Knowledge bank

East Street Arts (ESA) is a model example of what the purchase and refit of studios involves.

Introduction

Paul Glinkowski talks to artists Karen Watson and Jon Wakeman of East Street Arts (ESA) in Leeds about the organisation’s development, and the steep learning curve and ‘skilling up’ required to complete the £1.6m purchase and refit of Patrick Studios.

This profile forms part of a portfolio of material around studios including the studios toolkit – designed especially for artists thinking of setting up some kind of workspace facility – case studies of studio organisations at different stages of development and more.

Case study

East Street Arts (ESA) in Leeds was founded in 1993 to provide space, support services, opportunities and professional development for visual artists working in a range of disciplines at different stages in their careers. As well as providing services directly to visual artists ESA is involved in advocacy work for visual art and artists, locally and nationally.

Patrick Studios, a new development for ESA, is the largest new visual arts initiative in Leeds. Funding secured from the lottery and from regeneration sources enabled ESA to take on the building, double its number of studios and shift towards an ‘incubator’ approach to workspace based on individually tailored professional development support.

Patrick Studios was launched in October 2004. A spacious red brick building on the edge of the city centre, it was formerly a social club connected to the nearby St Patrick’s Catholic church. It was refurbished by architects Baumann-Lyons at a combined purchase and refit cost of £1.6 million. Patrick Studios houses twenty-eight individual studios plus six open plan spaces for new graduates. It also has a state-of-the-art creative IT and office resource, a kiln and a darkroom. A well-proportioned white cube project space provides an important public face for the building.

The driving force behind ESA is its founders and co-directors, artists Karen Watson and Jon Wakeman. ESA began life in 1993 as a small enclave of eight studios in a dilapidated textile factory, East Street Mills – just about visible from the upper floors of Patrick Studios. “We set our sights on a new building”, says Watson, “because we didn’t want to lose a decade of hard work.” Tenancy at the Mills was not under threat, but frustration at the poor conditions and the landlord’s reluctance to make improvements eventually forced their hand.

In May 2001 ESA was accepted on to Arts Council of England’s lottery programme. Thus began a steep learning curve which continues today. “We were living from project to project then,” recalls Watson, “getting by on just £4,000 of core funding from Leeds City Council. There was little administrative base, no paid staff and the board was still finding its feet”. Everyone involved had to ‘skill-up’ significantly, and rapidly, in order to carry out detailed business planning, develop organisational policies, supervise the building project and learn how to articulate the ESA vision – to funders and to others who needed to be brought on side. The “intuitive” vision of 2001 had rapidly to become more formally structured and articulated. “There’s a lot more meat on the bones now,” says Wakeman.

“Looking back, we’ve enjoyed the process,” reflects Watson, “but it sometimes seemed like hell.” More than once while getting its funding package in place, ESA feared losing the building to rival developers. A further cause of stress was the boxing club in the basement which was reluctant to move on. “They had influential supporters on the council,” says Watson, “it took a lot of hard negotiation before they were persuaded to relocate.”

The name of building became a major discussion point. It was felt to be important – out of respect for the locality – to maintain a reference to the original building, but also not to send out the wrong signals about the type of organisation that ESA is. “It is not, first and foremost an arts centre for public use,” says Wakeman, “it is a professional space and resource for practicing artists, with controlled public access at some times.”

Watson and Wakeman believe there are benefits to artists becoming project managers. By maintaining their role at the heart of things they have ensured that “artists have stayed in control of the process”. Has it, though, been a major distraction from their art practice? “This” replies Watson, “is our practice: taking things in control and making something out of nothing; turning the creative hand to whatever needs to be done.”

ESA’s artists left their original building in 2003. Thirty-one of them now occupy a second ESA site, Beaver Studios – “like East Street Mills, but in better condition” – secured on a five-year lease. Cost per square foot at Beaver is £5.50, compared with £9 at Patrick Studios. The new standards of quality, security and support offered at Patrick Studios will, Wakeman believes, help to raise the aspirations of other workspaces in the area. “Having a studio is not a hobbyist thing,” he says, “it’s a proper working space for proper working people. As in any other profession, you have to invest to prosper.”

The aim at Patrick Studios is to add value to an artist’s career. A thorough application process has been developed to assess where artists are at in terms of their professional practice. “The application pack makes those who want a studio think about themselves not just as artists but as professionals,” says Wakeman. At the point of application, artists state how long they think they will need to get the maximum benefit from the services ESA offers: individually tailored professional development support, as well as high-quality space. Recognising that it is possible for studio buildings to stagnate if there is a limited turnover of artists, leases may be for anything from one to five years.

ESA wants to recruit people who can benefit fully from what the new building has to offer, but it also wants to attract artists who can give something back – who can contribute creative energy and ideas and help ESA to develop its profile and activities. A regular throughput of different practitioners at different career stages will help to keep the building vibrant. The early signs are promising. “Pats is already buzzing and having impact on Leeds and Leeds artists,”,says Watson.

Mission Statement

ESA will harness its knowledge and energy to provide the events, services, space and support that is necessary for the growth of artists and the visual arts in Leeds.

Main Activities

Events

ESA initiates nationally significant and strategic events which offer opportunities to artists to exhibit and make new work. Partnerships with artist-led organisations and institutions are key to these developments.

Space

ESA provides high-quality affordable studios spaces on two sites. The organisation also locates and secures temporary meeting, showing and making spaces, when appropriate.

Artist support programme

ESA offers professional development schemes and tailored training sessions on a range of practical and development issues.

Key Milestones

June 1993 Signed a lease for the top floor of East Street Mills. Enough space, initially, for 8 studios. Ethos from the beginning of having spaces to work, communal space, and facilities (kilns and dark room).

May 1994 Set up Leeds Artists Network (LAN) which brought together four/five studios in Leeds. Extended the space at East Street Mills as more artists came looking for space.

July 1995 First exhibition – ceramic and textiles in two empty units under the viaduct.

Nov-Dec 1996 LAN organises huge Networking November event: five exhibitions, artists talks every Sunday for four weeks, artist debates every Saturday for four weeks, bus trips to open studio events, launch with performance and live music. First grants from Yorkshire Arts (£1,400) and Leeds City Council (£500).

1998 ESA becomes a company limited by guarantee. Set up Leeds visual arts forum, joined focus groups for cultural strategy and sat on steering group to initiate the Leeds arts partnership.

June 1999 ESA becomes a charity.

Sept 1999 Exchange with Dortmund artists.

Oct 2000 ESA pushes its agenda of needing space with Leeds Council, West Yorkshire Playhouse and anyone who will listen. First discussions regarding St Patrick’s social club.

Jan 2001 Application to Arts Council of England to purchase the social club.

April 2001 Supashed project tours to Budapest. Karen Watson employed freelance part-time by ESA.

May 2001 Supashed project goes to Dortmund. ESA accepted onto ACE capital programme

April 2002 Watson and Wakeman employed part-time by ESA.

March 2003 ESA buys Patrick Studios.

June 2003 Artists move from East Street Mills to refurbished space in Beaver Works

Aug 2003 Construction company on site at Patrick Studios.

May 2004 ESA moves in to Patrick Studios.

Sept 2004 C,S,T is the first exhibition in the new project space.

Oct 2004 Official launch of Patrick Studios.

Contacts

www.esaweb.org.uk

ESA (East Street Arts)
Patrick Studios
St Mary’s Lane
Leeds LS9 7EH

0113 248 0040

info@esaweb.org.uk

The writer

Paul Glinkowski is a freelance journalist, writer and arts consultant. From 1997 to 2003 he was a visual arts officer at Arts Council England (ACE), where he led on the development of a national programme of support for visual artists studios. He played a key role in the development of a series of three studios conferences in July 2003: Creating Places at Tate Modern, and Making Space and Opening Doors at Yorkshire Artspace, Sheffield (see http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/information/publication_detail.php?sid=12&id=393&page=2 for conference report ‘Supporting artists’ workspace’). He also wrote the 2003 ACE publication Open Studios (see http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/documents/publications/282.pdf)

Paul Glinkowski

Paul Glinkowski is a freelance journalist, writer and arts consultant. From 1997 to 2003 he was a visual arts officer at Arts Council England (ACE), where he led on the development of a national programme of support for visual artists studios. He played a key role in the development of a series of three studios conferences in July 2003: Creating Places at Tate Modern, and Making Space and Opening Doors at Yorkshire Artspace, Sheffield (see http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/information/publication_detail.php?sid=12&id=393&page=2 for conference report ‘Supporting artists’ workspace’). He also wrote the 2003 ACE publication Open Studios (see http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/documents/publications/282.pdf)

First published: a-n.co.uk November 2004