A new arts initiative is bringing contemporary exhibitions, workshops and cultural events to Newquay 

ALMA Artspace CIC has been founded by Lucy Ward and Ingrid Pop following funding from Cornwall Council, Feast and Arts Council England. 

Lucy and Ingrid said: “We are two friends united by a love of art. We launched with a three-month residency in the old pavilion building in Mount Wise Car Park with a programme of exhibitions, events and workshops for the public and we received funding from Tresorys Kernow, an Arts Council initiative set up to get people back into Cornish town centres post-covid.  

“We were overwhelmed by the number of people who wanted to take part in our inclusive and accessible events.  

“Following on from this initial project, Newquay Orchard invited us to plan a year-long art project on their dynamic site and so ALMA Artspace at the Orchard began.  

For the first year of activity, we invited four professional artists based in Cornwall to each plan an exhibition, art workshop and collaborative artwork display, which would be free for the volunteers of Newquay Orchard and subsidised for the public to take part in.  

“The four artists, Ben Sanderson, Kitty Hillier, Hannah Waldron and Bridgette Ashton, all have very different creative practices but their work is connected by an interest in environment, sustainability, materials and landscape. The workshops were programmed seasonally (summer, autumn, winter, spring) and each artist considered the time of year when planning their creative activities.  

“The resulting exhibitions and workshops were a great success and we have welcomed an amazing range of people, many of whom have never attended an art workshop before.  

“As a result of a successful first year, Newquay Orchard have invited us to plan a second year of curated exhibitions and workshops which will commence in September.  

“Our future plan involves trying to find a permanent space in central Newquay to house our contemporary art activities but, for the time being, keep an eye out for more pop-up events taking place at various locations, alongside our ALMA Artspace at the Orchard project.”