Reading Room

At Helgate we are interested in the ways that pottery can intersect with other art forms. We support local artists (performers, writers, painters, filmmakers, and the many in-between) who operate outside of ceramics by providing them with access to our studio facilities via free membership. They can use the studio as free space to work however they like, they may even decide not to work with clay at all, where our interest lays in the unique opportunity that a pottery studio provides as a context for thinking, feeling, and making.

Reading Room at Helgate is not a private or quiet space, it is a shared space for independent study where we value conversation and hope that lasting connections can be made between a visiting artist and our existing members. Unlike our residencies this opportunity is much more casual and self-directed, with no expected public outcome. It is a space to inspire and encourage experimentation, that we hope acts as a catalyst.

We offer a place for the Reading Room to one artist at a time, on an adhoc basis, where the artist is invited by the owners of Helgate (Ned and James) and drawn from people who have already engaged with the studio as a learner, visitor, residency applicant, or one of many other miscellaneous ways.