Aylesbury's Queens Park Arts Centre set to re-open in September

The Queens Park Arts Centre has confirmed it will be reopening this September, following five months of temporary closure as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
Queens Park Arts CentreQueens Park Arts Centre
Queens Park Arts Centre

The Centre will resume their programme of workshops from Monday September 7, with more than 50 different sessions on offer during the first half term of the season, covering a wide

variety of visual and performing arts including pottery, painting & drawing, woodwork, needlecraft and much more.

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QPAC’s Artistic Director Sarah Lewis said: “We’re thrilled to confirm the Centre will be open to the public once again from September.

"“Though some activities are still precluded by government guidelines, our tutors have been fantastic in their support of the reopening and we can’t wait to see the building full of artistic activity once again."

Various changes have been made to the Centre’s programme to help ensure the restarted activities are compliant with COVID-19 guidelines, as well as QPAC’s own protocols. All

workshops will need to be booked in advance, and students are required to take out membership with the Centre when booking their first class.

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All attendees will be asked to wear a face mask, unless exempt on medical grounds.

Sarah continued: “As we’re sure students can appreciate, reopening the Centre in the present climate necessitates some alterations to our working practices.

"“Though it’ll be a new way of working for our regular students, we’re confident it will quickly become the new norm."

Weekly classes taking place in September and October are now on sale via the QPAC website – www.qpc.org http://www.qpc.org– and the Centre staff will be on site from August 24 to take workshop bookings and membership requests by phone.

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In addition to revised procedures for workshops, new cleaning and safety protocols have also been implemented, with hygiene stations placed in each room and increased cleaning schedules introduced.

“The staff team have been amazing in their hard work getting the Centre ready for September. We've carried out extensive tidying and a deep clean of the entire building, and introduced new room layouts, floor markings and hygiene facilities to make the Centre a safe and welcoming environment.

The full COVID-19 protocols drawn up by QPAC are viewable on their website, and any enquiries about the reopening can be emailed to [email protected]

When the main building closed in March, Queens Park launched an ambitious online programme.

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This included more than 60 digital workshops, a wide variety of audio and video content from in-house production company Unbound Theatre, and the #LiveCreativelyQPAC campaign, which inspired and celebrated arty projects people were working on at home during lockdown.

Sarah Said: "Queens Park’s artistic spirit has always been more than bricks and mortar, and the online content demonstrated just how remarkable that spirit can

be.

"We reached a wider digital audience than ever, forged new creative links with artists and makers, and presented a prolific amount of original content for audiences. Although we’re now pressing ahead with reopening the building, we plan for our digital creativity to continue as part of Queens Park’s ever-expanding programme."