A STREET art extravaganza featuring large-scale paintings has breathed life into forgotten walls across Blackburn.

Six female artists from across the UK took part in the project as part of the Blackburn Open Walls festival, which was curated by Blackburn-born artist Hayley Welsh.

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The artists, who included Nomad Clan, Faunagraphic, Annatomix, Lucy McLauchlan and Alex Gallagher, spent last week putting the pieces together before taking the public on a free tour on Saturday.

One piece, by Manchester-based Nomad Clan, celebrated the work of women in the mills.

Ms Welsh, who created the first piece of street art on the Exchange building two years ago, said: “We had such great feedback from the public over the week with locals stopping and watching the artwork in progress and street art bloggers from across the UK coming to Blackburn especially to see and photograph the new artworks.”

Harriet Roberts, manager of the Blackburn Business Improvement District, said: “The displays would have been seen by the thousands of visitors who attended recent events and onlookers must have found them very interesting.”

The festival is part of Urban Room Blackburn, organised by Blackburn is Open, and is a celebration of art, architecture and public space with a focus on experimentation and innovative practices that aims to inspire new ways of thinking about the town centre.

Some of the works can be seen on Jubilee Street, Weir Street, Vernon Street, and Bridge Street.