The Barony Centre

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Opened 1st May 2012: Craft Exhibitions, Education and Events Venue

50 Main Street, West Kilbride, North Ayrshire, KA23 9AR.  Telephone: 01294 829179, Email: info@crafttownscotland.org

The Barony Centre is open 7 days per week throughout the year: Monday to Saturday: 10am - 5pm, Sunday 12noon - 5pm

The Barony Centre Cafe opens Monday to Saturday  10am with last orders at 4pm except Sundays when it opens at 12 noon.

West Kilbride Community Initiative Ltd has created a dedicated Craft Exhibition and Activities Centre both as a focal point for Craft Town Scotland and a regional focus for craft and design.

 The Barony Centre opened to the public on the 1st of May 2012 and will build on the regeneration achievements of Craft Town Scotland, which include reversing the spiral of decline experienced in our disadvantaged area, fostering a new sense of community and civic pride amongst residents and attracting new commerce and businesses to the area.

 These achievements have been underpinned by placing culture, and more specifically crafts, at the very heart of Craft Town Scotland operations.  Our determination to develop a major regional centre dedicated to contemporary craft and design is a powerful statement of our commitment to strengthen our support to makers, to increase the exposure of craft and raise its perceived cultural and commercial value and to maintain the important role of the arts in delivering sustainable development.

 The group has redeveloped the old Barony Church, a ‘C’ listed building, integral to the unique visual townscape of West Kilbride and the strong sense of community identity.  Significant adaptations were required to enable the building to provide the level of service envisaged. Whilst remaining sympathetic to the original external building, the redevelopment has incorporated contemporary architectural interventions which will result in a flexible, dynamic space for the future.

The Barony Centre is open 7 days per week throughout the year: Monday to Saturday: 10am - 5pm, Sunday 12noon - 5pm

The Barony Centre Cafe opens Monday to Saturday  10am with last orders at 4pm except Sundays when it opens at 12 noon.

The project has been developed over a five year period and has been made possible by the following awards:

 GCA Big Lottery Fund Scotland: £881,154

Town Centre Regeneration Fund: £296,290

Ayrshire LEADER: £266,634

Third Sector Enterprise Fund: £95,000

Robertson Trust: £60,000

North Ayrshire Council Landfill Communities Fund: £25,000

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: £11,000

Ground level

 Retail Area:

The area leads directly on from an entrance hall and is designed to display a wide range of accessibly priced craftwork well, thereby creating opportunities for retail sales. It will incorporate display and sales points for a combination of craft goods organised in 4 distinct sections

• Gift Items manufactured by skilled local amateur makers
• Gift items manufactured by skilled semi-professional makers from local area and West of Scotland
• Accessibly priced collectable items made by established skilled designer-makers of national and international standard
• Craft Town Scotland branded merchandise

 The retail area will encourage visitors to enter and then, via the creation of Craft interpretation ‘signposts’, carry on through to the larger exhibition gallery.

Craft Exhibition Gallery

• Exhibition area that will showcase the diversity and innovation of contemporary craft practice whilst referencing heritage craft origins
• Flexible Area - partition when hosting several small exhibitions simultaneously, single area when exhibiting large scale work / solo shows/ touring exhibitions
• Multiple access routes, from those with little knowledge through to those critically informed in the fields of culture and contemporary craft.

 Office & Reception space for 2 full-time (Director, Craft Town Scotland and Administrator/Creative Assistant) and one part-time (Business Manager) members of staff.

Small flexible café space capable of seating 24 - also acting as activity space for hire to local craft / community groups in evenings.

Storage Room/ exhibition preparation room/ disabled toilets.

Mezzanine area

This area has been specifically designed to retain a strong visual link between it and the exhibition space below by incorporating large areas of glass within the structure. Its design reflects the town’s weaving heritage in a pared down abstraction of loom and warp threads. In addition to the practical requirements of operating flexible creative workshop spaces, the architect’s brief reinforced the clients desire that the link between the making process, in all its stages through research and development to the finished piece, and the work on show in the exhibition space below be maintained.

The Robertson Trust Learning Studio:

• The dedicated Learning Space will allow us to support an annual inclusive programme of lifelong learning activities, accommodate groups of up to 20, and organise craft-based courses and workshops tailored specifically to their needs.
• The studio will be flexible, with sinks and equipment screened off when not in use.
• The space will interconnect to a “Maker in Residence” studio by means of moveable partition screens.
• The studio will also be equipped with IT equipment to facilitate the use of new technology within craft practice e.g. enable makers to instruct on the integration of digital and hand processes.

 ‘Maker in Residence’ Studio:

The studio will support emerging and established makers by providing an opportunity for established makers to create a new body of work, whilst encouraging professional development in other emerging makers by exposure to the inspiring atmosphere of working alongside established professionals in a Master Class series of events.

Volunteer/Training/ Education Room:

This will be used to deliver training, including critical awareness presentations, of local volunteers and staff, including F.E. students on work experience placements.  The dedicated studios in particular will enable Craft Town Scotland to increase its positive impact upon the local community by providing a vibrant and inspiring atmosphere for community learning and development.

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