Art at the Centre

Art at the Centre is a pioneering scheme funded by Arts Council South East and South East Development Agency. This project is based in Queenborough on the Isle of Sheppey, which is part of the Thames Gateway Regeneration.

Art at the Centre Queenborough & Rushenden currently facilitates community engagement with the regeneration process through events, exhibitions, competitions and workshops. A priority for Art at the Centre is to continue to stimulate involvement and engagement of the local communities in regeneration, to influence the design of the public realm, and ultimately to develop an exemplary model of how art can become an integral part of the regeneration process.

The project aims to establish a reputation for quality art (both public art and arts activities) and to support local artists’ initiatives to facilitate their collective presence as a creative industry, with a view to retaining the creative practitioners who ‘migrate’ to the capital, and thus to develop the growing creative community in Swale.

Art at the Centre is currently preparing for the next two years of projects 2008-2010, where ambitious changes are being planned (including a proposal for a mobile space gallery). For more information see  the Future Strategy (which is currently being  updated). To view past project click here, this includes, public artworks, festivals, workshops and study trips. The programme of exhibitions is listed on the Castle Gallery page, which also houses a list of previous shows.

What is Art at the Centre?

Art at the Centre is the umbrella title for Arts Council England, South East regeneration projects, happening in Swale, Maidstone and Isle of Wight.

Art at the Centre supports local authorities in the south east with ambitious plans for urban renewal. 
Art at the Centre's core belief is that sustainable regeneration is built on more than bricks and mortar: when artists are able to contribute from the outset to the regeneration process, the resulting master-planning and community involvement leads to real innovation with lasting outcomes.

"Queenborough and Rushenden are rapidly changing. In ten years, the landscape will look completely different, new people will move in and new jobs be created. Our challenge is to stay focused on the fact that this is a tight knit community, with its own problems, fears and dreams. One objective was to create a ‘sense of place’, but it is clear that a strong sense of place already exists. Imposing an identity on people would be false. The artists that I work with are sensitive to these issues, and will reflect people’s voices in their work.

Our ambitions are high. Officials and locals do not view art as a priority, pointing to fundamental needs such as raising education standards.  But this project is not an “add on’. Art at the Centre plays a vital role in communicating the views of the people, putting life back into a process full of bureaucracy, and making art that sets a competitive standard within the art world itself."

Nicole Mollett

Portrait of Youth Workshop

By David Willis

Whitstable Biennale Performance 2008

Invasion Artwork by Debbie Randell

Invasion Exhibition, Castle Gallery  2007

Superconductor
Architecture Week Project 2007

Tate Modern study trip with  artist Group 2006