It’s always great to achieve a positive result after eight months of hard work, especially when it means you can offer more to the community around you.
In June, we received the fantastic news that at last, we had received a much-needed capital injection from the European Regional Development Fund as part of the Community Led Local Development programme. It was a chance meeting at a networking event with Josyanne Clarke (Cornwall Development Company) last April, which started our journey. At the time, we had a rough idea of what we wanted to create but hadn’t located a suitable site or put funding in place. So our initial consultation was a tentative investigation to enquire if there were any funds available to help us.
The ERDF focuses its investments on several key priority areas. It is designed to reduce economic, environmental and social problems in urban areas, with a particular focus on sustainable urban development. Although not available in Falmouth, Penryn is identified as a priority area for regeneration. And so our search began.
By choosing to establish ourselves in Penryn, we elected to bring about a positive change to this ancient town that economically suffers from sitting in the shadow of it’s the younger sibling, Falmouth. Our driving ambition was to affect change and be an integral part of the gradual resurrection of the town. With the help of the European Regional Development Fund, we have been able to start this process and invest in renovating a landmark building so it can become a thriving centre for writers, crafters and artists.
The majority of the funding has been used to fit a heating system and to reinvigorate the outside of the building, which after 5 years of disuse was in dire need of some TLC. However, we have also managed to sideline a little pot of the funding to offer talks, workshops and courses to those interested in developing a career in writing, crafting, sculpting and painting.
Our 2020/21 schedule is currently being planned. So far our resident businesses, SketchTrips and The Writers collective have compiled a list of fascinating courses and bi-monthly talks which start in late September.
These events will be hosted in our first-floor workshop by authors, professional writers and filmmakers. We hope you will be able to join us soon…
2020
17 Sep - Eve Bourrat - Mixed media, collage Illustration workshop
24 Sep - Eve Bourrat - Mixed media, collage Illustration workshop
30 Oct - John Lugo Treble (Author)
19 Nov - Sue Jackson (Author / Journalist)
4 Nov - Improve your drawing skills with Steve Buckler
11 Nov- Improve your drawing skills with Steve Buckler
18 Nov - Improve your drawing skills with Steve Buckler
25 Nov - Improve your drawing skills with Steve Buckler
2 Dec - Suzy Inman (Professional content creator)
16 Dec Jane Cable (Author)
2021
13 Jan - Ed Chapman (Professional blogger)
29 Jan - Claire Duende (Author)
10 Feb - Henry Austwick (Author & Filmmaker)
26 Feb - Tony Hopewell - (Author & Filmmaker)
10 Mar - Emily (Writing course provider)
26 Mar - Tony Hopewell - (Author & Filmmaker)
9th April - Mark Barbar (Author)
21 Apr - Emma Jane Hughes - working as a collective (creative director of Black Dog Collective )
7th May - Terri Nixon (Author)