ITV1 Filming "No Place Like Home" at Waygood

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Originally uploaded by caitlinread

Waygood's redevelopment on High Bridge was a backdrop for ITV1's filming of "No Place Like Home" today.

The TV reality series followed curator and artist Alan Bowman who worked with Waygood last May on the Fluxus Shoreline event.

It follows Alan and his family as they decide whether to return to the UK after 10 years in Italy. The programme looks at the options the Bowman's have to live and work in their native Newcastle.

Alan chatted with Waygood Creative Director Helen Smith as he helped to install the latest exhibition in Waygood Art Boutique and they walked round the building work on the Wards warehouses to see where Alan may work when Waygood re-opens on High Bridge.

No Place Like Home featuring Alan Bowman is scheduled to be broadcast in the New Year on ITV1. We will let you know when we know the screening date.

Visit to Waygood's High Bridge site by British Council's international young entrepreneurs

Visit to Waygood's High Bridge site by British Council's international young entrepreneurs
Originally uploaded by caitlinread

On Wednesday we hosted a visit through the British Council of international young arts entrepreneurs to our High Bridge site.

As the old internal stairs have been removed we had to climb up the outside of the building on stairs made from the scaffolding!

Today the builders have begun installing the new stairs within the building.

I have also learnt to update this blog, by sending the photo straight from my mobile phone by email via flickr!

Photos of Waygood's redevelopment can be seen in the windows of 31 High Bridge

The screens in the left hand window of Waygood at 31 High Bridge show photographs taken by Katy Merrington, of the redevelopment work taking place on the former Wards Warehouse. Katy Merrington and Debbie Bower are mentees of William Raban documenting the changes to Waygood’s building.

William Raban is a London-based filmmaker and a leading figure in his field. His particular interests lie in cities and the British landscape and he has been described as ‘one of the finest exponents of the genre known as ‘Avant-Garde Landscape’ film’. His work ranges from multi screen gallery pieces to perfectly crafted short films. Waygood has commissioned William Raban, to create a film that will capture this architectural transformation and provide a fascinating document to one of Newcastle’s most exciting regeneration projects.

Whilst the redevelopment continues on the warehouses behind, Waygood Art Boutique, a small selling gallery offering contemporary art by artists associated with Waygood, is open at 31 High Bridge, Newcastle between 12noon and 5pm Wednesdays - Saturdays.

Victorian Well Found in Waygood courtyard

Well & Digger CR
Originally uploaded by caitlinread

Builders from Rok clearing the courtyard between the two sections of the Ward's warehouses made an unexpected discovery last week, when they uncovered a circle of bricks, capped with concrete.

Uncapped under the supervision of an archeologist the discovery turned out to be a well dating from Victorian times, filled with rubble for the first 6 metres and clay beneath. It is located in the area where the original 'High Bridge' crossed a small river or burn in the medieval heart of Newcastle.

The well shaft is currently being cleared out and will eventually have to be filled in to support the weight of the Piling machine, being delivered shortly, so create the concrete foundations. The area in question will become the base of the scissor staircase in Waygood's redevelopment to create a new city centre cultural venue.

Waygood’s Crane a feature on Newcastle’s Skyline

Waygood’s crane was installed on the May Bank Holiday Weekend in the car park next to our redevelopment of the former Wards Print Factory on High Bridge.

The crane is a Potain E10-14C, 30m high, with a 40m jib, and can lift a maximum of 4 tons, and is fully radio remote controlled.

It will be used by site contractors Rok to lift materials into the site and is especially needed as the historic lanes around High Bridge are too narrow for large deliveries. It will be a feature on the skyline until the end of the year.

(Photo John Jones)

Launch Waygood Art Boutique

On April 30th we launched Waygood Art Boutique, as a small shop selling contemporary art, it was a very lively launch event with drinks at the Duke of Wellington pub opposite.

An online portfolio of work by artists included within the Boutique can be seen at http://www.waygood.org/boutique.php

Creating Waygood Art Boutique

Work began transforming what had been the Little Jewel Cinema into Waygood Art Boutique. This was to be a small selling gallery and information office on High Bridge whilst the development continued on the warehouse behind. The shop front of 31 High Bridge was to be shared with the Rok site office.

(photo Topsy@waygood.org)

Redevelopment Announcement

On 27 February Waygood and Newcastle City Council appointed Rok building Limited as the
redevelopers of our building on High Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.

We held a press launch, attended by representatives from Rok, Cllr Maureen Allen, staff from Newcastle City Council and staff and board from Waygood.

Work will begin this spring to create a new city centre cultural venue comprising of Galleries, artists studios, a learning centre, café bar and club and office space.


Animation of the redevelopment by Paul Symth

The capital redevelopment programme has been generously supported by both national and regional funding sources including Tyne Wear partnership, via Single Programme Funding from ONE NorthEast, lottery arts funding through Arts Council England, part funded by the European Regional Development Fund, Newcastle City Council, Northern Rock Foundation, the Sir James Knott Trust and The Barbour Trust.