Landlord of Secret Garden Studios, Newark, hunts for creative new tenants

The landlord of a hidden art space in Newark town centre is appealing for more creatives to come and use it.

David Jordan opened the Secret Garden Studios at 6 Stodman Street back in 2019.

The space behind Gallery 6 is currently home to artist Liz Goulding and ceramicist Michelle Maloney who offer weekly classes to small groups.

However, they will both be leaving soon to start new ventures, leaving David with an empty studio.

He is now looking for new people to make use of his space, which includes a large upstairs studio, several rooms downstairs and an outdoor area.

He said: "The concept is to have individual work space for up to four artists/artisans, but who also work in collaboration with each other should the opportunity arise.

"The space, ideally suited to those with artistic talent, is conducive to furthering that creative passion and being around likeminded people."

The building had previously been used by a variety of talents, including an author and calligraphist.

"I want to just get interest from other people who are creative, different people who might want to come and talk to me and have a look at the space," David said.

"I think it's good being in town as well because there's a lot of people who could just walk here.

"With there being small numbers, up to six, there's an opportunity for it to be quite intimate and a lot more hands on."

Liz has been teaching budding artists for 14 years and offers developmental classes and one-to-one workshops.

She has been at the Secret Garden Studios for four years and originally started classes in Gallery 6 next door.

"It's been a very special place for a lot of people," Liz said.

"It's an escape, that's what painting is to me. When life goes wrong, at least there's painting."

"There are a lot of creative people in Newark that could use the space. It's just a lovely lovely space to work in, it's amazing."

To try and encourage creatives to move into the studios, David will not be asking for a deposit. Those interested will only need to pay their licence fee monthly in advance.

For more information, contact dhjupton@aol.com