Artists and craftspeople in Sidmouth have a new gallery space to display their work – and you may have walked past it several times without knowing.

An art gallery has been created in the back room of the Samaritans' charity shop in the High Street – and artists are queuing up to exhibit there.

They don't have to pay anything to put their work on display, but are asked to donate 25 per cent of any proceeds from sales to the Samaritans, to cover the costs of the space.

Anna Brewster is one of the artists exhibiting paintings there – and has also been helping to organise the whole project.

She said: "I saw a sign in the window saying 'Gallery Space Available' and thought 'that looks really interesting'!

"So I rang up, and I've been sucked into the organisation which has been a really nice experience, it's really fun being part of setting up something like this.

"We don't know of anything else similar in the local area or indeed anywhere really, it's quite an unusual thing.

"We weren't sure if people would want to come in and buy art, having been through what is a fairly standard charity shop set-up, but actually we've had a really good response, we've sold quite a lot of pieces."

'It's in line with our objectives as a charity'

Peter Kumik, director of the gallery and one of the trustees of Exeter and East Devon Samaritans, explained that the charity had been given the former NatWest premises free of charge by the landlord on a temporary basis before Christmas.

The shop proved so successful that they hope to take it on a long-term lease, and the art gallery was an idea for using some of the extra space.

"We thought opening some gallery space and providing an outlet for local creative people would be a good thing, partly to support the community, but also because of the linkage between mental health and creativity, it would be in line with our objectives as a charity.

"It's therapeutic to create things, to use your imagination, it's an outlet for your emotions.

"But also looking at beautiful things can be cathartic, like when you go for a walk in the countryside and are looking at flowers - looking at art has a similar effect – it's synergistic, I suppose is the best way of putting it."

The gallery is currently achieving its objective of covering the cost of the space, but making money is not the priority. Peter said local schools are being approached to see if they'd like to display some of their pupils' artwork, and there are also ideas for exhibitions linked to community events.

In the longer term, the Samaritans hope to turn another part of the premises behind the shop into an area where local groups can hold art and sewing classes, and other workshop-type activities – making the gallery more of an interactive space rather than just having static displays.

Peter said: "It'll be a mix of things. What we want to do is create something of interest that people can enjoy looking round, and also an outlet for people to present their work, which is often quite difficult."

Any artists in East Devon are invited to display their work for a six-week period, and the gallery is open to crafts as well as pictures. Anyone interested can call at the shop for more information and an application form, or email [email protected]

For more information about Exeter and East Devon Samaritans, visit their website.