Hill End Arts Council christened their new arts space over Easter with a performance by local harpist and singer Kim Deacon.
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Joined on the violin by Marcus Holden, Kim performed arrangements of folksongs and poetry on Easter Saturday at Hill End’s former Sacred Heart Catholic Church.
“The church is so beautiful to perform in, people were saying a world class performance space,” Kim said. “Over 100 people attended, including Mayor Monica Morse, and she loved it,” Kim said.
Built in 1872, the red brick building sits on a low hill at the corner of Denison and Thomas Streets in the old gold mining town. Built as a Methodist church then used as a Catholic church it has also seen a stint as a pottery studio and had many more recent years as an empty and crumbling relic.
The community has been working for 18 months to restore and repurpose the historic building as a performance space, art gallery and cultural centre; The talented artists of Hill End working alongside heritage builder Rob Burton to bring it back to life.
A two-day working bee in March got walls prepared and painted in both the church and the new adjoining amenities block. With a $65,000 grant from the NSW Heritage Office - and extensive volunteer hours - foundations have been stabilised, walls rendered, holes in the floor mended and the ceiling saved from collapse.
Wherever possible the work has followed heritage methods including using traditional nails and sealing all the exposed wood with linseed oil.
Completing the final work on the building - to outfit the two toilets and to the electrical fit out to toilet/kitchen compound - will now depend on next funding outcome, with grant applications currently submitted.
The labour of love for local artists has paid off with a beautiful new space for use by the community.
“I had people write comments in a book and they all said what a magic space - the acoustics and the history – fantastic” ms Deacon said.
Arts Sunday is your extra dose arts news, artist profiles and photo galleries from the NSW Central West, brought to you by Arts OutWest and Fairfax. Arts Sunday is published online on the first Sunday of the month. If you’ve got a story to share contact artsoutwest@csu.edu.au.
