Ian Youngs reports on the ‘creative boom’ happening in our empty high street buildings.
For most people, empty shops and offices are an eyesore and unwelcome evidence of an economic downturn. But for artists, desperate for a cheap place to work and exhibit, they are a godsend.
Across the UK, more and more grassroots artists, designers and performers are taking advantage of empty buildings by moving in, with low or no rent, while landlords wait for new commercial tenants or wait for developments to begin.
The likes of Damien Hirst and Sarah Lucas started their careers by staging shows in such spaces in the late 1980s. Now Dan Thompson, who runs the Empty Shops Network, says the activity has "really taken off" in the past couple of years.
"It's gone from being a fringe, slightly edgy activity to something very mainstream," he says. "It feels like a golden age for the arts with so much going on."
For most people, empty shops and offices are an eyesore and unwelcome evidence of an economic downturn. But for artists, desperate for a cheap place to work and exhibit, they are a godsend.
Across the UK, more and more grassroots artists, designers and performers are taking advantage of empty buildings by moving in, with low or no rent, while landlords wait for new commercial tenants or wait for developments to begin.
The likes of Damien Hirst and Sarah Lucas started their careers by staging shows in such spaces in the late 1980s. Now Dan Thompson, who runs the Empty Shops Network, says the activity has "really taken off" in the past couple of years.
"It's gone from being a fringe, slightly edgy activity to something very mainstream," he says. "It feels like a golden age for the arts with so much going on."