OXFORD'S first youth arts disability festival will take place tomorrow with organisers hoping it will become an annual event.

The Ark T Centre in Cromwell Road, Cowley, will celebrate culture through a host of activities aimed at raising awareness and encouraging disabled children and young people to get involved in the arts.

The festival, which will run from 11am to 4pm, was inspired by six partnerships between arts organisations and disability charities across the county.

Artwork exhibitions will be on display and young people will perform dance shows and take part in workshops.

Emmy O'Shaughnessy, director of the Art T Centre said the festival was a 'groundbreaking' moment in the city's cultural history.

The event organiser added she came up with the idea from her own experience working within the arts and culture.

She added: "I really want to encourage families to come along on the day, there will be lots of free arts and crafts as will as workshops.

"There needs to be more opportunities for young people with disabilities to get involved in the arts.

"When I go to the theatre I never see people with disabilities represented. There needs to be more support to encourage people.

"There needs to be more commitment and recognition of the talents of children and young people with disabilities have as well as the opportunities to have arts potential seen and recognised."

The festival will be officially opened by Oxfordshire Lord Lieutenant Tim Stevenson OBE and Ruth Gould MBE.

There will be a dance performance by Anjali and workshops by BLINK dance theatre - an inclusive dance company from London.

Ms O'Shaughnessy added: "I hope the festival will run on an annual basis.

"I can't speak for the children, but it feels really important that they get just as much visibility in arts and culture as none-disabled people."

The Ark T Centre, in Crowell Road, has been at the heart of the East Oxford community since 1997, providing arts and music projects for residents.

The centre was opened at John Bunyan Baptist Church in the autumn of 1997 by the then Bishop of Oxford, The Right Reverend Richard Harries.

It contains rehearsal space for theatre and dance performers and a concert room, as well as rooms for art exhibitions, classes and workshops. The centre includes a recording studio which has helped young people create and record their own songs.

Thousands of youngsters aged from 11 to 19 have been supported by the centre’s youth project since it opened in 1999.

Partner organisations in the festival include Yellow Submarine, Film Oxford, OYAP, Let's Play, Arts Excite and various others.

The event was funded by Oxfordshire County Council and Artswork.