Simon Drury, 42, joined soon after the group was formed and is one of the artists being featured in the exhibition. Mr Drury, who often works with objects he finds in the street, has two pieces on display entitled Layered and Radial.

The latter is made from two bicycle wheels stuck together with old telephone directories pushed through the spokes.

Mr Drury said: "I'd heard there were people forming a group to secure a building for studio space and that was ideal for me because the work I was doing at the time, I couldn't carry on at home. The main point of the group is to provide affordable studio work space and secure exhibition space to put shows on. It's managed to keep going.

"Like any group, if you've got sufficient people and there's enough desire and determin-ation to keep it going, you've got a critical mass that will make it happen." The group is run as a non-profit-making organisation.

More than 70 artists have been members and 25 group exhibitions have been staged.