A wide range of free exhibitions and workshops are lined-up for next month's Chester Festival of Ideas.

'Food for Thought' is a free art exhibition, presented by Cheshire Archives.

The artists have used some of the more unusual recipes from Cheshire Archives' historic collections as inspiration - with over 30 original artworks using a range of mediums.

The exhibition can be seen at the Grosvenor Shopping Centre, in the Contemporary Art Space Chester (CASC) gallery between 3 and 6 July 11am to 4pm.

"Chester is a well-known and loved destination for food lovers and a magnet for visitors marvelling at the 2,000 years of history," said Cllr Louise Gittins, leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council.

"So what happens when the two come together? All will be revealed in this combination of food, history and art.

"Once you have visited the CASC gallery, head over to Chester Market for a chance to see some fascinating archaeological finds."  

Curators from West Cheshire Museums will also be presenting 'Archaeological finds from the Heart of Chester' at Chester Market on Saturday 5 July.

The artists have used some of the more unusual recipes from Cheshire Archives (Image via: Cheshire West and Chester Council)

This will be a chance to get up close to artefacts from the Old Market Hall, Hamilton Place and the most recent Northgate excavations. There is no booking needed.

There are a range of family-friendly events on Saturday 5 July, starting with Storytime at 11.30am.

Join Cheshire Archives and Chesney Mouse on their hunt for Cheshire cheese in the original story 'Cheshire Cheese, Please'.

This will be followed by 'Playing with Food' - two free, drop-in workshops (for ages 6+) with contemporary artist, Iain Davidson, creating art from one of Cheshire's most famous natural resources.

The two sessions will run at 1pm and 2pm. Booking is not needed but those wishing to attend should arrive at the start of each session.

'Food for Thought' has been created in partnership with four community-led art collectives from across the county.

The community-led arts groups exhibiting are Cross Hatch (Winsford), Radiate Arts (Chester), Little Sutton Art Group (Little Sutton) and Studio Art Group (Nantwich).

The Festival of Ideas is a four-day event co-organised by the University of Chester and partners, bringing together a programme of free events covering a wide range of themes in and around Chester.

The Festival features talks, discussion panels, theatre, pop-up exhibitions, interactive events, music, readings, guided walks and much more.