Timeline
Mar 30, 2016
Digital Edition of the Timeline Exhibition catalogue.
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Curated byAbu Jafar and John Vincent
Fenners GroupLetchworth Garden City
TIMELINEDIGITAL EDITION
IntroductionDebbie BentAmanda BloomLawrence BornClaude ‘Allweathers’ ClareJane GlynnChristine HarrisonLauren Avery HuttonAbu Jafar ARBSLouise LahiveLizzy LaneMindful Arts (Gill Lock & Sue Morter)Salvia OfficinalisLaurie SprostonJohn VincentEwa WawrzyniakMartin YoungA Brief History...
CONTENTS
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Credits
Edited and Designed byAbu Jafar and John Vincent
PhotographyChristine Harrison, John Vincent and Fellowartists
ProofreadingCatherine Turner
Front cover drawingChristine Harrison
Digswell Arts Trustwww.digswellartstrust.com
Supported using public funding by the NationalLottery through Arts Council England.
DIGITAL EDITION 1.3
The Digswell Arts Trust specialises in supporting emerging artistsand since founding over fifty years ago, we have supported a wide
range of artists, musicians and maker/creators. This lineage isreflected today in the makeup of the Digswell studio in the Fennersbuilding in Letchworth which currently features fine art painters, a
jeweller, art therapists, mixed media artists, a wire sculptor,ceramicists, glass makers and an instrument maker.
The Letchworth Digswell Fellows fit into a timeline of artisticinhabitants of Letchworth, which includes Spencer Gore and
William Radcliffe,who both lived and worked in the town. Thisexhibition focuses on this theme and uses contemporary art to
describe and discuss the history of Letchworth in a non-literal way.Each Digswell Fellow uses their practice to express their perspective
and, taken together, this exhibition represents a rich seam ofartistic expression which connects the Digswell Fellows to the
creative past of Letchworth.
The Trust would like to thank the Arts Council for their supportwith this project and the Heritage Foundation for their support in
establishing the Fenners studio.
Anthony GaughanChairman
The Digswell Arts Trust
INTRODUCTION
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Debbie Bent is a practising artist living in Hertfordshire, she is afel low of the Digswell Arts Trust. She shares theFenners building with sixteen other artists each with their ownstudio space but sharing both a project and gallery space.
Debbie’s work centres on the connection between the human bodyand the natural environment, exploring similarities in cell structurebetween them or using the metaphors of nature to explore complexissues relating to the process of being human. She exhibitsnationally. Debbie has also worked on several commissions forpublic and private spaces.
As well as teaching ceramics and sculpture to adults and children,Debbie also works as a community artist within Hertfordshire.Ongoing classes are at Courtyard Arts in Hertford but she workswidely with groups from MIND to Vale House addiction centre. Shehas recently started work with The Funky Pie Company which workswith music, theatre and visual arts within special needs schools andplans to run workshops at Fenners building too. She is passionateabout making and nurturing individuals and their ideas.
Debbie continues to train in areas such as working with vulnerableadults as well pushing the boundaries of her own work. Permanentsculptures are at The Maynard Galleries in Welwyn Garden City andCourtyard Arts Centre in Hertford.
DEBBIE BENT‘Catherine Dreaming’
Photo: © Debbie Bent
Ebenezer Howard was the founder of Letchworth Garden City andhewas a dreamer. His dream was to build a community that wouldnourish and nurture each other. I find it amazing and heart warmingto think that a man who had great business acumen and hardworkingideals would choose to use his skills in such an altruistic way in orderto create a better place for others.
I have captured my dreamer here, my daughter Catherine. She isfacing the garden which is in full flower and the sun coming throughthe window lights her face. She was 17 when I started this work andshe had already become a junior advisor to Amnesty International.She has the same community values as Ebenezer Howard and is off toteach science in Guyana this year. I wait to see what Catherine, mydreamer, becomes.
My work often explores issues of us within our environment, of ourshared beginnings and connecting history. The medium I use is oftenceramic as it gives me the chance to play, explore, experiment andchange as the journey progresses. There used to be a pottery inLetchworth called the Iceni Pottery from 1905 to 1914 before warbroke out. There is now a new ceramic studio being constructed atFenners which means that there will once again be a space inLetchworth dedicated to a love of clay.
Porcelain, celadon glazed
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AMANDA BLOOMIn 1994 Amanda gained a first class degree in Three DimensionalDesign at Middlesex University and then went on to work in interiordesign, before gaining a Certificate in the Therapeutic andEducational Application of The Arts. Fascinated by the way that artallows people to express themselves, she completed a Masters inIntegrative Art Psychotherapy, and began working with individualclients, using the arts to help them explore their feelings.
Since moving from London to Hertfordshire in 2008 Amanda hasbeen concentrating on her own work, with a particular emphasis ontextiles and mixed media.
‘FIRST GARDEN CITY PLANS OF DEVELOPMENT1906/1910/1936'
©ArtistPhoto: Amanda Bloom
I am drawn to the cartography of maps for their line and shape, forthe promise of routes known or unknown and for their ability to bringorder to chaos. They give you a sense of place, of the past, the presentand even the future.
I created these maps based on the early plans of Letchworth GardenCity. The maps, like the town, grew over a period of time as I stitched.
Felt/embroidery/fabric
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LAWRENCE BORNLawrence has a BA Hons in Industrial Design from Exeter, followedby a violin making course at Brighton. He has practised luthiery,(stringed instrument making) in his spare time since 1987, whilstpursuing a career in design and engineering but over the past fewyears has built a reputation and client base to the point where hisinterest has now become a full time vocation.
This means Lawrence can apply a little more creative thinking andpractical analysis to the art of musical instruments - and in particularelectric and acoustic double basses - the design and detail of whichhas been in a state of flux since the Renaissance.
‘Inside Of A Double Bass’©ArtistPhoto: Lawrence Born
Hand made string and electric basses combine the Arts and Crafts intheir most fundamental forms.
The work on display shows the evolution of a bass guitar from theinitial drawings through making of parts and ending with the finishedinstrument.
Independent crafts practitioners have long been part of the make upof Letchworth and I hope to continue that tradition.
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CLAUDE ‘ALLWEATHERS’ CLAREClaude has spent some time in Europe returning to Letchworth in2010 from a wonderful ten years travelling around Spain. His tripended at 'Camino de Santiago’, in the northwest of the country.
He has studied at University of Hertfordshire gaining a BA(hons)Fine Art and an MA Fine Art at Winchester, Barcelona.
‘One who kneels’Acrylic paint and oil pastel on canvas©ArtistPhoto: John Vincent
Endless milesEndless hoursThankless taskRoadsweeper general am IPicking up imagery as I goLetchworth many churches possessIntiutivelyInstinctivelyIntentlyI address.
'Allweathers ' Clare
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JANE GLYNNArtist, illustrator and educator Jane Glynn’s work exploresmemories, stories and time. She was awarded a fellowship with theDigswell Arts Trust in 2012 and works from their studios at theFenners Building in Letchworth, Hertfordshire.
She recently graduated with an MA in Children’s Book Illustrationfrom Cambridge School of Art and works across a wide range ofmedia, primarily making paintings, drawings, animations andbooks. Her first children’s book ‘My Sister Likes’ will be published inGermany by Carl-Auer Verlag in Autumn 2013.
She is passionate about education and about collaboration and runsart projects for children and adults of all ages and abilities.
‘Leap’Three hundred and sixty six books in a glass museum cabinet©ArtistPhoto: John Vincent
In the early 1900s, in the wake of the Arts and Crafts movement,Letchworth Garden City became home to a thriving commercial bookindustry; books had not yet been marginalised by the rise of computertechnology or even television but there was a desire to return topreindustrial ideals of craftsmanship and care in manufactured goodsincluding books and Letchworth became the base for many talentedbook artists and designers. One of these was Eleni Zompolides, who diedin 1958, the year I was born and the year Jack Kilby created the firstintegrated circuit for computers, consisting of a sliver of germanium withfive components linked by wires. As I was growing up books were takenfor granted as the place from which most ideas were disseminated butthat has changed; I’m not making any qualitative judgements about thatand I’m not here considering what will become of ‘books’. However I feelfriendly towards them and, partly because of their vulnerability, theyseem an appropriate medium to express time passing.
The three hundred and sixty six books shown here were made over oneyear, during which I began working at the Fenners Building. Each bookexists as a documentation of a moment of contemplation, as part of thewhole and as part of any number of sub-groups, including: chronological,visual and tactile. The contents of the books include: pictures, stories,patterns, descriptions of daily activities, as well as drawings from life andfrom memory. I have shown these books in different ways, usually withno casing so that they can ‘breathe’, and I have made stop motionanimations of the books. For this exhibition I borrowed a display casefrom the First Garden City Heritage Museum in order to present themtemporarily as a static piece of Letchworth history.
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CHRISTINE HARRISONChristine initially trained in graphic design but her focus is nowpredominantly painting and printmaking – drawing inspiration fromnature and the interior states of memory, connection and response.
She thrives on variety and versatility of response and this is reflectedin her use of a wide range of media – acrylic, oils, pastel, collage,watercolour, printmaking and mosaic. Her work includes still life,figurative, portrait, landscape and abstract pieces. She was awardeda Fellowship with the Digswell Arts trust in 2012.
‘Windows’Giclee print from original monotype series©ArtistPhoto: Christine Harrison
I started researching my work for Timeline by cycling aroundLetchworth and looking at the early Garden City houses. Theproportions and lines of the architecture started to charm me and so Imade small monotype prints to reflect this. Often when I am lookingat a subject another comes to the fore; in this case it was the windows- and more specifically, the reflections in the windows.
The second monotype series is from my memory of the reflections Isaw at different times. The third set of prints are glimpses from thegardens and green spaces of Letchworth which were a constantbackdrop.
I enjoyed thinking about time, the passing of time and the sense ofbeing part of Letchworth’s history as it is being written. At first sightthe buildings seem to be the more permanent or lasting thingsrepresented here; but then many trees are far older than the buildingsand also have within themselves the seeds of their owncontinuancedown through the ages. Similarly, the fleeting memoryof reflections in glass may seem very transient, but the human desireto express and give form to such glimpses of light and colour stretchesa long way back in time.
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LAUREN AVERY HUTTONPainting allows Lauren to explore various concepts of colour, varyingtextures and brushwork to best depict her vision. Beyond thecomposition of the painting, her main focus is colour… saturating,sensual, vibrant, intoxicating. Her application of colour is firstlyexpressive, and secondly theoretical. She is always observing andthinking about light; painting with colours to uplift and give energy.
Lauren starts with a pre-conceived idea and lets the colours of thepigment develop instinctively. While she paints for herself, she alsohopes that some of her paintings will be psychologically upliftingand environmentally enhancing to the viewer as well.
Lauren graduated from Skidmore College in the U.S. with a B.S. inArt. She is currently painting landscapes (also people as landscape)mostly in oil, but continues to paint in acrylic, as well as watercolourdepending on the composition.
‘Chris-Teas Tea Room’ (detail)Oil on canvas©ArtistPhoto: John Vincent
I chose to paint this image for a number of reasons.
Digswell Arts Trust / Fenners is a near neighbour of Chris-Teas TeaRoom, which perpetuates a quintessentially British tradition.
Tea Rooms in early Letchworth would have been similar. I researchedArts and Crafts patterns and colours to paint on the china, asLetchworth has an important place in the Arts and Crafts period.
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ABU JAFAR ARBSAbu Jafar is an acclaimed leading International Artist andPhilosopher of the Arts born on March 21, 1968 in a small villagecalled Jhilna, Patuakhali, Bangladesh. Since 1991 he lives and worksin United Kingdom. He studied fine art painting and drawing at theInstitute of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh 1984/89,Master Drawing of the human figure at the Guildhall University,London 1989/90, Art and Art History at the Goldsmith’s College,University of London 1991/92 and Philosophy of Arts at the OpenUniversity, 1997 UK. In 2007 he became an Associates Member ofthe Royal British Society of Sculptors and in 2011 he became a Fellowof the Digswell Arts Trust, UK.
Taking his inspiration from psychology, philosophy, classical music aswell as day-to-day human existence by producing art that is far fromtraditional, he is actively attempting to shatter staid ideas of the pastregarding art; his art is the synthesis of colour, element andpresentation twisted into unusual form. Most of his large scaleinstallations involve nature, public and the environment. His worksimplifies our daily lives and the diversity of mankind in hisimaginative notion in a way that reflects imaginative power and everchanging creative forces of new formative arts.
‘Journey’ (detail)Drawing on glass© Artist/DACSPhoto: John Vincent
35 different shapes of round glass objects with engraved drawings ofLetchworth past and present including 110 dots and an old map ofLetchworth. It is an impression like walking through a memory lane,discovering an unknown past, taking a moment to look back and exploreLetchworth Garden City which began only 110 years ago. Letchworth isthe world’s first Garden City, created as a solution to the squalor andpoverty of urban life in Britain in the late 19th Century, based on the ideasof Ebenezer Howard as published in his book of 1898 “Tomorrow: APeaceful Path to Real Reform”. Letchworth Garden City inspired townplanning across the globe.
5,500 acres of land.first roundabout, ‘Sollershott Circus’.approximately 33,600 peoplestwinned - Wissen, Germany
Chagney, France,Kristiansand, Norway.
13.6 mile path Garden City Greenway.black squirrelPix Brook.14 schools - over 5,500 pupils.
This sculpture turns history in to contemporary art that reflects ourjourney which never ends.
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LOUISE LAHIVELouise’s paintings are a result of observation, ritual andcontemplation. Before beginning to paint she is interested in hersurroundings, what can be seen from the window, patterns shefinds, people she meets.
Louise finds the simplest objects work well to achieve the mostcomplex observations. The overlooked can become extraordinary.She works mainly with oil on canvas and builds up images with layersof paint over a period of time.
She loves that art can lend quietude and a space for a kind ofcontemplation separate from the everyday world.
Louise graduated from Kingston University in 1999 with a BA honorsin fine art painting. She has exhibited both in the USA and London.
‘Space Between Trees’Oil on board©ArtistPhoto: Christine Harrison
The idea of town and country together, striving to incorporate natureinto our capitalist lifestyle is such a beautifully generous venture onbehalf of working people.
The reality of life in Letchworth and Welwyn may not be, or may neverhave been, true to Ebenezer Howard’s vision, but we are left withthese beautiful parks and tree-lined avenues which were made forLetchworthians to walk down; these places alone have a substantialeffect on people’s everyday lives be it conscious or not.
My piece ‘Space Between Trees’ began with thinking simply about thespace between trees, planned as methodically as the spaces betweenbuildings. The road of flowers reflects the philosophy of town andcountry that merged to create Letchworth, not a town, not a modernsuburban sprawl but a unique echo of socialist philosophy, miles fromour present individualistic culture.
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LIZZY LANELizzy studied art for four years at a college in Cornwall, beforemoving to Hertfordshire to study a BA Hons in applied and media art,leading to an MA.
Her sculptures are formed around a basic framework of galvanisedsteel wire. Various gauges of enamelled copper wire are applied.Copper wire is a flexible and versatile medium, allowing colour,texture and pattern to be added. The wire is manipulated throughknitting, crotchet, coiling or weaving techniques to apply moreintricate detail.
In contrast to the wire; beadwork, copper sheet and aluminium maybe used to further emphasise areas, adding more intricacy or tosolidify an area.
The pieces are constructed by hand using pliers only. Knittingneedles or crotchet needles are used for specific techniques. No glueor solder is used, with all materials joined by the wire itself.
‘Bee’
© ArtistPhoto: Lizzy Lane
Insects have always been a source of respect, curiosity and fascinationfor me. The colours, patterns and transformations they undergo addto their unique beauty. Their defence or attack mechanisms arestrong abilities in relation to their tiny structures, yet due to their sizeall their unique qualities are often overlooked.
Due to my fascination with wildlife I was drawn to Norton Common,which is only a short walk away from the Fenners building. NortonCommon is a nature reserve of beautiful surroundings providing apeaceful escape from the busy life of the town and roads nearby.
The reserve has always been a part of Letchworth in some form,though always as a home for the busy lifestyle of much smallerinhabitants. During the 1800’s the land suffered some changes to theusage causing vegetation and insects to decline. One type of insectincluded in this event was the bee.
Bees are found all over Britain and they are never far away from us;they are an important part of our planet’s eco system. Once a queenhas found a suitable nesting site, she will rarely travel much furtherthan 3 metres approximately for a new site to nest, however, if thearea surrounding has suffered and it is not suitable this will force herto venture further. The site was taken over by Letchworth UrbanDistrict Council in 1922, and due to the preservation and care of thesite to how it is today, the species that once disappeared are nowapproving the reserve and making it their home again.
Wirework, beadwork, resin and copper.
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MINDFUL ARTS(Gill Lock & Sue Morter)
Mindful Arts is a social enterprise, whose aim is to promotepsychological health, personal and social development.
Gill Lock is a Health and Care Professions Council registered ArtPsychotherapist who has wide experience of delivering Art Therapy andMindfulness sessions for the NHS, both in the Mental Health service andthe Learning Disabilities service. She also works in private practice and isa British Association of Art Therapists approved private practitioner andsupervisor. She has taught and practiced Mindfulness meditation for thepast fifteen years.
Her meditation practice stems from the Buddhist tradition, beginningwith Vipassana meditation, where she participated in 6 10-daymeditation retreats, to establish a firm grounding in the practice. Whenthe opportunity to study mindfulness and use this practice within theNHS arose, Gill undertook this 8 week training (Mindfulness Based StressReduction) followed by a 6 day Teacher Development Retreat, run by theCentre for Mindfulness Research and Practice, Bangor University.
Sue Morter is an Art Psychotherapist who is registered by the HealthProfessionals Council and the British Association of Art Therapists as aprivate practitioner and clinical supervisor.
She has an extensive background working within the NHS for 35 yearswithin Mental Health and Learning Disabilities services for adults. Aspart of this role, she managed two teams of arts therapists for 10 yearsprior to leaving the NHS in 2010. Through her wide experience, she hasdeveloped advanced skills in facilitating Art Therapy sessions forindividuals and groups. Her approach enables the art-making process tobe explored within a psychodynamic framework.
‘When The Heart Is Cut Or Cracked Or Broken’Acrylic on canvas©ArtistPhoto: Christine Harrison
‘When the heart is cut or cracked or broken’, a poem from ‘The PrayerTree’ by Michael Leunig, inspired this piece, which expresses some ofthe pain/madness that people struggle to contain when love is lost.
This piece along with its companion, not shown here, from MindfulArts, represent Art from the Asylum, specifically Fairfield Hospital onthe Arlesey/Stotfold border, where Art Therapy would have providedsome relief from the personal struggles of the people held there. Thispainting represents the madness, while the other the containment ofthe institution.
Within this image metaphors for distress can be seen; the two rabbitsrepresent the difficulty of relating, while the bird putting its headinside the open heart conjures openness to emotional pain. TheRussian dolls depict layers of encasement.
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SALVIA OFFICINALISSalvia Officinalis is the artist name of Letchworth resident MarvaCossey who is an artisan designer with over 30 years of experienceproducing a range of handcrafted pieces.
She enjoys producing work that is adorned (jewellery), worn orhome comforts (e.g. throws made from African fabrics, cushions,crochet).
UntitledHead dress (Gatsby inspired), wire wrapped crucifix, cuffbracelet©ArtistPhoto: Christine Harrison
As an Artist I have cultivated an interest in the Arts and Crafts era ofthe late nineteenth century in particular William Morris possibly themost influential thinker of the period.
I enjoy making things with my hands and using as little or nomachinery in the production, creating original 'one off' products.
In this exhibition I will include a range of handcrafted jewellery madefrom gold and silver plated wire with findings and semi-preciousgems. As a reference to later works produced at the Spirella buildingin the town the display will also include corsetry work using wires andfabrics.
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Laurie is a local artist who has lived in Letchworth all his life. Hespecializes in acrylic paintings and his favourite themes are fantasy,sci fi, and nature.
He has worked hard to be an artist on account of his autism, andhopes that people like his work as much as he does.
‘The Three Magnets’Acrylic on canvas©ArtistPhoto: Christin Harrison
The Magnets was the idea that combined the natural look and feel ofthe countryside, with the urban, working, feel of the town to makethe world's first garden city. It was meant as a haven for only the hardworking men and their families.
LAURIE SPROSTON
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JOHN VINCENTJohn’s work explores narrative and in each painting the scene is of amoment in time that conversely lends itself, in part, to the ‘film still’.
The process he uses is to blend photographic or video fragments andmeld these together to form a cohesive narrative expressed eitherthrough oil paint or analogue and digital video.
His subject is an exploration of the atmosphere generated by missingor hidden elements within the scene that convey a sense of mysteryand the impression that a significant event has already occurred (orthat is about to) which affects the visible persons and those that maybe hidden.
Whilst this often involves the concealment of the identities it is alsoachieved by the interaction of these figures with inanimate objectswithin the frame.
‘Brightcot Revisited’ (still)Video: 8m 6s©ArtistPhoto: John Vincent
This house, formerly known as ‘Brightcot’, is one of the oldest inLetchworth. Designed by architects Barry Parker and Raymond Unwinit is a cottage originally built for the Miss Wilkinsons (presumablysisters) one of whom was a secretary for the local suffragistmovement.
This video is a time travelling experience that seeks to discoverchanges to the house and grounds and begins with the position of anold gate bearing the house’s former name at the front of the house.
The video explores both the architecture, ideas of transformation andthe desire to travel through time and the futility of such an idea - andyet there I am, via video wizardry, back in 1909.
https://vimeo.com/68209986
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EWA WAWRZYNIAKEwa Wawrzyniak was born in Poland and trained in ceramics andglass at Middlesex Polytechnic and Surrey Institute of Art and Designin the UK. She completed her Master of Arts at the National Collegeof Art and Design in Dublin, Ireland, where her research explored thetechnical and expressive possibilities of sand casting glass.
Since 1999 she is a part–time Lecturer for Open Studies in Ceramics& Glass at University of Hertfordshire, UK. Since 2005 she is aregular Visiting Lecturer in the Faculty of Art & Design (Glass)University College for the Creative Arts, Farnham, UK.
Ewa has done numerous exhibitions in the UK and abroad. Her workis widely collected by museums and galleries including BroadfieldHouse Glass Museum, Kingswinford, UK, North Lands CreativeGlass, Lybster, Scotland, UK and BWA Ksiaz, Poland and manyprivate collections in UK, Ireland, and USA.
Her commissioned works include Arts & Business East Awards andArt & Business South East Awards 2007 UK, Downs SyndromeIreland, Forfas Innovation Awards, Ireland Royal Bank of Scotland,Dublin, Ireland and various private commissions in UK. and abroad.
‘£150 Cottages - The Best Glass Cottages’Sand cast glass, ground and polished©ArtistPhoto: John Vincent
Cast glass sculptures and multi layered fused glass inspired byarchitecture of Arts and Crafts movement, with screen printedimages depicting architectural details, local landscape and gardens.
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MARTIN YOUNGMartin is an Austrian artist. Most of the time he works with oil paintsand charcoals on big canvases. He draws and paints human facesand bodies finding that it is very important to work out the eyes asthey represent the windows to the soul.
He finds the process of letting a painting grow, layer for layer,interesting - to give each painting the time it needs to develop andget alive - “It’s not just painting, it’s a ritual!”
Martin believes that a piece of art needs a kind of personal treatmentto get something like a personality. Every single painting is a newmission. Its not always fun. Its not a hobby. Its a passion. Art includesup and downs. There are always some kind of problems and oftensolutions. It needs that mix of care and risk and a good feeling forthe right timing.
He can find happiness up to ecstasy but also sadness and frustration.And sometimes when he has finished a piece of work there issatisfaction and salvation.
Martin likes the possibility to surprise himself, although this does notalways happen in a good way but when it does he finds this reallymotivating. There is hardly anything better than standing in front ofa finished painting or drawing and to feel proud.
‘Portrait Of William Morris’Charcoal on canvas©ArtistPhoto: Christine Harrison
I decided to draw William Morris because he was part of the Arts andCrafts movement whose philosophy was to show honesty to thematerial and to go back to craftsmanship. A philosophy which stilldeserves attention.
Next to oil, I enjoy working with charcoal because it allows me to be inthe moment and to produce in a fluent and fast style from start tofinish.
I am excited by the process of portraiture and the intimacy ofcapturing character.
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A Brief History...The Digswell Arts Trust was founded in 1957 by Henry Morris, the revolutionary educationalist,who was also a great enthusiast for the arts. Morris passionately believed in art for people, andmaintained that artists were vital for the well-being of society. Through his energy, dedicationand influence he established a Trust for emerging professional artists. Digswell House, the firsthome of the Trust, gave its name to the organisaton, and was a regency mansion with cottagesand outbuildings which provided artists’ accommodation, studios and workshops for theselected artists, who were designated “Fellows”.
Since then, Digswell has grown to be the largest studio provider in the East of England and stillfocuses on artists and maker/producers in the early phase of their careers. Via studios inLetchworth, Stevenage and Welwyn, the Trust provides studios for approximately fortyDigswell Fellows, who for three – five years’ experience a collaborative and supportingenvironment, the space to experiment and innovate within a creative community of otherFellows who are developing both their art practice as well as their commercial skills. At the endof their time at the Trust, Fellows have a solid basis on which to pursue their artistic careers.
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