BATH

ARTS

WORKSHOP

Bath Arts Workshop who started in 1970 was run in the style of the Arts Lab of Drury Lane, London.

Its policy was to involve the community in projects to break down barriers between "work / play / art / drama and social activity, to integrate all ages and types of people and to stimulate creativity on a collective as well as on an individual level".

It staged its first event in June 1970 and started the first "Other Festival" in 1971 during Bath Festival week. The second "Other Festival" was a ten day event with 20 hours of entertainment a day.

At this time the workshop had a full time but voluntary staff running projects all year round as well as the yearly festival when many temporary volunteers joined the team.

The Workshop started life in premises in Fountain Buildings, then moved to The Organ Factory where the daily communal meal was remembered as being an important social and life-giving event.

The weekly Co-Ord was held on a Tuesday, when major decision making took place.

The Workshop Shop opened in The Paragon (now The Paragon Winebar). It sold everything and anything, profits from which were put back into Workshop projects.A workshop member remembers jumble as being a very important commodity at this time, the race was on to see who could get to it first.

It was also an early Virgin Records outlet. Number 146 Walcot Street was the final property to be Bath Arts Workshop. This became the shop, whilst the Paragon became Aunty Margaret¹s Teashop.

Projects such as the Adventure Playgrounds were highly successful and fondly remembered by children of the period.

Workshop Films was an important and popular exponent, recording events and running film workshops for such groups as The Riverside Truant School.

The Snow Hill Road Show was a children¹s theatre group, who, in the 1972 festival had their own theatre at the Cleveland Hotel and ran children only events.

The workshop offered many facilities including King Kong Transport, King Kong Workforce, Comtek Builders, Festival advice, photographic, recording and video equipment, Community Technology, Civil Aid and the Natural Theatre Company.