ARTISTS in and around Malvern are preparing for a busy summer.

Malvern Art Club's summer exhibition began on Monday at Malvern Theatres.

Around 30 pieces are being displayed until Saturday, August 2, under the title The Very Best of Malvern Art Club.

The show will be followed by the 110th annual club exhibition in September.

With renovation work taking place at its usual venue of Malvern Library, the club has been forced to scale down the exhibition and move it from its traditional home.

The Sir Barry Jackson Room, in Grange Road, will host around 50 or 60 works compared to the 100-plus usually on display in the library.

The public will be able to view work from September 3-28, from 10am to 4pm.

Meanwhile, entries are invited for a Malvern Visual Arts Society competition.

Artists from around the country are expected to enter the competition, which features a top prize of £1,000 plus five £100 awards. Malvern Art Club will pick a £500 winner.

The society's last open exhibition took place in 2000 and drew in submissions from as far afield as Somerset and Northumberland.

Winners are chosen from the paintings, glassware, sculpture and ceramics picked to take part in an exhibition running from September 27-November 4, at St James's School, in West Malvern.

Co-organiser Ros Rowberry said: "We send entry forms to colleges and universities but the majority of participants will be amateurs. That's why we started the exhibition, so amateurs can hang alongside professionals."

Entrants must be aged over 18 and there is a fee of £10 per piece submitted. Anyone interested in taking part should write for an application form to Malvern Visual Arts Society, 3 Oaklands, Bosbury Road, Cradley, Malvern, Worcestershire, WR13 5LA.