Plans for former bus factory are music to our ears
STUDIOS WILL HELP NURTURE NEW TALENT, SAY PARTNERS
A FORMER bus factory in Nottingham city centre is set to become an arts venue and creative space for musicians.
A joint venture from industry professionals has led to a 10-year lease being taken out for Fishergate Point Studios - a new centre for the arts for “nurturing fresh talent” on Fisher Gate, which joins Upper Parliament Street.
The people behind the project include venue and club operator Ian Gardiner, community project producer Tricia Gardiner; music label and events promoter Will Robinson; event producer Lukas Cole; and digital marketeer Avarni Bilan, who have developed the plans for the three-storey, 7,000 sq ft building.
The venue will also provide a space for collaborative opportunities for artists and highlight local talent through events which are already being planned in the New Year.
Avarni Bilan, partner in the project, said: “We have come together with a desire to help the grassroots community arts scene and this shared ethos is what has brought us together first and foremost. We want to become an incubator for the creative talent that exists in the city.
“Physically, we are creating open spaces within the building along with a culture where everyone is invited to be experimental, with the freedom to fail and to inspire each other.”
Working with an architect, the venue on the southside of the city will house two recording studios, a co-working space, a garden meeting space and workshop rooms.
The building will also include a bar/ kitchen and a multi-functional events space equipped with a custom-built high-spec sound & light system.
As an event producer, Lukas Cole has been searching for the right venue for 10 years and is relishing the creative freedom it will bring when it comes to producing events such as Wigflex.
He explained: “Taking on our own place is the logical progression from staging events across other venues where elements were out of our control.
“As a venue, Fishergate Point has huge potential. Now we can curate the event experience from conception through to every aspect of delivery from the light and sound through to the quality of the bar. “Events will have an emphasis on quality as it gives us creative freedom and takes away the pressures such as having to be in and out within a day.”
Fishergate Point is a collaboration between the people behind multivenue music festival Wigflex, city-based label and independent promoters I’m Not From London, and other organisations that support Nottingham’s music scene. Seven of the 12 office units have been let to independent tenants including a photographer, community radio station and a live streaming company.
Tricia Gardiner said: “Fishergate Point is a beacon of hope for the arts at a time when the sector is facing an immediate crisis.
“While we have been working on this idea before the pandemic arrived, the last few months have shown how much this is needed.
“We can help match people up with different opportunities or those who can help with the skills they need.”
The new centre for the arts has also been welcomed by the Arts Council, and has recently received a Cultural Recovery Fund awarded as part of the Government’s support for the arts.
We want to become an incubator for the creative talent that exists in the city.
Avarni Bilan