Rhino-watching in central Oxford will be a new experience for most of its residents but pop down to the Oxford Castle on Tuesday and you’ll be able to watch two large-as-life animal sculptures standing proud among the hustle and bustle of the restaurants and bars.

Built in front of your very eyes for Artweeks by artist Sue Cook from Eynsham and children from John Blandy School, Southmoor, these creatures will provide a sneak preview of the Woa! Rhino trail, a forthcoming mass public art event in Oxfordshire, to promote animal conservation and creative learning.

Venture further into the Oxford Castle site to the O3 gallery and you can see Wendy Newhofer’s new glass work.

The Artweeks 2010 Mary Moser prizewinner has been busy all year creating the pieces she’s showcasing from May 7. She’s also exhibiting with other artists at her home on the Jericho artist trail.

In direct contrast, the Oxford Castle is also exhibiting the winners of the Artweeks student competition, in the O3 gallery as well as the site’s restaurants, The Living Room, La Tasca, Malmaison, & Cafe 71.

The successful students include Bethany Naylor, an A-Level student at Bicester Community College, who recently completed a project based on ‘Text in Art’ and photos of 3D creations made from newspaper print.

Elizabeth Brannan-Williams is studying at Oxford Brookes and is showing her mixed media pieces on the subject of loneliness and solitude. She uses the process of photographic developing and enlarging to create tactile pieces to create a connection between her work and the viewer.

In The Living Room you can find Dar Al Naim Mubarak, also studying at Oxford Brookes who demonstrates African influences in her work, while in the Malmaison, ceramics by Janet Cross from Oxford and Cherwell college are being displayed. La Tasca is exhibiting mature student Neil Butterfield’s (Oxford and Cherwell Valley College) bright acrylic pieces while Cafe 71 boasts Veronica Cordova from Oxford Brookes’ letterpress and monoprinting work.

Large outdoor metal sculptures feature giant flowers from Ascott-under-Wychwood artist Chris Townsend while Andrew Thompson from Stonesfield has created a pair of male and female 8ft figures, for display. Throw in a two-week art inspired film festival featuring Girl with a Pearl Earring, Klimt, The Da Vinci Code, Surviving Picasso, Pollock, Waste Land and Mona Lisa Smile, and you’re laughing. So get involved this year, you’ve got nothing to lose.