BURNLEY youngsters got the television treatment as part of an ambitious national art commissioning programme being filmed for Channel 4.

The town has been chosen as one of six sites across the country to feature in the TV channel's Big Art Project over the next 18 months.

The 22 youngsters from high schools throughout the borough have been filmed taking part in the art project at the town's St Peter's Centre in Church Street.

Pupils took part in DJ and graphic workshops and met a variety of artists to find out more about art to help them form their own views on what piece of new art work they would like to see in the borough, which could be anything from a statue or light and sound installation.

Helen Knowles, Burnley Council's strategic arts development officer, said: "This part of the process is about educating the youngsters taking part about the different types of art which is not just about sculptures and paintings it can be performance based or projection which will help them form a decision about what kind of art they want for Burnley."

Burnley was selected from thousands of locations to take part in the project after a bid by schoolchildren in the area.

Channel 4's project will have an initial fund of £2million and will be screened in series of television programmes in late 2007.

The programmes will follow the communities as they work with curators to select artists, and then go about commissioning and producing the artworks.