Artist-led project space The Penthouse is hoping to raise £2000 to replace equipment stolen during a robbery in June. The burglars got away with all of the organisation’s electrical kit, including cameras, TVs, DVD players, iPods, a laptop, a circular saw and other tools. All the equipment was shared and available to be used by visiting artists. None of it was insured against theft.
“We’re still trying to come to terms with it, we’re still picking up the pieces,” says artist and Penthouse co-founder Debbie Sharp. “We did try and do a fundraising curry night, but we just didn’t get enough people interested for us to make money and not be out of pocket. That’s why we’ve set up the donation page now instead.”
Based on the top floor of Hilton House, a 1960s modernist office block in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, The Penthouse opened in 2012 and was founded by Sharp and fellow artist Rosanne Robertson. They describe it as ‘a place for making, doing, sharing and showing’.
As well as events and exhibitions, The Penthouse – which features in the Artist-led Hot 100 published in a-n’s Signpost guide – runs a residency programme. The hope is that some of the stolen equipment will have been replaced before the next residency starts in September.
“The current artist in residence is working on a dance performance and luckily she doesn’t need much equipment,” explains Sharp. “It would be great to have got some stuff replaced and be able to work as a functioning space again in time for the next residency.”
The importance of being insured
Both Sharp and Robertson, who are a-n/AIR subscribers, stress that the biggest lesson they’ve learnt from the break-in is the importance of insurance. “It’s hard being an artist and not having much money, and you tend not to think about things like insurance – or you think, we’ll do it tomorrow,” says Sharp.
“Because the equipment was built up over years, getting bits here and there, you can think that you don’t really have much to insure. But when you’re setting up artist project spaces that are open and visible to the public, people kind of know what you have got and when you’re there – particularly when you’re also putting it out to the world on your website.”
Despite this major setback for The Penthouse, the pair remain committed to the project – and to the building that the space, which they are renting on a five-year lease, is based in.
“It isn’t to everyone’s taste – but we like it!” says Robertson. “It was built in 1961 and designed by Richard Seifert, who also designed Centre Point in London. We were attracted to it because of the amazing original features, such as the intact (empty) ornamental pond and garden, which we now use for site-specific residencies, and the spiral staircase, tiling and panelling.
“It’s also rough enough around the edges to be a hands-on art studio. There are a lot of great things about the place – but the crime levels are not one of them!”
To donate to The Penthouse fund, visit www.gofundme.com/3tzxr0
For more information about The Penthouse, visit thepenthousenq.com
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