The former telephone exchange is located at 48 High Street in our historic town Saxmundham. This iconic 1950s industrial building of glass and concrete was designed by Thomas Winterburn, one of a team of ten ‘post office’ architects who designed post office buildings as part of the post war ‘Festival of Britain’ movement of design and architecture. A busy, working post office/telephone exchange until the 1986, the building had emptied and the first floor lay vacant for five years before we moved in. You can find out more about the building at Telephone Exchange.
In 2023 we took on a former Barclays bank ground floor space, an 1860s building and its large riverside garden at 24 High Street to provide an accessible space for exhibitions, creative sessions and activities, talks and to offer access to nature in the centre of town.
The Garden is open to the community on Monday and Friday mornings as part of Community Fridge and Weds and Thurs from 10 am to 4 pm. At other times we also invite groups and individuals to take part in garden activity and fun creative sessions. We welcome people of all ages into our garden: adults with learning disabilities, older people, aslyum seekers and refugees,families, children and young people. If you would like to become a volunteer please get in touch on info@theartstation.uk or 07927770421
Our Garden offers the opportunity to connect with nature. We welcome everyone of all ages and abilities to engage in discovering how to support our local biodiversity and protect vital habitats for our wildlife. We use our garden as a green hub for learning and creativity and developing a sense of place informed by our walks and trips out into the wider environment and Suffolk landscape.
We collaborate with schools, families, local groups, youth reparation services, asylum seekers and refugees, adults with learning difficulties, artists and environmental experts and others to share knowledge and enjoyment and to create a model for best practice around creative engagement with our environment.
Learn more about our garden here.
Our co-working area has movable workstations to accommodate you and your laptop. Hot desking membership offers a flexible way to work near home in a supportive, creative environment. You can host meetings at the hub in our flexible project space and meet other freelancers working locally.
Find Out MoreOur self-contained studios/workspaces have high ceilings, large windows and are suitable for a range of creatives: artists, designers, sculptors, ceramicists, photographers, architects and makers.
Studios have new radiators, low energy lighting, power supply and sockets. Costs include high speed wifi broadband, use of kitchen and communal areas. Access seven days a week.
For more info please contact: info@theartstation.uk
We’ve developed a new tech space with a high speed connection for up to 10 micro businesses/start-ups. We’re currently looking at how to create the best space for tech needs, so if you’re a developer or start up and wondering about how to improve your quality of life; our new tech space combined with a beach twenty mins away and a station two mins down the road might just what you’re looking for.
In partnership with @CCC Ipswich led by Matthew Applegate we have been offering coding training for young people – 8-16 years old. Funding permitting we will again be offering some free places for children/young people from families on low income in our next block of sessions over the summer and hope to be offering coding training for women in the near future.
Please get in touch for a chat via info@theartstation.uk
Our large event space hosts exhibitions, performances, residencies, workshops and other arts-based community activities. We have developed a new Riso print space and printmaker Georgia Green has been offering induction sessiions in Riso printmaking. We hope to be completing a darkroom this year and develop a supportive network around darkroom practice. Our facilities support our artist led community projects and art education, where a range of age groups can work directly with artists.
We can offer occasional space for hire, for further info and pricing please get in touch via: info@theartstation.uk