I am delighted to say that I have been very fortunate to be selected as a Fellow at Digswell Arts in Letchworth. A Fellow?! That’s what Digswell Arts call their resident artists. They offer an ‘incubation platform’ for emerging artists to really get their practice on a solid footing by offering a supportive and collaborative environment.
Digswell Arts has two sites – I’m moving into the one in Letchworth Garden City – the Fenners Building. They have a long history dating back to 1957 and have had some well known supporters including Henry Moore. The trust was found by Henry Morris who had a great enthusiasm for the arts. He was an adviser to the Ministry of Town and Country Planning on cultural and leisure arrangements in designated British New Towns.
The Trust’s first home was on the outskirts of Welwyn Garden City. A strange connection for me as I spent a lot of time there as a child visiting my grandparents who lived there. I’ve lived most of my life in South East London until around 5 years ago when I moved north of London. After a break of 30 years I returned to Welwyn to find it unbelievably almost exactly the same.
Digswell Arts is a fabulous organisation and I feel very appreciative of this amazing opportunity and am looking forward to getting sorted out and back to work.