THE STORY
A new lease of life for the local creative community.
Established in Bexhill-on-Sea to house weary emergency workers between call outs, the converted building ‘The Old Ambulance Station’ now offers local artists the most affordable rented workshops in East Sussex.
Eight studios and a communal kitchen have been purposefully re-designed to facilitate experimentation and collaboration for the region’s creative arts community. Maximising natural light and kitted-out with access to power, its address is easily accessible by public transport or bike with ample parking on site.
Prompted by an 18-month search by renowned blacksmith Ben Wood for a local place to craft, the building was purchased by long-time collaborator Richard Upton. Richard had witnessed the improvement brought to local communities when investment in creative and social spaces is made. One of his most thoughtful restorations and interventions , that of The Bell Inn in Ticehurst, uses all forms of visual media and installation work to weave a playful historic narrative throughout the now thriving hotel-restaurant. Paramedics and ambulance staff have been provided with a newly kitted out rest room , complete with fresh coffee and Netflix , so they can put their weary feet up with a cuppa in some style .
Securing a newly-installed blacksmith’s forge in the heart of The Old Ambulance Station, Ben is now looking forward to working alongside other local professionals.
“This truly is an exciting and fantastic opportunity for local artists. We want to offer a safe and secure space, somewhere where they can put down roots, do what they do best, without killing them with high costs. The opportunity to help our ambulance service however we can is a privilege“.
As part of the arrangement, each artist using the space agrees to give a minimum of three hours a month of volunteering. Whether teaching a child who is struggling, creating an art project for the community or helping mount pictures in a care home, the Old Ambulance Station is a space with its community at its heart.