The Harbour Arts Centre, Irvine, North Ayrshire

The Scottish Arts Council contributed £537,995 towards the Harbour Arts Centre project.  This represented 63% of the overall project cost of £858,495.

The proposal is for the development of the HAC into a more accessible resource which will enable it to play a more active role in serving the arts and cultural needs of the local community, as well as meeting the requirements of touring professional companies.
 
Having been given the ‘green light’ by the Scottish Arts Council, funding is now in place to redevelop the Harbour Arts Centre into a centre fully equipped and able to provide a modern, dynamic, responsive and innovative arts service to the diverse community of North Ayrshire.

The new centre will support a programme of arts that will result in a growth of events and classes aimed at attracting audiences of all ages and levels of interest and ability.

The centre will also support productions and exhibitions from local and visiting companies and artists.

The redeveloped Harbour Arts Centre will increase its profile and visibility in the community with the addition of an attractive restaurant and café bar to serve both users of the Centre and the general public. With a glass frontage on the harbour side and an attractive ambience, the facility will be an appealing addition in attracting visitors to the area and the centre.

With a history of success in the provision of small-scale quality theatre, both professional and amateur, the Harbour Arts Centre is loved by the inhabitants of Irvine and the wider Ayrshire community. The redeveloped centre will aim to re-establish the Harbour Arts Centre’s historical position as a launch pad for new talent in the wider Scottish Theatre scene.  Also, the proposed expanded exhibition space will provide scope to increase the current programme of visual arts exhibitions and will allow for a greater range of work by both local and visiting artists to be viewed.

The Harbour Arts Centre will close down for refurbishment in early 2005 and will re-open in the Autumn of 2005, during which time a range of the current activities will be available at alternative venues across North Ayrshire.  In addition to this, and in an attempt to capture the imagination of local people, a series of innovative and exciting outreach projects are planned.