If someone had told us a few months ago that we’d be picking up the keys to our own creative space in a week’s time, we probably wouldn’t have believed them. Mostly because we hadn’t even settled on a name at that point, never mind worked out how we were going to get an actual space. But here we are, somehow.
It started with wanting somewhere to get together. A place for photographers, artists and creative people to bring whatever they’re working on, spread things out on a table and have a chat. Somewhere you could ask questions, try something you’d never done before or turn up with an idea you weren’t quite sure what to do with yet. You wouldn’t need to have exhibited anywhere or have a big portfolio. You could just be starting out.
We knew we wanted that, but there was a fair bit of “right, so how do we actually do this?” We didn’t have a space, a website or much figured out at all, really. Just a lot of conversations about what would be nice, which gradually turned into looking for ways to make it happen.
Then we found EP Spaces and the opportunity to apply for a unit, and suddenly it all felt a bit more possible.
When I first walked into the space, it was completely empty. Bare walls, empty rooms and plenty that would need doing. But I was already mentally putting things in places. Prints on that wall, a table over there, somewhere for people to sit and talk about their work. You start imagining someone putting up their first exhibition and suddenly you’re getting quite attached to a room you’ve only just walked into.
There’s a lot we’d love to do with it. Probably more than we should be thinking about before we’ve even got the keys, but it’s difficult not to get carried away. For now, we just want to get in and make it somewhere people feel comfortable spending time.
The support so far has been lovely, too. EP Spaces, Renfrewshire Council, Engage Renfrewshire and so many others have helped with advice, encouragement and pointing us towards things we wouldn’t have known about otherwise. People have offered furniture, shared what we’re doing or sent us a wee message wishing us luck. It all means a lot, especially when you’re still figuring things out and hoping other people can see what you’re trying to do.
So, on July 29th, we get the keys. It still feels a bit strange writing that.
Then comes the cleaning, painting, putting furniture together and working out where everything’s going to go. I’m sure we’ll move things around several times and find about ten other jobs every time we finish one. It’ll take a while, but we’re quite looking forward to that part as well. Seeing it slowly come together, even if it looks a bit unfinished for a while.
We thought this blog would be a nice place to keep track of it all. Somewhere to share what we’ve been up to, what’s taking longer than expected and the little bits of progress that we’ll probably be far too excited about. It’ll be good to have something to look back on, too, and remember what the place looked like before we started filling it.
Anyway, thanks for being here this early on. We’re still working a lot of it out as we go, but we’re excited, and it’s lovely to have people along for it.
Keys first. Then we’ll see where we get to.
