Archive
February 2010 – The fire and its effect
On the night of 19 February 2010, an arson attack on a building behind our building on 112 Highgate spread to our studio spaces. Thankfully no-one was hurt, but by the time fire-fighters had extinguished the blaze, most of the artists’ work and materials had been damaged or destroyed by fire, smoke, heat and water damage. Worse still, the studios were ruined. With the roof reduced to a skeleton, the building was declared structurally unsound and Green Door was left without premises.
South Lakeland District Council‘s immediate response was to support the artists by negotiating alternative temporary studio space within Kendal College, and providing a regeneration grant to be distributed amongst individual artists affected. Temporary storage space was also generously provided by Staveley Mill Yard. A regeneration fund was set up by Green Door within days of the blaze – and further help came from local arts venues such as the Brewery Arts Centre in Kendal, which offered the Malt Room for a fundraising event, and Farfield Mill near Sedbergh, which offered Green Door artists a group exhibition that spring.
After a great deal of investigation by the Steering Committee and a number of viewings, it seemed unlikely that we would be able to find a new permanent home for Green Door Studios in the immediate future. Six artists chose to set up at Holme Mills near Burton in Kendal, while two more artists became Farfield Mill resident artists; others have found individual spaces or now work from home.
The fire presented us with a bold punctuation mark at a point 15 years after the organisation was founded. Although it was a great shock, out of the ashes came a renewed energy and desire to think about the kind of organisation we wanted to be.
In November 2010, we held a planning workshop facilitated by Sue Jenkins, a locally-based arts consultant, where members discussed ideas, needs and aspirations which helped us make decisions about the future.
