ALL things 1950s were celebrated at a one-off festival at the weekend.

Enthusiasts packed out the Mima art gallery in Middlesbrough where the Art and Optimism in 1950s Britain festival was held.

The event was organised as part of an exhibition of 1950s art and design at the gallery which will be on show until June 29.

Shoppers took the opportunity to buy 1950s fashion and household goods with all the money going to charity, including Age UK.

Women also had the chance to have their hair done, 1950s style, by Middlesbrough College hair and beauty stylists. Others took part in ‘make do and mend’ crafts workshops.

“It was all set to the splendid sound of hip music from the 1950s,” said a museum spokeswoman. “And many people took the chance to see the art on display.”

Paintings by internationally acclaimed British artists from the period, Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon, are featured in the exhibition.

It was during the 1950s that Middlesbrough secured its first permanent art gallery which included LS Lowry's The Old Town Hall and St Hilda's Church, Middlesbrough, painted in 1959, which is now on display at Mima.