Still from Notebook by John Wood and Paul Harrison. Courtesy mima.

We’re used to plastic Santas, the odd reindeer and yards of glittery tinsel, but in central Middlesbrough this Christmas, the festive décor offers a little extra for the last minute shoppers.

A projector set up in Debenhams will shine a series of 101 short films onto the corner wall of Bhs in Middlesbrough’s pedestrian shopping centre each night for the next week and a half.

Created by artists John Wood and Paul Harrison, the piece is entitled Notebook and will be screened from 3.45pm until midnight everyday between December 9 and 19.

Notebook focuses on moments that occur using everyday objects in experiments on a table in a room: paper boats waft across, a model train crashes and a chair gets painted.

"I think the projection will be a talking point for shoppers amidst the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping," said Darren Kay, manager of the Debenhams store in Middlesbrough.

"I am sure that it will be well received as something different to the traditional lights and decorations," he added. "The strength of the pieces is in their curiosity value and the fact that they are accessible to all types of people."

How the new Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art will look. Courtesy mima.

But as well as providing some much-needed relief from the rigours of picking out that special something, Wood and Harrison’s work is also part of the pre-opening programme of mima, the soon-to-be-built Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art.

"When we talked about the possibility of making a new work for the mima pre-opening I was really interested in using advertising strategies," explained mima Fine Art Curator, Judith Winter.

"I liked the idea of creating an artwork that almost looks like advertising and which just ran in the background whilst people were doing their Christmas shopping."

Costing £19.2 million, mima is set to be a major new visual art venue, hosting a permanent collection and programme of temporary exhibitions.

The gallery has been designed by leading international architecture practice, Erick van Egeraat Associated Architects and incorporates a new civic square.

Still from Notebook by John Wood and Paul Harrison. Courtesy mima.

Comprised of modern and contemporary art, mima’s collection boasts over 1,000 paintings, drawings, prints, photographs and sculptures dating from the early 20th century right up to the present day.

As well as the likes of LS Lowry, Stanley Spencer, Gwen John and Ben Nicholson, it includes pieces by many young internationally acclaimed artists such as Turner Prize 2004 winner, Jeremy Deller.

The project is supported by Middlesbrough Council, Arts Council England, ONE North East, Government Office for the North East, the Northern Rock Foundation and the Foyle Foundation and is scheduled for completion in 2006.

So, to give potential visitors the chance to see what’s in store for them, staff have organised a pre-opening programme of events and exhibitions.

"The main reason for doing the pre-opening is to get people intrigued, interested in what the new venue may be – also to plant the idea of mima in an audience’s mind," said Judith Winter.

"We don’t just expect people to walk through the doors of mima, we hope people will feel that the gallery really is for them. It is about adding to the town. giving people more access to things beyond just work."