Until very recently I was based at Gatehouse Arts in Harlow, Essex but I, and all the other artists at Westgate (one of the Gatehouse sites), have been evicted so our building can be bulldozed to make way for a new housing development.
It’s always difficult to find studio space and I felt incredibly fortunate to find my studio at Gatehouse – but I always knew it was going to be temporary. Our building was an ex-office block and we were just marking time there until a developer was found for the site.
So what now? I’ve got an interview for a lovely studio quite nearby but I’ll be competing for the space – it all comes down to my portfolio and how I do at the interview. Another option is a space being developed by my previous studio company but that is probably months away from being ready. There’s always the last resort of working at home but I am working in glass – not the ideal material to be carting around your home!
If you aren’t near a sizeable town or city the options for studio space become very limited. Spaces like Gatehouse tend to be temporary and commercial space is so expensive that you are faced with very few options. Depressing!
I am desperate to find a space to work in – I have work backing up and ideas to be explored – but nowhere to work. I can’t see a way out at the moment but I remain hopeful (mostly because I’m a ridiculous optimist!) – send me some karma – I need it!
Student film maker Georgia Hardcastle has made a fantastic film about the demise of our studios – it will be a bitter sweet reminder of Westgate and the happy three years I spent there.
