A KNITTED pantry, indoor garden, miniature cinema and seagull sculptures are among the features at the biggest ever year of the Artists Open Houses Festival.

The festival launches on Saturday and runs every weekend in May as artists in Brighton, Hove, Ditchling and Rottingdean open their homes and studios to exhibit their work.

This year more than 1,500 artists across more than 200 houses and five city schools feature across the month.

The houses are grouped into 14 trails in different areas around Brighton and Hove and give people a chance to both admire and buy the work of local artists.

Varndean School, Dorothy Stringer, Portslade Aldridge Community Academy (PACA), Brighton College and Windlesham School have also got involved by showing off the work of their students.

This year 60 new houses and studios have joined the festival, meaning it is the biggest ever as it grows year on year.

Highlights across the festival include Kate’s Pantry, which will see artist Kate Jenkins showing off a knitted larder of store cupboard essentials.

Ceramicist Marion Brandis, the Open Houses brochure cover star, will be exhibiting her work at The Old Market in Hove as well as at Teresa Winchester’s House in Fiveways and Milton House on the exhibition's Dyke Road trail - featuring ceramic seagulls.

Irish contemporary artist Gerard Byne will be opening his house on Brunswick Square for the first time with his selection of oil paintings and charcoal inspired by landscapes and architecture.

The Dreamliner Arts Club at the Talbot Motor Home in Buckingham Road features an immersive miniature cinema featuring films and animations, and award winning street artist Hannah Adamaszek turns My Hotel Brighton’s Mercury Room in Jubilee Street into an indoor garden.

Judy Stevens, Artists Open Houses Festival Director said, “We are thrilled to have so many new artists and houses taking part in this year’s festival.

“Brighton and Hove is an incredibly creative city with a wealth of talent.

“The festival is a fantastic platform for artists and makers and it’s a testament to its success that so many of all ages and at all stages of their careers choose to take part.”