Neoartists weblog

Hi all, as you all know, we are looking at renting a space at Howe Bridge Mill in Atherton, which we can convert into studios and a gallery. Things are looking good up to now and on Friday 1st August at 10.00am we can invite the rest of the group to view the premises and maybe decide on a studio space.

The address is: Howe Bridge Mill, Gloucester Street, Atherton, M46 0JT across from the fire and police station, opposite Ena mill with the chimney. There is ample parking on the mill car park and we are on the 4th floor through the orange door at the right of the mill next to the cafe.

Because the 4th floor is currently classed as derelict, the lift only goes up to the 3rd floor at the moment - you’ll have to take the stairs from there. We will be there at 10.00am to 11.45am and this would be a good opportunity to reserve a space.

After this we will be offering spaces to new graduates from other universities. When we open these studios and gallery next spring this will be a great opportunity to produce and show your work from a permanent base which will give us the chance to exhibit further afield. Hope to see you there.

Neoartists have secured an exhibition space at Bella Bistro, 51 Railway Road, Leigh.  Currently showing is a solo show by Christine Hardman.  Any other members interested in showing their work at this venue should contact Jason or Lisa asap.

Neoartists Marie Hough, Wendy Jones, Bev Frayne and Christine Hardman have all had work accepted for this exhibition. 

You can see it at the Chapel Gallery, St Helens Road, Ormskirk, Lancs L39 4QR. Open Tues-Sat 10am-4.30pm until 10th September.

Many moons ago, well last summer actually, we had this idea that we could rent a warehouse and set up artists studios where we could all work.  If only life was that simple.

12 months later, with at least 14 versions of the business plan in the recycling bin, we’ve realised there’s a lot more to it than that.  I wish we’d kept a diary of all the ups and downs over the year.  The ‘ups’ were great, like when local MP Andy Burnham, who conveniently happens to be the Secretary of State for Culture, agreed to give us his full support.  The ‘down’s were depressing, like when the potential premises owner proposed to triple the rent!

Anyway, we’re beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel now.  We’ve definitely decided to take the 4^th floor of Howe Bridge Mill, Gloucester Street, Atherton, M46 0JT and turn it into an artist run centre with approximately 35 studios, an exhibition space, and hopefully (if we get the funding) a printmaking area, sculpture workshop, and dark room.

There’s still a long, long, way to go, but from now on we will keep a diary via the Neoartists blog so that you can keep up to date with progress.

Wish us luck!