But it could have been words rather than pictures that shaped Lara's life – her original ambition was to be a reporter. She was arts
editor of her local paper in Liverpool, the Crosby Herald, when she was just 18 and went on to be arts editor of university paper Vision during her time at the University of York.

"I did English literature and history of art at university and journalism was what I thought I'd do after I graduated. But after I spent a bit of time in newspaper offices I realised that you end up writing a lot of stories like 'cat gets stuck up a tree' and decided it probably wasn't for me," she said. "So I decided that I'd use the other half of my degree in my career."

Lara says that it was the rich cultural life of her home city that inspired her love of visual arts – Liverpool boasts the Walker, Bluecoat and Tate galleries as well as smaller venues that host a variety of innovative exhibitions.

"My interest developed whilst I was at school and I always did a lot of painting – my parents were both art lovers, though neither of them were very good at it. I was lucky enough to grow up near some of the best art galleries in the country. The Tate opened when I was about 16 and that was wonderful. There's a lot of interest in art in Liverpool.

Right down to the bloke on the street, people talk about it and it's a very real part of their lives, which is very inspiring."

After doing an MA in the history of art at the University of Manchester Lara got a job as exhibition curator at York Art Gallery, where she spent six and a half years.

"I'd been involved in running the univer-sity's gallery at King's Manor in York as a student and I'd worked at the city's art gallery as a volunteer.

"I think art makes us see the world differently – it's a source of enjoyment and curiosity.

"Everybody who tries to make a work of art finds out a lot about themselves. It's important to respect art and the artistic process."

In 2002 Lara moved to Scarborough to take up her current post as curator of the town's gallery. She says that living by the sea was always important to her.

"I grew up on Merseyside and my husband is from St Ives, so we're both seaside people. In fact, we were thinking of moving to the coast and commuting, so when the job came up it was ideal. It's a great town and I'm very happy to live here."

And she's equally enthusiastic about the town's art scene, which sees Scarborough hosting historical exhibitions of the work of 19th century Scarborough artists such as English classicist Lord Leighton and watercolourist and illustrator HB Carter, but also featuring work by the latest generation of artists at the town's university site.

"Crescent Arts have just put on a very exciting show at the new space at the Woodend Creative Workspace, in collaboration with the university. It was only on for three weeks but it was brilliantly designed for the space. It was a multimedia show based around the Sitwells. It featured a sound piece, digital photos and graphics with sculpture and costume pieces and it was very impressive.

"I've really seen it as my job to appeal to as many people as possible – especially people who wouldn't normally come into an art gallery. That's why it's important to vary the programme between the more historical shows and contemporary stuff. Earlier in the year we had a great show by Tony Cragg, a very well known contemporary sculptor. At some point in the year my aim was to provide everyone with something they'll enjoy."

Lara, who has two sons, Jago, aged five and a half, and Laurie, four, said that it was also important to engage the next generation of art lovers.

"Getting youngsters into the gallery has always been important to me. I've always tried to organise interactive exhibitions where kids can actually climb on and get inside sculptures. I've also tried to provide complementary workshops based on the paintings in an exhibition. When we had the Punch and Judy exhibition in the summer, we had puppet shows in the gallery which linked into the exhibition and they were very successful.

"I'll still be working for the trust – I'm curating the Edward Bawden and Eric Ravilious exhibition in Scarborough next year, but I shall miss the job. I've really enjoyed my time at the gallery and I shall miss the people I've worked with."