More than £300,000 is to be spent on temporary public artworks in Preston over the next three years.

The project, entitled Here + Now, aims to promote debate about the role of art in the city centre during the planning and early construction phase of the £450m Tithebarn regeneration scheme, due to start in 2008.

The first projects, done by up-and-coming art graduates of the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), will be showcased in June this year. One involves a photographic piece on a billboard at Ringway, by Pam Holmes, which will be up for two weeks.

Another is a sound work by Patricia Walsh that will play in cafes across the city.

Elaine Speight, assistant curator of Here + Now, said: "It's about looking at different things and people engaging in public art, but it does not have to be traditional ideas like a sculpture on a roundabout,"

She said it could include performance pieces as the scheme was intended to attract artists from a broad range of practices.

Miss Speight, who is based at the Harris Museum and Art Gallery, said the approach was quite experimental and would give artists freedom to do new and exciting things.

She said about ten projects were planned over the three years. Here + Now forms part of a wider scheme called In Certain Places which was developed to give artists a chance to influence the Tithebarn scheme.

James Green, project manager for In Certain Places, said Here + Now will be entirely funded by outside sources. He said £40,000 had already been secured predominately from the Arts Council North West, and also from the county council and UCLan, with future funding to come from grant giving trusts.