Adding new layers of reclaimed materials, texture, pattern, plants and colour, Morag Myerscough has created a vibrant, welcoming and joyful café and bar at the heart of the Bernie Grant Arts Centre. The first phase of a long-term, artist led refurbishment programme of this landmark arts centre in the heart of the Tottenham Green Conservation Area in Haringey.
With contributions from artists Yemi Awosile and Luke Morgan, the transformed spaces embody the venues commitment to promoting and supporting artists and connecting them in a direct conversation with local residents, audiences and visitors. (Luke Morgan has designed and made the dining tables with painted tops by Morag. Yemi has been working on the seating in the gallery area, to be installed shortly).
The Bernie Grant Arts Centre first opened to the public in Autumn 2007 and bears the name of Tottenham’s late legendary black MP Bernie Grant (1944–2000), whose vision for a fairer Britain and a fairer world inspired him to embark on creating the complex. Bernie was a huge supporter of the arts, recognising the critical role that they could play in tackling structural inequality and promoting positive social change. If they were to do so however, Bernie felt that the arts community and the arts establishment in particular, needed to be more reflective of the communities that they aimed to serve.
With its 20 creative workspaces and extensive rehearsal rooms the Bernie Grant Arts Centre is a real hothouse for creatives – supporting a wide range of diverse artists and creative industries living and working in Tottenham. However for many of these artists their work and their creative processes remain discrete, hidden from the public gaze and only made visible for relatively short periods of time in the venues state of the art theatre, gallery or outdoor spaces. The café redesign makes visible, familiar and tangible the artist’s creative processes at the very heart of the building.
from domusweb