A Place of Our Own

It’s autumn, the colours outside our window are changing, and Thortify is entering a brand-new phase. We took a break over summer, to address our own self-care. We stepped back and it was the right thing to do. It gave us a fresh perspective on our plans for the rest of the year and now we have picked up where we left off, with renovations at The Place Activity Centre.

Thanks to the amazing crowdfunding support from the community we secured a very generous donation of match funding from Nottingham City Council to help with the creation of our brand-new Community Art Hub! This was only the beginning for us, we still have much to do, but it meant that we could hire people to undertake some of the renovations and help us to realise our vision.

Part of the renovation team after a day of scraping, sanding and painting

Anything we raise over our target will help us to extend the services we are able to deliver, so we are pleased that the crowdfunder is still live and receiving donations – every little helps!

It feels like a race to the finish! Repurposing an unused area will allow The Place to offer a wider range of services and activities to support the needs of people in the community. It is already a thriving centre; hosting art sessions, language lessons, yoga and Pilates classes as well as the food and clothing exchange, which is open to all.

The damp and dirty decommissioned kiln room has been transformed to a clean white space to maximise the light from the original sash windows, although we felt we had to retain at least some of the original brick tiles – which are polishing up quite well. We are preserving the heritage of the building wherever we can and leaving hints to its past life.

This room will become a space for up to 5 artists to work, network and develop their practice in a nurturing environment. Team Thortify have the knowledge and skills to facilitate this and are keen to work with more artists. The room next door will become a multi-functional area as Thortify’s HQ.

We are particularly excited at the prospect of having our own place to run our own workshops and host exhibitions. But also, we will be encouraging our resident artists to use this space to connect with the public through their own carefully curated exhibitions and by sharing their inspirations and processes via demonstrations and showcasing their work.

Collage Club participants creating with bits from our collage kit

These affordable and secure artist workspaces can be adapted to suit individual’s needs and will allow access to share resources as well as providing space for them to bring their own. We envisage, over time the artists will form a collective and the Thortify team will support with promotion of their work and artist events.

This is a pivotal time for Thortify. The funding demonstrates the impact we have made so far has been recognised, which motivates us to do more. More Collage Club, more workbooks and most definitely more wellbeing events to help us extend our self care support more widely. It means a lot to us that we are able to build on the fundamental purpose of The Art of Self Care project and Thortify can continue to grow.

Come and grow along with us!

You can access the crowdfunding page here and every donation counts, no matter how small.

Peace and paintbrushes,

Team Thortify