor.

She will draw upon the Towneley family history and the hall's newly-refurbished grounds and galleries as her inspiration.

Nick Hunt, MPA creative director, said: "Each location houses its own treasures – some obvious, some that often go unnoticed.

"Over a three-year period, Contemporary Heritage will reveal these treasures through a series of imaginative commissions that embellish Pennine Lancashire’s stunning historic sites to create an artistic blockbuster.

"The powerful commissions will help immerse visitors in the venues’ past and provide an alternative look at the history we often take for granted."

The Towneley Hall installation will be launched on September 9 to coincide with the national Heritage Open Days campaign. The Yorke Street MPA gallery closed last month and the organisation now intends to take its exhibitions on the road.