A BUSY high street will effectively be turned into an art gallery when an art trail comes to town next month.

Many shops along High Street, Wanstead, will host paintings, pictures and sketches from nearly 200 local artists for two weeks in September, to celebrate local talent and culture.

The Wanstead Art Trail, organised by Donna Mizzi of Art Group Wanstead, will run for the second time after last year’s runaway success after securing £1,500 in funding from the Area One Committee back in March.

The creative works, many of which will be available to buy, will be on display in 76 Wanstead shops and venues, including Wanstead Library, in Spratt Hall Road, Wanstead House, in The Green, and The Cornerhouse, in High Street.

For the first time, the group will also have six stalls displaying their work at the Wanstead Festival, at Christchurch Green, on September 19.

Ms Mizzi said: “Last year was such a great success it’s something we can’t wait to do again. This time it will be longer because the only thing people said about last year was they didn’t have enough time to see it all in eight days.”

The trail, which is free to attend, will run between September 11 and September 25 and details of which artists’ works will be displayed where will be released in a 25-page booklet to be distributed to participating shops and venues soon.

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