A Coventry venue is now the first art gallery in the country to be home to a vending machine which supplies artwork and materials.

As part of the Work on Walls exhibition, Herbert Art Gallery & Museum has installed a repurposed vending machine full of work by local artists, as well as art kits, equipment and games.

Some items are free, while others are costed but affordable, with revenue taken from the machine going back into supporting the local art scene.

The vending machine is the brainchild of Birmingham-based artist Clara Stromeyer. She came up with the concept of an arts vending machine at the start of 2020 with the dream of getting the idea in with art galleries across the country.

But just as she started getting traction, the pandemic brought the idea to a grinding halt. Undeterred, during the first national lockdown, she filled a spare machine from one of her existing businesses with arts and crafts equipment.

Thinking it would be a nice distraction for families on her street, she shared it on her neighbourhood Facebook group. Within a few days, Clara and her vending machine had gone viral, people were queueing up out of the street, and she was fielding questions in the press. That very first machine which went viral now sits on the first floor of the Herbert Art Gallery, just as Clara envisaged over three years ago.

Clara also has machines across the West Midlands shopping centres and venues, including in Wolverhampton and Digbeth - find out more about her work, including how you can be involved, here.