A BURY art group is opening a new exhibition at Bury Art Museum celebrating the life's work of its current president.

The annual Bury Art Society exhibition will showcase work from more than 40 local artists in a variety of styles and subject matter, opening at 10:30am on December 2 and running until February 3, and this year will feature a special retrospective exhibition of David Swithenbank, aged 92, the current president of the society, until January 27.

The retrospective showcases Mr Swithenbank's life's work, inspired by his travels in Europe and India, depicting the wildlife, cultures and landscapes and themes of music, song and dance.

At the event's opening, a musical performance by Oliver Bishop will be held, based on the Heritage Lottery Funded research project 'Bury Art Society; Archiving People & Place', featuring recordings from the Kirklees Trail, Elton Reservoir and on the East Lancashire Railway.

A series of free talks by three of Mr Swithenbank's close friends, Alan Seymore, John Ireland and Chris Woods, on morris dancing, poetry, the history of Holcombe and Mr Swithenbank's contribution to each one, will also be held as part of the retrospective from 11.30am to 1pm on Saturday December 9.

Jina Warburton, exhibitions and collections assistant at Bury Art Museum, said: "We have a long standing relationship with David Swithenbank and Bury Art Society, we exhibit their work every year and this year we are appreciating a prominent figure in Bury.

"David is involved in a lot of elements in local community life and he is a really well known character.

"This exhibition is a celebration of David and Bury Art Society, and it means a lot to us to have this continuing relationship with them and be involved with what they are doing."

Bury Art Society was established in 1949 and counts L.S. Lowery among its notable past presidents.

Bury Art Museum on Moss Street is open Tuesday–Friday,10am to 5pm, and on Saturday, 10am to 4.30pm, admission is free, and the museum is fully accessible.