The Terrace Gallery is a dream brought about by a collection of creative businesses eager to find affordable studio, office and event space.
How did it all start? Like most great ideas, it began with a conversation over coffee. As most of the creative community in Cornwall will know, it's tough trying to find a suitable space to develop your practice. It's even tougher to find a workspace that is in the right location and offers everything you need at an affordable price. A clean, warm, accessible space are the basic needs. Broadband is a must for most businesses these days, and for artists, a permanent exhibition space is like finding the pot at the end of a rainbow.
So the conversation was the start of a dream, but the rejections that followed were the catalyst we needed to take the risk to do it ourselves and find the right location at a price we could almost afford.
Set in the heart of Penryn in a disused space that once housed a gallery, we have set our sights on reinvigorating an empty, disused building to offer the community of Penryn and beyond an opportunity to engage with some exciting artists, photographers, filmmakers and writers in the South West.
The gallery itself offers a small but perfect space to showcase the work of the studio residents and visiting artists. With a focus on small artworks to fit the small space, we moulded our business plan to suit the everyday collector's price point.
The studio spaces are perfect affordable creative workspaces, flexible enough to be used by a range of small creative practitioners seeking to explore & expand the commerciality of their offering. The small but permanent exhibition and event spaces are an essential asset for artists to share their work and inspire others through talks and workshops. And the gallery's e-commerce website will provide studio residents, exhibiting artists and makers with the perfect out of hours sales platform to sell their work beyond the gallery.
Non-resident creative practitioners have not been left out of this exciting new venture, and the small retail space within the gallery offers local makers the opportunity to showcase and sell their prints, jewellery, ceramics, etc.
Thankfully recent renovation work to the gallery, studio and event has left the building in a state of good repair. However, installing an essential heating system and renovating the fascia of the building are our next tasks.
Set to open in February 2020, we have devised an impressive year-long schedule of exhibitions, one-off events and workshops will inspire, engage and add to the positive artistic atmosphere within the cultural heart of Penryn, and hope you will all come to visit sometime.
