THEY are surely the house guests from hell.

A motley collection of celebrity drug addicts, alcoholics, terrorist prisoners and George W Bush.

Yet, for three weeks in September and October, Andrew Stewart and family will share their genteel Harrogate home-cum-art gallery with the likes of Pete Doherty, Amy Winehouse, Sid Vicious and Tony Blair.

All as part of an exhibition – entitled Project One: Icons and featuring the kind of pop images you probably know but don't know about – which they hope will attract a whole new audience to art in Yorkshire.

"The subjects generate interest because things like Mickey Mouse or The Beatles or the Sex Pistols are universally known," says Andrew, director of 108 FineArt, the gallery he and wife Gillian created on the first and second floor of their Victorian home 11 years ago.

"But actually it is often the imagery associated with them – the imagery we are displaying – which helped establish that iconic status. That's why this art is so important, it can create or cement reputations. It's incredibly powerful. It demands to be noticed."

Certainly, there will be much to take notice of when the exhibition opens.

Curated by two young Harrogate artists, Richard McTague and Jonathan Kendall, of traders Red House Originals, it has taken more than a year and not a little hard work to put together.

The pair travelled to Paris with Andrew, negotiated with some of New York City's hardest art dealers and scoured through the work of more than 250 different artists from across the world to create an intimate exhibition of 50 pieces by just 15 creators. Their value ranges from £45 to up to £100,000.

Mr Stewart says: "We started off in 2007 with the idea of producing a small display of modern urban art but the idea just snowballed.

"We realised there was a natural relation between the contemporary stuff and older pop art, so we became actually very selfish. We forgot about boundaries or about sales and decided just to show work we really loved."

The result is a collection of prints and paintings, sculptures and statues, which vary from the world famous – Sir Peter Blake's Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Banksy's Kate – to the more underground, most notably French spray-painter Blek le Rat's Resist and Pete Doherty's self portrait in his own blood. All hung up and on show in the hall way, living room, dining room and converted bedrooms of the restored Victorian property.

It is a little different to the household gallery's usual fare of watercolour and still life. "It is different but all art is different," says Andrew, who, with family, lives in the house's basement during 108's exhibitions.

Indeed, as a mark of this break with tradition, the opening will be celebrated not with wine and nibbles – "although both will be available," laughs Mr Stewart but with a night of rock 'n' roll. "What we noticed as we were gathering the works was the strong connection to music. Not only are there pop stars as subjects, there are also musicians – such as Goldie and former KLF member James Cauty – who have contributed pieces.

"So we decided the best way to kick off would be with live music – it's not something we've ever done before but we're looking forward to it immensely."

The gig, which will include live music from up and coming Derry band The Prelude and Harrogate teenagers The Credits, will take place at nearby pub Hales Bar after the opening.

"We thought about having them in the house but there wouldn't have been much room, and the noise might have annoyed the neighbours," says Mr Stewart.

He hopes the gig will attract more young people to the exhibition, which in turn might not only turn them on to the artwork on display, but encourage them to explore other artists.

"We think this could be one of our most popular shows in our 10 years. The two curators have gathered an incredible collection of work, and we think it will attract people who might not normally take an interest."

For now, Mr and Mrs Stewart are putting the final touches to the displays in preparation of the run from today to October 11. They have begun positioning work around the house, on Harrogate's West End Avenue, and have started moving their belongings down to the basement.

The houseguests from hell have arrived – and Mr Stewart could not be more happy to make them at home.


108 Fine Art, 108 West End Avenue, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG2 9BT. 01423 819108. www.fineart.com