Craven Arts House will be an innovative flagship studio and arts facility for Craven’s community and artists who are engaged in creative businesses. The refurbished building will have green credentials and will be heated by renewable energy sources.
The building will provide space for creative local people to work, individually and collaboratively, with built in opportunities to engage with local communities as part of their professional development. Young people will receive business mentoring and skills acquisition as part of their year-long placements.
This new art centre for Craven is situated in Skipton and will include bespoke studio spaces, music rooms, community rooms and workshops where an exciting programme of creative courses will be launched as soon as the building opens in 2022.
At its heart the building contains an impressive hall, which once restored will become a new venue for Craven with performance space and seating for 100 people.
In addition, when all the phases are complete, Craven Arts House will provide:
Full height accessible, exhibition entrance hall
Craft store
Lockable and open plan work spaces
Virtual Office for 5 businesses
Secure bicycle parking
Electric vehicle charging point
Regular indoor Makers Markets
Public open studio events
Hireable community rooms and hall
New greenery and planting to the frontage
Craven Arts have been fortunate in securing funding through the Architectural Heritage Fund. It has been a joy to work with AHF through the application process and receive the advice from their Programme Officer Emily Knight who has been extremely supportive. Emily visited the site in the spring of 2021 and was impressed with the quality of the building and plans for the refurbishment.
On the 13th July of 2021 we were given a grant to cover some of the fees for the project at RIBA stage 4. Receiving the funding has been a tremendous endorsement to the board and volunteer staff at Craven Arts who have worked hard in the preceding years to launch the project and refurbishment.
We have applied for further funding from AHF and we are hoping to receive an additional sum that will cover the creation of an accessible walkway to the front of the building, planting and welcoming exterior areas to link the building frontage to Otley Street.
Below are a few photos of the building just before the builders go on site. When that happens it’s going to be an epic moment for Craven Arts, Skipton and Craven.