As Helston’s art centre prepares to celebrate three years since the first artists moved in, the Helston Packet looks at the work that has taken place in the CAST building – and what the future holds.

June 2013 marked the rebirth of Helston’s abandoned community centre when the Cornubian Arts and Science Trust reopened it as art studios.

Led by a team of trustees including Teresa Gleadowe, wife of Tate Modern director Nicholas Serota and herself a familiar name in the arts world, the trust had taken over the dilapidated building in Penrose Road in August 2012.

Once the site of a school, it is now home to 16 artists, predominately from Helston and the surrounding area, with a waiting list, and the public can visit for lectures, workshops and a part-time café run three days a week.

Teresa said: “Helston might not think it has an art colony, but it does. Out of small things, big things grow.

“We hope by providing a place for the small colony of artists, but also a centre for arts activity, we can contribute towards giving people reasons to come to the town.”

Schemes for the building are in their relative infancy, with a large amount of potential still to be tapped.

Teresa continues to harbour an ambition to create a walkway between the building and Helston Museum, which is a matter of metres away.

This would most likely involve adding steps from the CAST building and making a path through the former butter market, owned by Helston Town Council, and was an element of one of the three ‘public realm’ schemes put forward for the section 106 cash – although the winner ultimately proved to be revamping the area of the Grylls Monument.

With agreement, however, it remains achievable, with Teresa saying: “If we felt there was public backing for the idea we would certainly try and run a campaign for it. We’re still so interested in the idea of a link; I think it would make such a difference.

“The fact we’re next door to the museum, which is an amazing resource, is incredibly important and gives a lot of potential.”

It would enable CAST to develop its existing community café into a fully-fledged refreshment area for museum visitors.

Currently the café is open to the general public every Thursday and Friday between 10am and 4pm, and for Saturday brunch between 11am and 3pm.

Run by Dominic Bailey, who formerly worked at London’s first organic pub, it serves vegetarian food containing ingredients often foraged by Dominic himself, and Yallah coffee imported directly from Nicaragua and roasted near Mabe.

Located on the right hand as you enter the building from the main entrance in Penrose Road – with access also from the Wendron Street car park during café opening times – the room is also home to art sessions for children aged four to 11, run by Lucy Grant every Saturday between 10am and 11am, with a £5 fee.

There will also be free print workshops on May 28, during half term, with sessions between 10am and 1pm, and 2pm to 5pm, booking essential. More details will be announced nearer the time.

Trustees have been working hard restoring the many rooms to make them habitable, including the former headmaster’s office and adjoining staff room that is now used for lectures and short-term artist residencies.

Fascinatingly, the room includes a small safe in the wall that so far they have been unable to open.

Teresa appealed to any locksmiths in the area who might be happy to provide their services and reveal what may still be hiding in there all these years later, by calling her on 07968 009087.

Activity at CAST has recently began to pick up pace. January this year saw the trust awarded its largest amount of funding to date – half a million pounds, to be exact, although this will not be for the building itself but a major arts project covering the whole of west Cornwall that culminates in 2018.

It will include collaborations with Tate St Ives, Newlyn Art Gallery and the Exchange, and Kestle Barton, but importantly it is Teresa and her team at CAST who won the bid and will be the ones running it.

They plan to bring internationally known artists to Cornwall, to exhibit at unusual locations (talks are currently underway with Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station and the National Trust are likely to be approached, to name just a couple) and also work with students from secondary schools and colleges who are in further and higher education, as well as recent graduates.

A more modest sum of money, but arguably more significant for Helston itself, is £10,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund that will see a continuation of a project first began in 2014 involving the history of the building.

Long before it was a community centre, the site was used for the Green School – so referred to for the colour of the uniforms worn by pupils.

Soon after CAST took ownership they arranged for former students and teachers to return for an informal evening, giving them a chance to look around and share their memories.

Their stories proved so colourful and interesting that they inspired the latest project, to record these memories properly.

Azook, based at Krowji in Redruth, will be working with CAST to interview former students at a Memory Day likely to be held this summer, with the possibility of follow up visits to their homes to make recordings that will be brought together on their website cornishmemory.com

Teresa’s vision is for these recordings to then be turned into a film, most likely to accompany still images of the building and contributors, which can be shown to current schoolchildren – although this remains dependant on further funding.

To be added to the mailing list for forthcoming events and lectures email info@c-a-s-t.org.uk