Former department store given new life as £3.2m arts centre

Richard Youle, Local Democracy Reporter

A former department store which stood empty for years has been given a new lease of life as an arts centre.

The old JT Morgan building in Belle Vue Way, Swansea, has 63 artist studios, a gallery, cafe, education space, and a function room available for bookings.

The project was taken forward by city-based social enterprise Elysium Gallery and Studios and was done on time and budget, said its founder and director of business development Dan Staveley.

Artists moved from their previous base in Orchard Street while Elysium’s music venue in High Street is under new management and now called Down By Here.

Asked what it felt like to be in the newly-converted headquarters Mr Staveley said: “Most of the time I can’t believe it’s happened – it’s amazing. It’s so nice to have a purpose-built venue.”

He said the basement, first-, and second-floor studios were all occupied and that there was a waiting list. This element of the project was completed first. The gallery and cafe followed and welcomed more than 400 guests when they opened in June.

Gallery exhibitions change every six weeks and are a mix of national, international, and student residency displays.

Mr Staveley said the gallery was one of five Swansea venues chosen to host the touring British Art Show – held every five years – next February. The event is expected to boost footfall in the city.

Talia Giles, a design crafts student at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD), has her workshop in one of the studios. She said it was nice to be around other artists.

“You never walk past anyone without someone saying ‘hello’,” she said. “And there’s always activity.”

Talia said moving into the studio had been a big moment. “I thought: ‘This is something that can actually happen’,” she said, referring to working as an artist. “It’s a strange feeling.”

The 26-year-old’s university course comprises silversmithing, ceramics, and glass. She said: “My preference unexpectedly is glass – it’s just so interesting.” She’d previously specialised in painting in a one-year foundation course.

Talia said some artists were making a living from their work whereas for others it was more their passion or escape. Asked why art was important she replied: “I think it’s just an intrinsic part of being human. We’ve been making it since the dawn of time.”

Tim Kelly has a studio at the building and is also a non-operational Elysium director.

“I’m a mark-maker, which involves using pens, pencils, and paints, and have been with Elysium for 13 years,” he said. “I think right now the arts scene in Swansea is in the strongest position it’s been in for a very long time.”

He praised the city’s Glynn Vivian and Mission galleries and UWTSD for their promotion of arts over the years. “People who trained in this city want to stay here and work,” he said.

Elysium’s gallery and cafe is open on Wednesday to Saturday from 11am to 5pm and the enterprise has retained a further 26 artist studios in College Street and Mansel Street.

Converting the former JT Morgan store, which closed in 2008, has cost £3.2m with the Architectural Heritage Fund, Arts Council of Wales, Welsh Government’s Transforming Town scheme, and former UK Government Shared Prosperity Fund backing the project.

Feasibility study

Mr Staveley said Elysium put in around £25,000 for a feasibility study and a community share offer raised just over £32,000. He thanked contractors Hopgrove Construction Ltd, of Abergavenny, and Swansea-based Bay Quantity Surveyors for their work.

Mr Staveley, who said he was adding a community dark room to the building, gave up a photography lecturing role at UWTSD’s Coleg Sir Gar campus to concentrate on Elysium’s new headquarters, which also has a Changing Places toilet.

“The atmosphere here is family-friendly, relaxed, and the response of the studio tenants has been amazing,” he said.

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