Developing Workshop into Communal Art Studio
The juststudios project is an exciting development where we are leasing and developing a corrugated iron barn/workshop to utilise as a large communal art studio for our courses and community sessions, with the potential of leasing a second barn/workshop in the future to be divided up into a number of studios to rent out at low cost, available studios being something severely lacking for artists in the local community.
There has also been conversations with the owner about possible acquisition in the future, and with the Arts Council about funding for the acquisition.
We hope to be able to deliver a creative hub open to the whole community with any excess income from the studios beyond running costs and building maintenance being utilised towards subsidising courses for those who cannot afford the basic cost price, and providing free collaborative community creative sessions. We aim to become fully self regulating, being run by the community for the community.
We will keep updating the information on juststudios regularly.
You don’t have to wait until all the plans are finalised to make a ‘donation’ as the funds will go towards securing a permanent venue for justlife.art.
MAIN COMMUNAL STUDIO FOR JUSTLIFE.ART COURSES AND COMMUNITY SESSIONS
The first barn/studio footprint is 840 square feet, with a mezzanine over about one quarter of the space with double height roof. This would be the main studio for justlife.art courses and collaborative creative community sessions.
We have already insulated the barn with 4 inch celotex and faced with 9mm plywood. Next will be building a floating floor, and installing bi-folding doors.We hope we will be able to complete the works to this barn sometime in 2025. So we can commence running our sessions here. In the meantime it is where we store our equipment and materials and prep boards with gesso for oil painting etc.
STUDIOS TO RENT AT LOW COST
There is a second barn, that could be as much as twice the size of the first that would be divided up into 8 studios of around 250 -300 square feet.
This would provide much needed studio space for artists living in Penwith of which many are struggling to locate an available studio as there is a complete lack of them in the area.
We would look to allocate the studios in a representational way, for example two of the studios might be for people who identify as having a disability, maybe two for those form the LGBTQIA+ community, two for those from black, asian or ethnic minority groups, etc.
The rest being for the rest of the community, something like this.
All will be allocated with strong preference/insistence on being involved in the running of justlife.art and the community hub.
OTHER FEATURES
ACCESS
There is a large car park too making things easy for accessibility. .
COMPOST TOILET
We will be creating a disabled access compost toilet.