Hat Factory Arts Centre
Factory Associates announcement!
The Culture Trust are delighted to announce the latest round of Factory Associates as part of the Luton Matters programme.
Shantè Campbell and Tamara Nkrumah will be working with the support of the Trust in order to develop their practice whilst delivering a programme of work in response to the commission delivered by Priya Ramkissoon.
Luton Matters programme producer Sam Turton said ‘We welcome Shantè and Tamara to the Factory Associates programme. We are excited by the work they are bringing to the Trust and look forward to supporting them in their time as Associates.’
The Factory Associates programme is a part of the wider Luton Matters programme and is funded by The Steel Charitable Trust.
More about Shantè and Tamara:
Shantè is an up-and-coming artistic director who works primarily in the mediums of theatre and film and also curates Exhibitions and Art programs that are geared towards minority communities. She is a proud Lutonian and single Mother which ignites her fire for change and accessibility - especially within the arts.
Tamara is a mixed media artist and has been creating art and filling sketchbooks for as long as she can remember. She has had the pleasure of delivering children's art workshops over the years. Art for her is about bold, expressive colours and storytelling, with this is mind my style is constantly meandering between distinct illustrations and abstract forms.
Luton Matters Art Commission announcement
Hat Factory Arts Centre
Across the last few months the team behind the Luton Matters programme have been working hard preparing the 2024 programme of commissions and associates.
We are excited to bring you an update on our progress and future opportunities that will be created in order to support the programme of work.
Read the full announcement here: https://hatdistrict.co.uk/news-events-hat-district-luton
Creative Industries Network launch
The Culture Trust has secured funding from Arts Council England to part-fund a three-year programme aimed at elevating Luton’s creative sector. Together with our funders and partners, we will provide accessible creative industry progression routes for young people as well as training and mentoring opportunities available to all of Luton’s bustling ecology of creative practitioners. With its home at the Hat District, the Creative Industries Network will offer a central hub for creatives of all disciplines. Below are just a few highlights of what’s coming, keep an eye out for further announcements coming soon:
Traineeships: We have just offered our first Creative Industries Trainee roles providing well paid, entry level experience to those wanting to start their career in the creative sector. This 9 month placement will offer a wide breadth of opportunities to get involved in, from programming to marketing and beyond. We will recruit for another post in early 2025!
Creative Industry Pioneers: Building on the original pilot programme of 2019/20, we are soon starting recruitment for the next cohort of your creative entrepreneurs for a 12 month programme of start-up incubation and support. Dedicated space, mentoring, advice are but a few perks which await the 2024/25 cohort!
Networking: staying connected is a daily bread to creatives - we will enable collaboration and knowledge exchange by facilitating regular, monthly networking events aimed at creative practitioners, bringing guest speakers, showcases and plenty of opportunities to connect with like-minded individuals.
Creative Directory: too often connecting with local talent is tough - everyone has social media accounts creating a needle-in-the-haystack situation. We have got this - launching soon is the Creative Industries Directory: your one-stop-shop for anything and anyone creative in Luton. Available to all Luton business and creatives, it will help businesses to connect with creatives and elevate our town’s talent.
… and that’s not even the half of it!
Stay in touch and keep an eye out for further announcements coming soon.
Clore Leadership joins the Hat District Creative Cluster
As it celebrates its 21st year, Clore Leadership charts a new phase in its evolution as it moves its headquarters office to Hat House, part of The Culture Trust Luton’s Hat District creative industry cluster, this Summer.
The move will enhance Clore Leadership’s vision for a society enriched by arts, culture, and creativity, affording the opportunity to join Luton’s vibrant creative industries cluster and deepen relationships with arts and cultural organisations across the UK from a new base outside of London.
The relocation is part of Arts Council England’s Transfer Programme, designed to increase the spread of National Portfolio Organisations and Investment Principles Support Organisations across the Country.
Clore Leadership will retain its valued links with Somerset House, its home for 21 years, by joining the dynamic Somerset House Exchange, one of London’s key cultural co-working spaces. It will also maintain a strong presence in the Tees Valley, where its place-based leadership programme is reaping valuable rewards and enhancing outcomes for cultural leaders.
Read the full announcement on the Clore’s website here.
The Culture Trust are delighted to announce that we’ve been awarded a share of a new £5 million fund from @ArchHFundEng and @HeritageFundUK. This funding will pave the way for us to expand the Hat District creating a valuable range of new spaces for creative and community uses.
Looking for new creative co-working space in central Luton?
Aaron Spendelow (left) and Oz Azubuine (right), two of our first Hat District Creative Pioneers now working at Hat Works, Luton. Image: mubsta.com
Be among creatives in our new, affordable workspace at Hat Works. Develop your business, idea, service or product in The Hat District, Luton’s vibrant cultural quarter, brimming with hat making heritage.
Book light, airy new spaces in the carefully restored Hat Works, believed to be Luton’s oldest hat factory at 47 Guildford Street, LU1 2NJ.
Read more about our new Hat Works creative workspaces and how to apply below.
Welcome to Hat Works at 47 Guildford Street, The Hat District, Just 2 minutes walk from Luton’s main bus and train stations.
Image: mubsta.com
Hat Works creative workspace
Hat Works is a refurbished workspace for creative businesses looking for affordable hot desks in The Hat District, central Luton. This newly designed co-working space is ideal for micro-businesses, graduates and entrepreneurs to develop their creative ideas, services or products.
Set within a stunning former hat factory, 2 minutes from Luton’s central bus and railway stations, Hat Works offers a charity-led home for creative industries to grow their business for future success. Hat Works offers 65 designated and bookable workspaces with three levels of membership from just £5 a day. Spaces are flexible and limited to the creative industries.
Hat Works membership benefits
Hat Works is in the cultural heart of Luton, the Hat District with The Hat Factory Arts Centre, pubs, clubs, cafes and restaurants all on your doorstop. Just 2 minutes’ walk from Luton’s main bus and train stations. Start your new creative journey in Luton’s oldest hat factory at 47 Guildford Street.
Access to book workspaces with a choice of three levels of membership: Social, Workshop and Studio starting from just £5 a day
Welcoming staff in an impressive visitor reception/retail area with opportunities to sell, exhibit and promote your idea, product or service
Serviced office space, super-fast broadband, an online booking system and a separate meeting room
Use of a vibrant member-only social area with kitchen, dining and comfy work area
Priority booking onto network events plus access to mentoring, training and funding
Access to the wider Hat District creative community at the Hat Factory arts centre, Storefront gallery and Hat House (opposite) creative industry space
A warm welcome from Daisy at Hat Works.
Image: mubsta.com
How to apply
We’re delighted you’re thinking about joining our creative community in the Hat District by becoming a member of Hat Works.
As well as access to the brand new workspace, you’ll be part of a creative community with like-minded entrepreneurs, graduates and start-ups.
We value the input of members in our creative community in the Hat District and we’d love to find more about you, your ideas and creative ambitions.
Once you’ve competed our membership application form, the Hat Works membership panel will assess whether Hat Works is the right place for you to grow your business.
The questions on the form will help you demonstrate why Hat Works is the right space for you. Additionally, the panel will be assessing:
Does the idea or micro-business fit into one of the 12 Creative Industries we’ve defined below (see grid)
Is it clear from the application that the Member will add to the cultural and creative community of the workspace?
Will the Member regularly be using the space and making the most of the Hat Works and Hat District offer?
Will the Member reflect and embrace our PRIDE values - Passionate, Relevant, Inspiring, Distinctive and Ethical?
The Membership Panel will assess applications on a weekly basis. Please allow at least 7 days for your application to be processed.
To apply to become a member of Hat Works, click apply below.
Our spaces
Our Future in HD
The Hat District Future-scape is a co-authored paper setting out a vision, principles and project ideas for this area. The creative and curatorial team hope that this paper will ignite discussion, debate and positivity about what could be in our Town Centre. It’s bold and unashamedly utopian.
The Hat District Future-scape co-authors are:
Justin Doherty - Filmmaker, proprietor of The Bear Club and heritage property owner
Nick Gibson - Independent Artisan trader/producer, Chair of the Culture Trust
Marie Kirbyshaw – Curator, Artist and Culture Trust Chief Executive
Geoff Mulgan - Cultural planner, local resident, Chief Exec of NESTA
Anita Nadkarni - Architect and Urban designer, Hat Factory refurb architect
Hedley Roberts - Artist and Head of Art School, University of Bedfordshire
Matthew Shaul – Director of Departure Lounge and Storefront Gallery Curator
You can download the Hat District Future-scape 2020 here.
All images used are for illustrative purposes only.
We hope you reference this paper and in doing so acknowledge creative sources.
For high resolution images please contact hatdistrict@lutonculture.com
‘ Promise’ By Mark Titchner and Jonathan Barnbrook
