ARTISTS and musicians from Pendle are travelling to the borough’s twin town in France this week for a 40th birthday celebration.

Pendle was established as a borough in 1974 and later the same year formed twinning links with Creil, near Paris.

Pendle sculptor Philippe Handford will be travelling with Paul Hartley, one of the artistic directors for Pendle’s In-Situ arts, to take part in the Creil Festival on Sunday.

They will be joined by, among others, Pendle’s new mayor, Coun Graham Roach, for his first mayoral engagement, and by Higherford Mill artist Helen Oxley.

Philippe and Paul have been collaborating with artists in Creil to add to a unique travelling exhibition of artistic postcards called Right Here, Right Now and have funded their own trip.

Paul said: “The number of postcards in the exhibition has now reached 150 and it has been shown in Lahore, Pakistan, and Texas in the United States. Our aim is to add another 100 postcards to the exhibition, designed by creative people in Creil.

“Working with the Pendle Twinning Association we also hope to strengthen contact between creative people in Pendle and Creil, including young people. We will bring the postcards back so Pendle people can enjoy this unusual growing exhibition.”

As part of the project, a sculpture made by Creil artists will be brought back here when Creil makes a return twinning trip to Pendle in September.

Philippe said: “Our aim is to display the sculpture in Nelson and then to install it with over 20 works of art already at the Sculpture Trail in Aitken Wood under Pendle Hill.@ The film ‘1612’, created by Catapult Films in 2012 on the Pendle Sculpture Trail, will also feature at Creil Festival.