Figment Arts Port Studio

Aim

Launch Port Studio: an inclusive creative hub at Shoreham Port, building connection, wellbeing and pride in place.

Figment Arts Studio began in 2020, during lockdown, when five learning-disabled, autistic and neurodivergent artists started meeting on Zoom. We were trying to find a way to keep connected: to each other, to creativity, and to our ambitions and hopes for the future.

That small online group became the foundation of Figment Arts Studio: an inclusive, supported studio model built around access, trust, creativity and long-term relationships.

In 2022, with support from Arts Council England, we began meeting in person. Our studio group grew to 14 artists, supported by an experienced team of facilitators. That year we took part in Brighton Artists Open Houses with our first group exhibition, Towards the Light.

Kirsty said: “I was looking forward to it, my first exhibition, it was good to get our art out there, I sold a piece of work!”

Debbie said: “I felt supported, being part of a group gave me confidence.”

Will said: “It was generally nice to have lots of artists together in one space, seeing your work alongside each other was really interesting.”

Sarah said: “It was a lovely place, with a lovely view so it was really nice to visit there and see my work.”

In 2023, our next project, A Room Of Our Own, tested an open studio model. We were given an empty shop space in Hannington’s Lane, Brighton, where the Figment Arts Studio group invited the public to join us in creating large-scale collaborative paintings.

It was a huge success. We welcomed 1,754 visitors to our open studios, and 209 participants helped us make our big group paintings.

We learned that creativity can make connection easier. Some people find it easier to talk shoulder-to-shoulder rather than face-to-face. Working together in this way can support relaxation, stress relief, conversation, collaboration and new friendships.

As one visitor said: “Great idea and such beautiful results. Art really is for everyone through projects like this.”

In 2024, we took this collaborative way of working into our first heritage project, Story Maps. Figment Arts Studio artists created work inspired by Sussex folklore, and we worked with over 600 members of the public to create huge collaborative paintings, each themed around a different folk tale.

The work has been exhibited in Brighton, Hastings, Worthing and Newhaven, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and our museum partners: Newhaven Museum, Worthing Museum and Hastings Museum.

In 2025, we took our pop-up model into Fishersgate, working from Eastbrook Manor Community Centre. We wanted to test whether our approach could help reach local people and support the reactivation of the community centre.

Over nine months, we worked with around 380 people of all ages to test and develop a creative programme. Through this engagement, we have developed activity that is wanted and needed by the local community.

One Eastbrook Thursday Creative Club participant said:

“I’m coming to this club now for 6 weeks and I thoroughly enjoy every moment. It’s getting me out of the house, I meet new people and learn new skills and all are so nice and helpful. Thank you for the opportunity to join.”

Fast forward five years, and in 2024 to 2025 Figment Arts reached 707 participants, supported 293 volunteer hours and welcomed 3,373 visitors to events and exhibitions. All of this has grown from our inclusive, supported studio model.

Now we want to create Port Studio: a permanent creative and community base at Shoreham Port. It will be a welcoming place where local people can meet, make, learn, share stories and build relationships. It will support inclusive arts, heritage, wellbeing, youth and community activity, with learning-disabled, autistic and neurodivergent artists at the heart of the programme.

This is a major step for Figment Arts. It will enable us to realise a long-held ambition: to run a space that is welcoming, open to all, creative, supportive and rooted in local community life. A place where people can come as they are, take part at their own pace, and feel part of something.

We have tested this model in pop-up spaces, empty shops, museums and community centres. Now we need a permanent home where this work can grow, and where local people can help shape what happens next.

Our activities contribute to the wider ecosystem of community spaces and cultural venues in Adur & Worthing, complementing the role of community centres as hubs of connection, wellbeing and civic pride.

The money we raise will help us set up and run the space. This includes rent, equipment, materials, access support, workshops, community events and practical running costs. It will allow us to offer free and low-cost activity, support artists to take leadership roles, and create a long-term home for creativity, connection and belonging at Shoreham Port.

We cannot do this without your support. Every donation will help us turn Port Studio from an idea into a shared community space for creativity, connection and belonging.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 27th July 2026 at 4:53pm