Planning & Consultation event5 years ago
Impact data and claims within this report are provided by the project creator and have not been independently verified by Spacehive.
Feasibility study to build a new pottery workshop on site at Bensham Grove Community Centre, Gateshead. Help us bring our community together by giving them space to create together!
Over 250 people come to our tiny community pottery space every week, with many more on waiting lists wanting to join. We want to make our pottery available to more local people and to do this we need to expand. If we create new workshop space we could offer classes to more individuals, parents and children, schools, young adults and special needs groups. People who come to the pottery tell us that find it beneficial for many reasons: learning new skills, meeting other people, sharing ideas, making friends, taking on challenges, being able to express themselves creatively, feeling inspired and focusing on something other than work or domestic duty. This contributes to their sense of wellbeing, self-confidence and reduces social isolation. We would also be able to run collaborative projects to create artworks for public spaces. Participants would be contributing positively to their community and local environment, increasing their sense of self-worth, value and civic pride.
What we'll deliver:
Why it's a great idea:
People from all walks of life love coming to our pottery classes. They gain not just a new skill but increased confidence, a new social network, improved mental health, and, make beautiful things to take home. As one participant said: ‘All week I am a worker, a mother and a worrier, but on Thursdays I can make things in clay among friends’. In order to open our doors to new people, we need to build a new workshop. It would benefit local people by providing: • a new learning space • creative alternatives to screen-based activities for young people • new revenue for the community centre to support its long term sustainability The first step towards this is to raise £12,000 to get a feasibility study underway. The existing pottery and silversmithing groups are fully involved and have raised £2,000.00 so far. The Trustees of Bensham Grove have given us permission to create a new workshop & we have the support of Gateshead learningSkills and North East Creative Craft
Steps to get it done:
In addition to providing wider access to local people, the creation of a new craft workshop would be a significant asset to Bensham Grove, bring greater footfall into the centre and create a new cultural venue for Gateshead. It would be a new creative venue for local people to benefit from for generations to come. Bensham Grove is steeped in applied arts history, with many features in the house created by the William Morris workshop. A new pottery would continue this inspirational philosophy of excellence in the crafts. The classes on offer cater for all levels of skill, from complete beginner through to Access to Higher Education courses. The success of the pottery and silversmithing classes is due to the long term commitment of the teaching staff, the considerable support of the team of 40 volunteers, alongside Gateshead Councils learningSkills who employ and train the tutors in order to offer high quality teaching in an outstanding resource.
Gallery
Location Gateshead
About the space
This is a flat site within the grounds of Bensham Grove Community Centre, formerly used as an allotment site. The centre is located in the middle of Bensham, and serves a diverse and multi-cultural community. Gateshead has an excellent track record of making art accessible to the local community through participation and engagement
Council
Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council
Journey
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Brilliant news, thanks everyone!
Whoop, 210 people have pledged since fundraising began!
Whoop, 200 people have pledged since fundraising began!
Whoop, 190 people have pledged since fundraising began!
Whoop, 180 people have pledged since fundraising began!
The Lates @ Bensham Pottery Sat 18th May 6.30-11.00pm as part of the NewcastleGateshead Culture crawl. Shuttle buses will be available to transport visitors from site to site. Full schedule here: https://thelateshows.org.uk/2019 Come down to Bensham Grove to take part in free pottery and silversmithing activities: wire working, throwing on the wheel, modelling with clay, and, watch your pot or tile being spectacularly Raku fired by John Scott. There will also be a Pop-Up choir with Beccy Owen 6.50-8.30pm, a live band and other magical things on offer. Expect a brilliant evening packed full of cultural variety & participation.
How will the money be spent?Total £12,625
Costs Breakdown
This shows how money raised for the project will be spent. These costs have been confirmed by the project's Delivery Manager and verified.
Overfunding
This project is enabled for overfunding. If the project hits its funding goal before the end of the campaign period, any extra funds raised will be spent (in order of priority) on:
Total £12,625
Our Volunteer List
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VolunteerThere has been a pottery in the old coach house at Bensham Grove since the 1960's. In 1987, Northern Arts and Gateshead MBC funded an artist's residency, which brought Christine Constant, a London-based ceramist, up to the North East. The remit was to make it accessible to the local community, including hard-to-engage groups & individuals.
Over the past 30 years the pottery has welcomed 1000's of people through the doors to make their own work & participate in creating permanent sited works for public spaces. These can be seen at the MetroCentre, Gateshead Central Library and Leisure Centre. Many local children have experienced the joy of making work in clay through residency programmes enabling them to create and publicly exhibit their work, most recently at The Shipley Gallery, home to one of the most prestigious ceramic collections in the UK.
Christine has been joined by 5 others- Mandy Mosley, Shaun Parkin, Lindsey Grieves, Julia Proud & Iain Smailes- each bringing their different skills, experience and perspective. The pottery space is also shared with silversmithing, staffed by Imogen Waitt, Kate Hunter-Parker and Chris Gourley.
In the last decade a cohort of individuals have formed from both pottery and silver, who work autonomously in the pottery. These, together with the staff and volunteers, are passionate about developing the resource and making it accessible to many more local people. Their vision and commitment has driven this project forward. They have also contributed to the restoration project in the main house, creating a 20sqm ceramic floor based on the history of Bensham Grove.
The core group is made up of John McGee, Lil Read, Amanda Ball, Ruth Tissington, Simon Ward, Julie Browne-King, Cassie Kaszefko, Paul Sallis, Andra Miloiu, Linda McGeever, Raymond and Norma Dance, Marian Lockey, Lisa Enright, Gill Ainsley, Karen Beer, George Young, Heather Gourley, Bill & Lorraine Yeats.
Bensham Pottery is also supported by 40 volunteers who contribute to our events & has 400+ members on Facebook.
Project Owner: Bensham Pottery The Project Owner takes legal responsibility for receiving and spending the funds raised and ensuring the project is delivered.
Contractor: Kiosk The team responsible for building or installing the project.
