BIG name artists have teamed up with Colchester’s Firstsite gallery to keep youngsters entertained during the coronavirus lockdown.

The gallery, in Lewis Gardens, has asked the artists it has worked with in the past including award-winning Gillian Wearing, Antony Gormley and Grayson Perry to get involved.

Other stars taking part include Jeremy Deller, Michael Landy, Vanley Burke, Ryan Gander, Idris Kahn and Annie Morris.

Sir Anthony most recently worked with the gallery bringing his Field for the British Isles display to the town.

They have been asked to help families stay creative and relieve stress while they stay at home, by creating a fun activity which fits on to one piece of A4 paper and doesn’t require special equipment.

Combined, the activities create a downloadable activity pack called Art is Where the Home is, which will be available for anyone, for free.

They are designed to be fun, educational and bring people together through art and imagination at this difficult time.

Sally Shaw, Firstsite director, said: “The mission of Firstsite is to empower people to be creative together and lead happier and healthier lives by providing them with new creative opportunities and promoting imaginative responses to contemporary issues.

“Creating this activity pack is something we are able to do to help support everyone, building a virtual creative community to help combat feelings of isolation and anxiety.

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the positive response from the artist community and thrilled to be able collaborate with such amazing artists to bring their ideas to the nation.”

People taking part are encouraged to share their creations on social media using the hashtag #artiswherethehomeis and also in the Firstsite online studio - https://firstsite.uk/online-studio/.

Art is where the home is will be available to download from www.firstsite.uk from tomorrow.