Perth Creative Exchange

© Fraser Band

Perth Creative Exchange Opens Its Doors

ollowing years of careful planning, the doors of Perth Creative Exchange are now open, offering Perth’s creative businesses and artistic community an innovative, collective working space for the first time while also providing a central hub for the creative sector to become a core part of the city’s economy. The £4.5m partnership project between Perth and Kinross Council and Wasps, an award-winning, social enterprise charity which provides affordable spaces to support artists and creative businesses, the Creative Exchange is housed in the converted former St John’s Primary School, in Perth city centre. cultural social enterprises and a creative business incubation space. Additional facilities include a modern café, meeting rooms and hot desking space, plus kitchen and shower facilities. Wasps are further enhanced by the additional establishment of The Famous Grouse Ideas Centre (FGIC), situated at the heart of the building. The FGIC aims to make a positive economic, social and cultural impact not just in Perth but across the Tay Cities Region. Key stakeholders include Perth College UHI, the social enterprise Elevator – which supports entrepreneurship and business start-ups – and Perth Contemporary Arts Trust (PCAT) providing a creative hub to support business incubation and acceleration for businesses in the creative industries including those in digital technologies and computer software. £4.5m Partnership Project Welcomes Artists And Businesses In The Creative Industries This marks Perth’s move to recognise the significance and value of the creative economy. F

With over 85% of artist studios rented before the facility opened in November 2019, there is still some availability among the series of vibrant and connected spaces laid out over three floors made up of 26 studios for designers, artists and makers, 13 workspaces for creative industries and currently taking enquiries and arranging viewings for creative industry office space.

An all-purpose facility targeted at retaining Perth and the wider region’s creative people and the key skills they offer, the Creative Exchange is Furthermore, in May 2020, students from Perth College UHI, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design and the University of Dundee will be exhibiting coursework underlining the guiding principles of the project to bring artistic groups with varying levels of experience together to engage,

For Wasps Chief Executive Audrey Carlin, the Creative Exchange in Perth marks the city’s move to recognise the significance and value of the creative economy – considered one of the top six growth sectors in Scotland’s economic strategy.

“Perth was an area we had been looking at for a long time and as our 20 th building, we’re happy to be here at last. Already the Creative Exchange has been incredibly well received by the artistic collective,” she said. “During our demand assessments in the area we discovered that there were problems with creative talent retention. We had to find a way of providing an economic choice for creatives to stay where they could have a sustainable career in Perth and the surrounding areas.”

“This is the first of four big cultural projects for Perth and Kinross Council who have shown fantastic commitment to making the creative sector a central part of the city’s economy,” Audrey added. “It is important that Perth has a base that can develop and service creative businesses. It helps ensure that their cultural identity is reflected in the brands emerging across the economic sectors. Too often, businesses don’t realise the expertise that is on their doorstep and how it can be more affordable and more aligned with their own brand.”

Echoing the need to retain the city’s creative talent, Council Leader, Councillor Murray Lyle said: “Perth Creative Exchange is one of the most exciting partnership projects we have been involved in driving forward as a Council, to develop an inspiring creative hub offering spaces and opportunities for artists, makers, creative industry professionals, digital entrepreneurs and start-ups, and the general public. Perth now has not only affordable studio and office space for its creative people, but also provision for creative skills development and training programmes, and a brand new café which will be open to the public. The Creative Exchange will play a key role in the Perth and Kinross area as an incubator to nurture talent and retain these skills locally.”

Su Grierson

After receiving her Masters of Fine Art from Glasgow School of Art, Perthshire visual artist Su Grierson initially kept her art studio in Glasgow assuming that the city was where she needed to be.

“I studied later in life after my children had grown up,” Su explains. “After graduating I assumed I had to stay in the city because that seems to be where art is – it was a very urban thing. Eventually I decided to come back to my home, to the farm, and felt I had to make my work about where I live and make where I live the centre of something and not feel like I was on the edge of a city-based art practice.”

Using video, images, sound, text and installation, Su’s work relates to land and landscape which she approaches from differing non-traditional perspectives. She exhibits in galleries, outdoors and in other locations in Perth, across Scotland and the UK and internationally with residencies which have included stints in Ireland and Japan.

Passionate about supporting artists living outside of urban centres, Su has been actively involved in bringing The Creative Exchange to Perth and alongside other interested parties has helped to inform the look of the spaces now available today.

As a tenant of one of the 26 artist’s studios at the Stormont Street premises, Su feels that her new space will allow her, and others, to see their work projected to a larger size. “When you work on a computer screen, you don’t get a sense of how something looks in a bigger context,” she says. “I don’t consider my studio a public exhibition space and although it is my space, I’m happy to make it available to others who want to see how their moving image works look in a bigger setting.”

And while Su recognises the value of the marketing opportunities available to her fellow creatives in the building, as a non-commercial artist, she likes the idea simply of a collaborative work space with opportunities to share things like equipment or ideas.

“It’s really good to have a place in Perth where artists feel like they belong,” Su adds. “There are so many artists working in rural places but there hasn’t been anywhere for us all to be together. There’s a real feeling of an artistic community. It’s something that happens easily in bigger cities but we haven’t had anything like this in Perth before.”

© Fraser Band

or ceramicist Ceri White, Perth Creative Exchange provides not just an all-purpose workspace where she is able to craft, create and collaborate, it also helps legitimise the thriving arts industry. “I’ve nearly always worked in small spaces, most recently the wooden garage by my house, but like many artists growing their businesses, these days I need to be more efficient and to have more space and a workable environment,” said Ceri. “I’ve never had a ‘normal’, full-time job but with the Creative Exchange I feel I have a working space which allows me to be more productive and which helps, in many ways, to legitimise my day. As part of the growing arts industry, I’m making a valuable contribution to our economy and it feels good to have that recognition with a space like this.” Having moved to Perthshire 14 years ago from Edinburgh, Ceri was able to make connections with a collective of fellow artists through Perthshire Visual Arts Forum (PVAF) but the group lacked a suitable meeting and collaboration space. “Perthshire is such a large area and there are many artists living and working within it but we just had nowhere to go in Perth itself to plan events and show our work and a lot of effort had to go into collaboration and compromise to get any sort of venue,” explained Ceri. “The idea for the Creative Exchange was many years in the making. Once the building and finance were secured, I was involved in a small way in the public consultation to help guide how the space would look and be received by the community, both artistic and in general. “It’s so exciting to have played a small part in the building we have today. We are all very proud of it. It feels like it is ours and I’m grateful for the chance to be in it!” After leaving art school with a BA Honours, Ceri moved around various locations, including Edinburgh, honing her craft before settling in Perthshire. While it provided her with ample open space and outlets for inspiration, working largely on her own had its challenges. “In a city like Edinburgh, it was easier to connect with other artists on a day to day basis – you can share ideas, borrow tools from each other – it helps you to be more productive,” said Ceri. “But in rural areas like Perthshire, working on your own all the time can make you feel a little cut off from society! “Now that we have this collective space, there are ample opportunities for us to come together. You never really know where the next idea might come from but being prepared to be part of that kind of community really makes you step up your game and makes everything more efficient.” Ceri sells her work both locally and UK-wide through galleries and independent shops and has a national and international reach with an online store. Her studio at the Creative Exchange also gives her a place to meet clients and market her work, exhibiting during Perthshire Open Studios and WASPS-designated open weekends. ceriwhitestudios.wordpress.com Ceri White F

Affordable units are now available to let to creative industries and cultural social enterprises at Perth Creative Exchange.

Offering flexible lease terms, 24hr secure access, a staffed reception from 9am-5pm, plus cafe and The Famous Grouse Ideas Centre business incubation facility in the building, Perth Creative Exchange is the perfect base to help your creative business flourish.

With 40% of spaces already let, don’t wait to arrange your viewing!

www.waspsstudios.org.uk 0141 553 5890 @waspsstudios

© Fraser Band

One of the stand-out elements of the Creative Exchange is the Famous Grouse Ideas Centre (FGIC), a unique, innovation hub that brings state of the art technology to businesses and individuals working within the creative industries in Perth and the wider region. Funded in partnership between Perth & Kinross Council, Edrington (Famous Grouse), Scottish Government, European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Scottish Cities Alliance through Smart Cities Programme, the overarching objective of the centre is clear; to make a positive economic, social and cultural impact not only in Perth but across the whole of the Tay Cities Region. Driven by the Invest in Perth team, the FGIC is open to anyone working within the 16 distinct business areas that make up the creative industries in Scotland. There are three key elements to the offer: flexible meeting and event space for hire; access to business and design hardware and software; and dedicated support from the Creative Accelerator Programme. Housed in the former gym hall of the old school building, the FGIC provides 150m² of dedicated space which can be hired for events, meetings, conferences, workshops and training days. Boasting superb connectivity as well as video conference facilities, the aim is to offer additional space for Creative Exchange tenants, as well as attracting bookings from the wider network of creative businesses in the Perth area. In order to enhance the benefits of the space itself, there is an innovative suite of dedicated support programmes, the most prominent of which is the Creative Accelerator Programme, developed in partnership between Elevator UK, the largest private sector provider of business support in Scotland today, and Perth and Kinross Council. Lynne Martin of Elevator UK commented, “We are thrilled to be partnering with Perth & Kinross Council on the Creative Accelerator Programme, particularly as we’re officially the first main user of the incredible Famous Grouse Ideas Centre. “Scotland as a whole has a focus on supporting the creative industries and has ambitions to become world leaders in policy in this area. The Creative Accelerator community could become a rich resource for gathering data about how these communities of creatives behave as they develop, grow, and mature. “Being such a widespread geographical area, Perth and Kinross is a contrast to the established cultural urban centres of the cities of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee. We have attracted interest in the Accelerator from across the country. We have had Founders join us from the Central Belt and applications for Cohort 4 ranged geographically from Glasgow to Inverness.” As well as offering space for hire, and the expertise to support and shape the creative industries of the future, the FGIC is also home to an innovation lab which, after The Famous Grouse Ideas Centre: A Creative Innovation Lab

an initial induction, is open to enterprises and individuals working on commercial, educational and artistic projects, particularly those striving to find creative solutions to commercial and civic challenges. Technology within the innovation lab includes a Roland Benchtop UV flatbed printer, VLS Series laser cutter, Ultimaker S5 3D printer, 27inch iMacs with 5k Retina display, 12.9inch iPad Pros, Thinkstation NVIDIA Quadro P4000 Graphics PCs, Epson P9000 large format printer, Promethean ActivPanel and VIVE Pro and Oculus Quest VR headsets. O

The Invest in Perth team are currently registering interest from individuals and businesses who may wish to hire space within the Famous Grouse Ideas Centre or who seek to access the technology on offer for creative, educational or commercial development. Contact Julie Barnsley on: JBarnsley@pkc.gov.uk Knowledgeable, industry-savvy and wellconnected, the team is your first point of contact for future investment within the area. Our promise is to offer a seamless process and targeted business guidance. We can help you navigate funding and incentive schemes to access new markets in the UK and overseas and will help you to open doors into organisations specialising in research, innovation and skills to ensure you are at the forefront of your chosen field. InvestInPerth.co.uk