Blaze tears heart out of Cornish arts scene
AMAJOR centre for creative businesses and voluntary groups in Cornwall was badly damaged in a huge blaze yesterday.
Over 50 firefighters worked through the morning to bring the fire under control at Krowji, in Redruth.
The centre, on the site of the former Redruth Grammar School, is home to a large number of artists and creative businesses, including touring theatre promoters Carn To Cove, Cornwall Museums Partnership, Cornwall Heritage Trust and WildWorks theatre company.
One of those affected is producer, musician and artist Stuart Blackmore, who has a workshop in the building. “I’m a tenant with a studio there,” he said.
“I’ve got lots of equipment, three computers, a 12-string Gibson guitar – I think it’s gone up in flames, sadly.”
By yesterday afternoon, people across Cornwall had rallied round to raise £3,000 to help offset the losses, expected to run into hundreds of thousands.
Charlie Coleman, former owner of The Melting Pot cafe at Krowji before it closed down, has set up a JustGiving page so that people can donate to help offset the damage and losses. “This is a crippling blow for the arts in Cornwall,” he said.
A spokesperson for the local St Euny Church, in Redruth, asked people to pray for all those affected, saying: “Krowji, here in Redruth, is Cornwall’s largest creative hub, home to dozens of artists and other creative businesses, and right now it’s on fire. Please pray for the fire services, and for all those affected.”
THE creative hub of Cornwall was seriously damaged yesterday when a blaze ripped through Krowji, in Redruth, which provides studios for a range of creative businesses.
Cornwall Fire and Rescue Services confirmed eight appliances were at the scene trying to extinguish the blaze at its height yesterday morning, with more than 50 fire fighters from Tolvaddon, Falmouth, Hayle, Truro, Helston, Penzance and Perranporth battling the flames.
Group Manager Ian Neal said that he expected fire crews to be on site all day, as there were gas cylinders and other fire hazards in the building.
Devon and Cornwall Police were also in attendance to assist with a number of road closures in the area. There were no reported casualties, but several artists fear they have lost work in the blaze, and fire crews confirmed that some artworks from studios had been destroyed, along with equipment.
The single-storey part of the property was completely destroyed, but crews stopped the fire spreading to the larger part of the building and they were fighting to save the older parts on the site of what was once Redruth Grammar School.
Krowji was part of a £3.7 million project to transform the school buildings into an arts hub for 200 creative businesses, completed in 2015.
An employee said there was extensive damage to the central part of the building, which contains offices and workshops for some of the smaller tenants. Those areas spared by the flames are feared to have suffered smoke damage.
A number of local people who spotted the blaze and raised the alarm shared their despair at the impact of the fire. One wrote: “The news about the Krowji is awful. I know quite a few people who have studios or work there.”
Another added: “Sad new about the fire at the old part of Krowji where many wonderful artists work and will have lost months, if not years of work and resources which will prevent the making a living.”
A JustGiving page (below) set up by a former cafe owner in the centre, Charlie Coleman, is raising funds to help artists affected by the fire. It had raised almost £6,000 late yesterday afternoon.
The message on the fundraising website reads: “Krowji is not just charity offices or a gallery but a living, breathing home to many artists and creative minds from all walks of life. Many of these tenants will have just lost artwork to not just the fire, but smoke and water too.
“Art is not something a simple small insurance check can solve, and many will have lost work that may have taken months if not years to produce, and would thus have now lost their livelihood.”
Redruth town councillor Lee Collins urged people to give to the fundraising page. He said: “I was saddened to hear about the fire at Krowji this morning. Many artists have had their lives turned upside down, and just at the point whereby things were starting to return to normal. I’d like to thank the firefighters and other emergency services for doing such a sterling job early on a Sunday morning to minimise the effects of the blaze. So I ask if you can help too, even if it’s just the price of your next coffee.”