Sir, Congratulations on the layout of the new 'Artscene' page in the new-look Weekend supplement. To have all the listings together is a great improvement, and makes accessing one's particular interests so much easier. Looking at the choice of art exhibitions on offer, it is evident that the range and quality of art and artists in the Oxford area is really good. This perception is reinforced when reading the review of the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, with the reminder that Oxfordshire artists are exhibiting alongside national names.

It, therefore, seems timely to offer a 'thank you' to both the city and county councils for their parts in providing venues to showcase the wealth of visual art and fine craft that is to be sourced in Oxfordshire. The city council, as part of its policy to open up the Town Hall, has just converted an excellent new space into a gallery for hire. This council is also responsible for supporting the OVADA Gallery (next to the Bus Station on Gloucester Green), which has done much to promote the works of emerging artists. Some years ago, the county council opened the Garden Gallery as an extension of the Oxfordshire Museum at Woodstock.

This regularly shows a first-class programme of exhibitions, as well as using its beautiful gardens to display sculpture. This year has also seen the opening of the county council-owned Oxford Castle site. Here we have the small but intriguing '03 Gallery', showing a variety of selling exhibitions. All this is consistent with Oxford's status as a 'City of Culture'. The hope is that residents and visitors alike will make full use of these attractive exhibition spaces supported by our councils.

Christine Burgess, Past co-ordinator of Oxford Confederation of Artists & Makers