A Turner Prize-winning artist has revealed plans to transform a former car showroom near where he grew up, into a centre for art and learning. Keith Tyson has bought the former Mercedes-Benz garage on Princes Street in Ulverston, where he said he hopes to create a space for exhibitions, education and community engagement. The privately funded project aims to give young people opportunities to experience art after Tyson's own artistic education was shaped by local libraries growing up.
He said "there were no galleries for miles around" so he thought this could be a chance to "give young people in the community an opportunity to see and learn about art" in a way that he never had. Tyson said the project was still in its early stages but he was "excited by the building's potential to become an arts destination" for the north. The artist, who won the Turner Prize in 2002, said he hoped the centre would include exhibition space, a reference library and programmes for schools and the wider community.
"We're still in the very early stages of the project, but I'm really excited about this beautiful building's potential to become an arts destination, celebrating creativity, especially in the north, and supporting learning and engagement through exhibitions, education, and other resources," he said. Among those pleased to see the plans come forward is Adrian Newnham, Tyson's former art teacher at George Romney School in Dalton. Newnham said: "I was Keith's art teacher when he was 10-years-old.
I told him he had a talent and I kept his artwork. "When he won the Turner Prize I showed him the artwork I'd kept. He thanked me in the programme when he won.
He was a highly talented lad." Newham said Ulverston already had a strong cultural identity and believed the project could strengthen it further. "Ulverston is a festival town with a cultural buzz. Hopefully, his venture will raise the artistic status of the town even more," he added.
Tyson became known for work combining art, science and technology across a range of media, including painting, sculpture and installation. Follow BBC Cumbria on X, external, Facebook, external, Nextdoor and Instagram, external and listen to Radio Cumbria on BBC Sounds. Do you have a story suggestion for BBC Cumbria?
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