Fall in love with Spike and help a designer

Fall in love with Spike this Valentine''s day and help the future of the West's design industry. And still get away in time to take your beloved somewhere exotic. How? Click here.

Spike Island is a public venue and incubator space aimed at the creative industries in Bristol which has a Capital Development project due to begin this Spring. It's a £2. 25 million project which will secure the building, as well as provide new spaces and public areas to confirm its place as a major cultural venue in the city. At the centre of the development is the creation of 8000 sq ft of affordable work space for recent grads or those starting out in design/illustration/animation etc. so bringing people out of the back bedrooms into a pace where they can benefit each other and the industry. This special Valentine''s Day Event will be held in the empty part of the building where the Design space will be. At the moment it''s a very raw, undeveloped area, still very much like a factory (which of course Spike was previously). There will be guest speakers, and Valentine''s Day refreshments. The idea of the event, which runs from 6pm - 8pm, is for local businesses and creative industries to find out about the future of the building (in particular the design space) and to network. It will also be an opportunity for people to help in raising the remaining £150,000 needed for the project. Want to know exactly what they have planned for Spike? Read on…Investment in the ground floor sculpture studios including new permanent walls and heating; re-configuration of the huge central gallery space providing a new ''series of rooms'', enabling them to show a greater variety of work in different environments; a new roof for the central gallery providing more control over light and heat in the space; a new cafe bar on the ground floor for visitors, artists and the local community; a new space for production and learning for artists who don''t have studios at Spike; and an 8000 sq ft Design space which provide affordable working space for up to 40 start-up design businesses and individuals. This space, Spike Design, will cater for designers, animators, illustrators, web and new media designers etc who are recently graduated or just starting out in business. As well as providing affordable desk space, the latest IT software and hardware, the facility will offer a range of professional development opportunities, placements and advice. Bringing new design professionals out of their spare bedrooms and other nooks and crannies of the city into a large open-plan space will also encourage them to share ideas, collaborate and network - both amongst themselves and amongst the community of artists in other parts of the building. Interested companies or individuals should contact mMatthew Austin, Marketing and Development Manager, via matthew.austin@spikeisland.org.uk or 0117 929 2266 to confirm attendance. Deadline for RSVPs is Wednesday 1 February.

Date posted: 2 February 2006