Can you help us create a community art room to support health and wellbeing and provide a wide range of creative activities for local people?
Please watch our short film, find out more below, donate whatever you can or buy a great reward!
Thank you!
Megan, Mirri, Emma, Katie, Lottie, Sarah and the wider team.
Art Centre Penryn is a new creative centre in the heart of Penryn, Cornwall. The centre will connect people to inspiring creative practice and provide valuable experiences through a programme of exhibitions, community projects, courses and events.
Since 2019, we have presented many exhibitions and projects at our previous venue, Grays Wharf. We have now moved to the former Penryn Methodist Church and School Room in the town centre, and changed our name, but everything we have learned from running Grays Wharf is informing Art Centre Penryn.
What is the vision?
The Chapel and School Room sit right in the centre of Penryn's beautiful, historic town. We are repairing and re-purposing these buildings and making them fit for the future. With a new lease of life, they can continue to bring people together for many years to come.
The Chapel will be transformed into a contemporary art gallery while the School Room will be all about taking part in creative activity, with artist studios on the first floor and a community art room on the ground floor.
In Phase One of the project, we are focusing on the School Room. The building needs to be repaired and upgraded so that it can accommodate a range of creative activities, including free programmes and creative courses.
We have already begun the much-needed repairs to the building fabric and we’re even adding solar power. These works are covered by funding received from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, The National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Architectural Heritage Fund.
However, inevitable cost rises since the award of funding over 18 months ago means that we now need a bit more money to fit out the ground floor spaces, including the community art room.
Why do we need to make a community art room?
Since 2022, we have been running free, weekly creative social groups which support health and wellbeing through creativity. One of the groups is designed for people aged over 65, and both sessions bring people together every week to be creative, relax, have fun, learn new skills and meet each other. There is a huge demand for these groups, with 30 people coming along every week.
We have also been testing out other groups to run in the new art room. Our public consultations have revealed a huge demand for a sing and play group for parents, carers and toddlers, evening talks, afterschool groups for kids and a men’s mental health group.
There are so many things we will be able to offer once the building is warm, dry and has better facilities.
What will your support help do?
While the funding already received is focussing on the major works needed to the wider building, such as the roof and electrics, we now need to raise some additional funds to create the community art room.
Your kind donations will help us to:
- Build the art room and add new facilities, including a sink area, storage for materials and a kitchen
- Buy heaters, additional lighting, furniture and fittings to make a warm, bright and welcoming space for our existing Creative Social Groups and new community groups and users
- Create a courtyard garden to use as a source of creative inspiration, a sensory space and somewhere relaxing to spend time.
Your donations will help us turn this room into a fully fitted out art room.
We also need to fit out this kitchen so that we can offer hot drinks and even meals.
This south-facing yard can become a lovely sensory garden.
Thank you for all your support and donations.
We can’t wait to welcome you all in!