Pop-up shops and studio spaces

Pop-up shops; the perfect solution

Pop-up shops, are the result of a really positive government initiative based on creative problem solving – you don’t hear that often! I love this scheme as it is a real good news story.

If pop-up shops are the solution, what’s the problem?

Empty shops are a depressing blight on towns and communities, leading to a downward spiral for high streets, and they cost landlords a lot of money as they still pay 100% rates on empty buildings. The empty properties range from entire city centre office blocks, and whole shopping centres, well known ex-department stores, warehouses and fire stations to tiny corner shops. 

Meanwhile most artists have little money and struggle to create work alone in kitchens and sheds.

And the solution is…?

The “Business Rates Mitigation Scheme”. 

The Business Rates Mitigation Scheme is legislation brought in by the British Government to support landlords and help improve high streets. The landlords with empty properties in their portfolios benefit because they get rates relief if they sign up to the scheme. 

The scheme benefits Artists who can create studio space in empty commercial premises at very low rent.

Charitable use benefits Artists

For artists the relevant aspect of the rate mitigation scheme is ‘Charitable Use’. The scheme encourages landlords to collaborate with charities to enable empty properties to be used for charitable purposes.

Needless to say, big commercial landlords do not deal directly with artists – they contract with:

1. Commercial Property Management Agents, who liaise with:

2. Charitable Organisations, in our case SKIPPKO Arts Team, who work on the ground with:

3. Local Artists wanting creative spaces

How does it work?

Some of the rate relief the landlords gain from the scheme is passed on to the property management agents, and then to the charities they liaise with. This means the Charities benefit from some unrestricted income in return for making sure the spaces are available and used appropriately by local artists. In this way the landlords comply with the charitable conditions of the scheme and the artists get some great spaces to use for their creative work and projects.

The charity gains extra income which helps support the community arts programmes they run, and keeping them free of charge for participants.

So, the Rates Mitigation Scheme means everybody wins.

Skippko

Skippko is a community arts charity based in Leeds. The project they run in the empty commercial properties is called Blank Canvas.  I have been involved with Skippko since its inception in 1988, when I founded it with my colleague Tamsin Spain, and I am now on the board of the charity.

Skippko employs dedicated staff to manage the Blank Canvas scheme, with buildings all over the north, from Northallerton to Harrogate, York, Huddersfield, Leeds and Hull. Staff work closely with local artists and educational organisations, matching their specific needs with empty studio spaces, and making sure the legal and safety aspects are all covered. This means the buildings are always used appropriately, by and for artists. Over the years Skippko has been running Blank Canvas hundreds of artists have benefitted from studio spaces, rehearsal rooms, exhibition venues and community arts spaces.

Temporary opportunities focus the mind

Integral to the scheme is the temporary nature of arrangements, (hence ‘pop-ups’) if a commercial tenant wants the space the artists must clear out, sometimes at very short notice. This could be seen as a disadvantage, but it keeps things light and dynamic. Us pop-up creators leap at the chance of creative space, and rather than fretting about the lack of permanence we make the most of the precious opportunity and don’t waste any time. Having said that, some empty properties are used as pop-ups for years, others last only a few days. Either way it is a unique opportunity for artists to have space and the chance to work together, engaging with the local community and civic life.

Call in and have a chat

If you are in town, don’t just walk past a pop-up shop; go in and say hello! You will find interesting committed artists doing new creative work together. Conversations and collaborations start in these exciting marginal temporary spaces.

Festival of Print

I am currently involved with a pop-up shop in Petergate in the middle of York; York Printmakers will be ‘at home’ in the pop-up shop at 22 Petergate in York until 20^th July.

Hosted at 22 High Petergate, very close to York Minster, this unique event showcases the diverse talents of most of our 40 members through a curated exhibition of original prints — from linocut and etching to screen-print and collagraph. Visitors will also be able to explore the stories and processes behind each piece, meet the makers and see live printmaking demonstrations every weekend for 8 weeks.

This year’s Festival is more than an exhibition. It’s an invitation: to discover, to ask questions, and to support local artists keeping traditional and contemporary printmaking alive. 

The first Festival of Print coincides with York Printmakers 10^th anniversary; we are celebrating 10 years of contemporary printmaking in York, and inviting everyone to drop in and share the celebrations.

Whether you’re a seasoned collector, a curious creative, or just looking for something inspiring to do in York — come along and experience the energy of print first hand.

After the opening weekend with a whole group exhibition there will be four exhibitions each lasting two weeks and featuring six different printmakers. These will include demonstrations and workshops – see the details below.

Demos / workshops