It’s finally happened – the old mill that has been our home for the past almost six years has been put up for sale, so we may soon be looking for a new home. We have had a great time in this old mill, run many successful events and made a great many friends. We appreciate our lovely landlord, former councillor and Preston mayor Albert Richardson, allowing us to rent it for so long but sadly, the time has come that it must now be sold and when a buyer has been found, we will have to move on.
So, what happens now? For the time being, normal activities will continue with resident artists still using their studios and running their respective activities. For the future, until or unless we can find another affordable home, ‘Oxheys’ as a collective will become peripatetic – we’ll pop-up and down whenever opportunities arise or when an unused space needs an intervention, or some art in it.
When we founded Oxheys in early 2011, we had the aim of providing affordable studio space for artists in Preston and space where local artists could experiment and exhibit work, as these facilities were almost non-existent. We are proud to have helped bring about some change and kick-start the growing independent arts sector in Preston but space is still lacking, both for studios and exhibitions. If Preston is serious about having a sustainable creative sector this really does need to change!
We may still be here this time next year or we could be gone in a matter of months – meanwhile, we will just make the most whilst we can and thank everyone who has supported our efforts during the past six years.
Right now we are reviewing future exhibition plans, as any events we take on will obviously be subject to change. Whilst we would give as much notice as we can if we have to move out and we’d try to find an alternative venue if at all possible but this will clearly make things a little challenging. We will therefore be working on a short-term basis.
Please bear with us as we try to navigate through the uncertainty of the next few months and do join our mailing list if you haven’t already, to keep up to date with developments.
And do watch this space…