September 2016

As part of the Make Lewes Festival, I attended the Kinship III design and make workshop where we were tasked with transforming the derelict Turkish Baths into a temporary makers workshop, art space and exhibition space for the festival. The workshop was hosted by William Hardie, from Studio Hardie and the project lasted a week-long and included a team of 18 collaborators.

Having seen the Turkish baths standing empty for years the Lewes community was by from the community were immediately interested as the makers’ factory was creating itself from the inside out, and many could not resist the temptation to contribute which we encouraged with open doors and creative invitations. The spaces we inhabited developed progressively through the week, becoming a piece of evolutionary art and architecture due to the flow of ideas and synergy from the group and interactions with the public. The Turkish Baths had become alive again, filled with ideas for the future reuse of the building and other spaces in the town.

All in all, a fun and productive week was had filled with hard work, creativity and collaboration.