Arts & Culture

Studio 11 is a small group of artists, who live or work in the Westcliff area of Southend. They create a range of work from paintings and sculpture, to jewellery and ceramics.

The idea for the co-operative came from Andrew Hall. He's the first to admit he is not a businessman, and after running the gallery solo for four years, the business folded.

"I realised the strengths of the place was about involving the community," Andrew says.

The artists exhibit for 3 weeks a year

Andrew is a well-known face amongst artists in the area, having live and worked there for a number of years. When he mooted the idea to a number of artists he was surprised by the positive response he received.

"It all happened fairly quickly - over the last two or three weeks of October. I was frantically calling and speaking to everybody who I thought might be interested," explains Andrew.

"I was surprised how quickly people came round, and liked the idea. As an individual it's not costing anyone a fortune. Whereas when I was running it on my own it was a lot of money."

The day-to-day running of the gallery is down to Andrew - he runs classes four days a week. Most of the artists have 'other' jobs.

Studio 11 is stronger as a collective

Andrew believes there are a number of benefits of working as a collective. The mix of different artists brings fresh ideas to the gallery. 

There are future plans to develop the workshop area with a series of weekend lectures and demonstrations where all the members can bring their particular skills to the fore.

Andrew hopes that by establishing themselves within the community now, when the economy recovers, Studio 11 will be seen as a strong centre for the arts in the area.

Get arty

The Westcliff Art Trail is good opportunity for Studio 11 to put itself on the map.

"For a lot of the general public this is the launch for us. This will be the first they know of Studio 11," says Andrew.

Studio 11 artist, Ann Robson, has been involved since the early days of the trail when she was a student at university. It took a couple of years to get the trail off the ground, with the first one taking place in 2008.

The week-long trail follows both sides of Hamlet Court Road, along the London Road, down Milton Road, to the Beecroft Art Gallery, which is next door to Studio 11. Then along Station Road to where it meets with Hamlet Court Road.

Ann has been surprised at how receptive the shops were to displaying the artwork: "We went round them all when we were starting to match the artists to the venues. We felt it was very important that the artists went into suitable venues."

Ann is keen to remind people that the shops have given their spaces free of charge, and whilst they want everyone to get involved with the artwork, these are still working businesses.

There is something for everyone with more than 40 artists involved in this year's trail, with works ranging from abstract and landscapes to jewellery and sculptures. There are also workshops for adults to take part.

Ann hasn't been put off by all the hard work involved, despite having to juggle family commitments with her work at Studio 11 and getting the art trail up and running.

"It's been jolly hard work, but enormous fun," says Ann. "It's been a benefit to so many people who wouldn't normally have had a chance to show their work at any other time."