A project set up in the aftermath of the Storm Desmond floods has appointed two artists in residence.

A scheme, spearheaded by the University of Cumbria's Institute of the Arts and Carlisle City Council was set up in January this year, with support from the Arts Council England.

Artists were invited to apply for two artists in residence posts and an initial list of 28 was then cut down to seven applicants, who were then selected to develop their proposals further.

Laura Harrison, from Carlisle and John Dummett, from Fife, were the two chosen artists and will take up the contemporary art residency, Immersion/Emergence.

Laura is a former student of the university's Institute of the Arts and obtained a BA in fine art before achieving an MA in contemporary art 10 years later.

She has devoted much of her practice to the study of water in relation to the condition of human 'lostness'.

John achieved an MA from the Royal College of Art in 2012 and his recent work has focused on live investigation of public and civic space.

In his work he creates environments that are designed to facilitate a dialogue that questions the relationships between memory, behaviour and site.

Laura and John will each be given a bursary to bring their proposals to fruition and will be given access to office, studio and exhibition space within Carlisle's Old Fire Station.

Over four months, the space will also serve as a lab for their research, production and exposition.

They will also have access to specialist resources at the university's Brampton Road campus and will give a lecture and tutorials to students to stimulate and extend discussion across the project.

Both Laura and John will also host a host a public lecture and discussion event at Carlisle's Old Fire Station.

Roddy Hunter, director of the Institute for the Arts, said: “It was a tough decision to make as all those shortlisted would undoubtedly have brought thought-provoking insights and work to a city in reflection on those testing times.

“The artists we’ve selected will bring very different approaches to the project which in turn will act to promote artistic practice as important and unique in exploring the world around us.”