During 2022 the building next door to our studio base in Hastings went up for sale.
It is a site that has always appealed to us not only because it is next door but also because it has such scope for renovation and development.
The building is Trinity Hall, a Victorian School building and attached house. Over the past 5 months we have worked with Nesta, the UK’s innovation agency for social good, to secure a loan to purchase the buildings through their Arts & Culture Impact Fund.
Last week Project Art Works took ownership of the buildings!
The principle buildings have two large halls, a flat roofed extension and a small and unusual house that has its own entrance and garden and would have originally been accommodation for the principle teacher of the school. A beautiful set of drawings (showing an old a bell tower) were used in planning permission to create a community centre and are dated 1951. The site adjoins our existing arches and together they have huge potential to realise a creative campus providing additional studio and workshop space for more participants and the Support Collective, storage for and access to our ever-growing archive, a printmaking workshop, integrated studios and creative workspaces for local people. Additionally, we plan to develop a bespoke studio and space for a new pilot project of deep, creative crisis intervention for young people with behaviours of distress that are at risk of exclusion. Our vision is to build a place for exchange, residencies, learning and creative production that is fully and uniquely inclusive and keeps this community space deeply embedded within a local ecosystem of community-led renewal alongside Hastings Commons, our visionary neighbours and partners in the Trinity Triangle.
We will be working hard to bring investment and funding into this project both to reduce the capital liability as well as develop the site and realise a new era of creativity, exchange and production. We want to create gardens and green spaces that are integral to physical and experiential access. A place of sanctuary and beauty in the heart of the town.
We will over time provide information about how our local community, friends and collaborators may be able to contribute to the evolution and realisation of this project.
On Friday 16th December, Project Art Works invite you to visit Trinity Hall to view the space and celebrate with us. We will be opening the doors from 2:00pm to 6:00pm and will be enjoying mulled wine, mince pies, festive tunes and maybe a bit of sparkle.
Trinity Hall is a very cold space so if you are planning to join us please wrap up warmly! We are making the entrance accessible and accessible toilets will be available in the Project Art Works arches which are located next door.
Find us at Trinity Hall, Braybrooke Terrace, Hastings, TN34 1TD