The new studio in Mawhera Greymouth

The Regent Theatre is an Art Deco building in the centre of Mawhera Greymouth and now is home to a new textile studio. 

The history of this building is fascinating. Its fortunes have waxed and waned, and these days it houses two cinemas, the 800 seat auditorium and, upstairs behind the windows you can see in the photograph, a new textile space. This area was once offices and has been at various time a dance studio, an artist space and a small performance venue. We have started to set-up the textile studio in the larger of two rooms that we are renting and the smaller will be used for storage of the textile collection and a small research area. As the project progresses we will look at running workshops, exhibitions, and, unltimately, an artist residency. These pictures show the space as we begin to sort things out. There is much more to do but it is a start at least. 

It feels great to have a studio dedicated to textiles again. Greymouth does not have anything like this yet and I hope that it will be a success and people will come along to see the costumes and cloths, and to take part of workshops. Onwards and upwards!