Tiny gallery is 'welcome space' in new market square

A gallery that is being described as "perhaps the smallest art centre in the world" is due to open next week.

The Creative Place is being installed in Northampton's newly refurbished Market Square.

It will give local artists a chance to display their work to the public, as well as host special events.

Becky Carrier, from Northampton Film Festival, said: "We wanted this to be a highly visible, welcoming space for local people to come and experience all our county has to offer."

The £10m refurbishment project has taken 18 months to complete and involved the controversial relocation of the market to a car park on the edge of the town centre.

The scheme includes 18 new fixed stalls along with new paving, water features and seating.

The facelift will be fully unveiled when traders return to the square on 20 September.

The Creative Place is the brainchild of Northampton Film Festival (NFF), a non-profit organisation supported by CLICK Arts Foundation and West Northamptonshire Council.

NFF hopes the space will give local residents visiting the town centre to drop in and discover more about creative activity in Northampton.

It will also provide artists with a chance to display their work and talk to fellow creatives and potential customers.

Ms Carrier added: "Whether you're just curious, want to have a go at something creative, or want to seriously develop your creative career, the space is for you to come and use, so we'd love to see you there."

The centre will open during the day from Tuesday to Saturday.

The first event it will stage will be "Peace Circles in the Square" for the UN International Day of Peace on 21 September.

It will include free one-hour talks with extracts of Roy Leighton's play, The Missing Peace.

The artist Sophie Slade will be painting the window and meeting people at the venue on 27 and 28 September.

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