Nerve 10 - Arena Studios

Arena Studios

Arena Art & Design Association has moved studios from Duke Street to Jordan Street, which forms part of Liverpool's Independent District.
Other former occupants of the Duke Street building have formed 'Royal Standard' and now have artist spaces in Grey Street, near Liverpool Anglican Cathedral.
Despite this continued movement of artists from central locations, (the old studios were in the Ropewalks) the availability of artist workspaces in Liverpool has probably never been better.
The Bridewell, near the Royal Liverpool Hospital; Slaughterhouse 73 in Garston (under the direction of 'Mona Lennon' painter, Alex Corrina); and Wolstenholme Square, also all provide studio provision.
Furthermore, there is a plan this year to create additional artist spaces in a disused building near Edge Hill Railway Station.
"It has got to the stage where we would like to set up an informal studio network in Liverpool," said Sarah Jane Richards, a director of Arena. "It would be brilliant to set this up."
The other directors involved in running the new Arena enterprise are Mark Harrison, Leon Jakeman and Steth Preston.
"Some of us had misty eyes at leaving Duke Street," Sarah Jane added. "People were very attached to the building - it was ramshackle, had a lot of problems of damp, but it was very homely and had character.
"A lot of comments were left in the visitors book expressing how refreshing it was to see interesting art displayed in this way. It did not have to be like Tate Liverpool or the Walker Art Gallery, all very clean cut and cold, and being quiet and respectful while you are there.
"We received a very positive response from people attending exhibitions there," she added, "They felt less intimidated about visiting our art space than in other more formal settings."
At its maximum capacity in Duke Street, Arena, which was formed in 1982, provided studio space for 43 artists. Over the years, various business plans to keep the five-storey building open for artists had been put together.
“But at the end of the day the building is a commodity for Frensons, the owners of the property." commented Sarah Jane. "We rented the place from them but we always had a precarious relationship with them.
"The writing was on the wall in regard to our future in Duke Street when Frensons told us they were going to increase the rental charge of the building, which would be more in keeping with other property in the area. We could not afford these increases.
"It was a bit galling having to leave, because many artists had put in a lot of time and effort to improve the condition of the building, particularly in renovating it in time for the Biennial exhibition held there last year.
"If we had owned the building we possibly could have got funding for the necessary repairs that were required. But understandably no one was prepared to give us funding to do up somebody else's building."
A lot of the artists on their books moved out as soon as it was announced that Arena was due to close. Arena then contacted various artists to fill the spaces vacated and put together a business plan in preparation for their move to a new base.
"We now have a business adviser," said Sarah Jane, " and we are looking at ways of having better facilities in Jordan Street than we had in Duke Street."
Sarah Jane asserted that they did not want to duplicate what other studio groups in Liverpool are doing. She believes that it needs to find its own niche.
"It is an exciting time for us. We are down to an embryonic state and we can do anything now. But in the long-term we need to buy a building.
“However, in the short term we need to look at what we can do and where we can develop. There are a lot of opportunities and a lot of different areas we could go into. But it is a question of what is most feasible from a business point of view and possibly a moral point of view.
"What I mean by a moral point of view is that we will maintain the good reputation or ethos we have built up with artists and the local art community in general over the years."
The Jordan Street building will house studio space for 25 full-time artist occupiers by the summer, and Arena are planning to have an exhibition space as well as an events space, for example for music gigs and to stage art auctions, which had proved very popular in Duke Street: "They were synonymous with Arena," said Sarah Jane.

Any artist interested in hiring a studio from Arena should contact them on 0151 707 9879 or e-mail arenastudios@btconnect.com and they will send you an application pack. The cost of a studio will depend on the break-up of the space.

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Sorry Comments Closed

Comment left by John Kneen on 23rd December, 2008 at 21:45
Hi, I am a painter and am thinking about getting mysef a studio, but I will need a window fo some natural light, but as I am not selling much work at the moment, I did not want to pay alot. Would it be possible to give me some idea as to what your weekly charges start at? Thank you, John Kneen

Comment left by JohnKneen on 17th April, 2010 at 10:37
Hi, how much do you charge for a studio space? and do you have any studios with access to windows and natural light? Many thanks, John

Comment left by Jacqueline Rainford on 13th June, 2010 at 12:42
Hello, Could you possibly tell me how you charge for a studio space and do you have screen printing facilities or would I have to bring my own? Regards Jacqui

Comment left by Ben Holden on 11th October, 2011 at 21:27
Hello I would like to ask if I would be able to rent a space on the ground floor with access for my stone work and carvings? Please drop me aline if you can help anywhere in the liverpool area. Many thanks Ben

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