Our History
Completed in 1933, the building that currently houses Rye Creative Centre opened as a Freda Gardham secondary modern school before becoming a centre for primary education following a major reorganisation of secondary education in 1969.
The school, named after Mrs Freda Gardham who was Chair of Managers for a number of years, was de-commissioned in 2008 and Rye Creative Centre, originally The School Creative Centre, was launched in 2009 by B&R Productions and developed as a centre of creative excellence. Since then, the centre has provided a unique studio resource within East Sussex for professional artists from across the visual and performance spectrum to develop, design and make new work alongside a programme of performances, events and workshops for the local and wider community.
In 2014 B&R Productions handed over the management of the building to the charity ARRCC and The New Road Artists group was formed. The studio holders’ collective included a dynamic mix of sculptors, painters, photographers, textile artists, illustrators, designers and makers with visiting and resident artists offering a range of workshops, master-classes, talks and demonstrations.
Rye Creative Centre and New Road Artists continued to flourish after the departure of ARRCC in April 2018 and a new enterprise, The Studio was established as a relaxed but professional space where artists with physical disabilities and/or learning differences are able to make art with Jenny Edbrooke.
In 2020 Martello Developments took over the lease at Rye Creative Centre undertaking a programme of material upgrades and establishing Rye Creative Centre Community Interest Company as the managing entity to oversee the resumption of the Centre’s ambitious programme of events, exhibitions and workshops for adults and young people in East Sussex and Kent.
The school’s history is documented in the graphic novel abov, created in 2011 by Julian Hanshaw and students from Rye College for Rye Creative Centre (then known as ‘The School Creative Centre’).