Well, the Coachwerks has begun. To bring you up to speed...
Back in December 2007, I got involved in The Werks painting & decorating on the top floor, which Ian and James then asked me to run a project on. I called it The Werk Rooms, but because of the kind of building it was (and still is - offices), it was just too expensive for arty people and never really kicked off. Eventually, they needed the money to keep The Werks going and I had to finish up. Fast-forward to late June 2008 and Ian found a space near where he lives in Hollingbury, Brighton - known locally as Five Ways. A few weeks later and the Coachwerks was born.
It's an old coach garage built in 1934 or so and was in the family until the Werks took out the lease on it. It's a great space, full of potential and cheaper than The Werks, so it'll appeal more to the arty crowd.
And now we're in the dreaming phase, getting loads of ideas, planning and trying to meet people to make things happen. I'm doing a lot of painting and general cleaning, but there's an amazing amount to do - please contact me if you're up for a bit of volunteering! We've also got the builders in who are building some new block walls to improve security and hopefully they're going to do some work next to improve the dampness - there are a few broken skylights letting water in and there's quite a lot of greenery along one of the side walls, which is causing damp to come through.
I'm working quite a lot on getting the portacabin in the space together - painting it up and generally making it a nice space to be in. Once it's painted, I'm going to get all my Bookville resources in there, so people can start using the space creatively.
One important thing that needs to happen is promoting the space. I feel like this is best done by doing things there and showing work. I'm planning an exhibition soon, which will hopefully coincide with other events happening.
It's still quite up in the air at the moment what is going to happen over all in the space. No final decisions have been made, which means that the project is still very flexible and open to suggestions. I'd like a recording studio to happen and perhaps a small radio station and am in talks about that already. I'd also like a small kitchen/bar, where people can eat and drink for a very reasonable price.
Please contact me with any ideas or enthusiasm!
G 02/10/2008
The space when we got there - August 2008.
