Jelly: Making Space for Art
Arts Charity Jelly came to us with an interesting design brief. They wanted a bespoke, adaptable space to host a diverse range of ideas, art and workshops, but didn’t currently own their own building. To suit their needs as a nomadic organisation we created a series of removable pods and modular furniture which can be deconstructed and relocated easily if they ever need to move.
The Jelly community was fully immersed in the building process and with so many hands on site, the construction took only two days, however their prominent location in a shopping mall in Reading made for creative approach on design and logistics. We had to consider how to get all the parts into the mall with people going about their day and shopping, which involved a large team carrying parts up and down a service corridor and tiny goods lift.
In this photo you can see the modular 450mm U-Build cubes that Jelly use to create a range of flexible seating, workspace and gallery props and three U-Build pods in the background.
Some of the interesting people featured in the photos include:
Mother Tongue: A group of women for whom English is an additional language. They come together to share creative skills, conversation and friendship. They are currently making sleeping bags for the ICU unit at Royal Berkshire Hospital at Jelly’s creative hub in Reading.
Linda Newcombe: who works with monotypes, using a method of producing prints that does not require an etching press.
Matt Hulse: a resident artist working in one of the studios to prep his signage for a public street based performance offering ‘Free Advice’.
A bit more on Jelly below:
‘Jelly is an energetic charity championing the creative arts. We have played a strategic role in Reading’s cultural life since 1993 – enabling art to appear in unexpected places and creating opportunities for people to look on and join in.’
📸 of finished construction by @johnangerson
📸 during construction by U-Build
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