Kate Renwick

New Independent Art School Hastings (NIASH) is an artist led, not for profit initiative, currently at the embryonic stage of development. The project came about through a series of conversations that led to the writing of a post graduate course, and through necessity has led to the expansion of the initiative into a collection of arts and humanities focused short courses, projects, residencies and arts developement programmes.

In the spirit of our original vision regarding deficits in current art establishment practice, and inspired by the focus of the post graduate course (still in its developmental stages) the school's learning and arts programme has been developed with the social, the collective, and the critical in mind.

NIASH has already hosted residencies, events, art shows, gigs, and workshops - from Christmas parties and Berlinesque art squats, to drink drawing sessions and fundraiser gigs - and has acted as a multifunctional project space for students and artists alike. The space will continue to function in this manner - working around, and with, the course programme during term times. To this end we are developing an outline for intertwining research and practice projects. 

The space available to artists in residence and exhibiting artists is continually being re-negotiated with the managing partners of Rock House, and plans to expand the arts developement programme into other areas of the building are already underway.