Recycled
Repurposed
Renewed
From humble beginnings as a small dollhouse to a large future as a moving art gallery.
Recycled
Found in a local charity shop, the gallery was once a dollhouse and in much need of some TLC so owner and founder Steffan Hadley decided he would rescue it to work on it as a hobby whilst studying at University.
Over the space a few weeks, it was stripped back to its shell, cleaned and repaired before a full rewiring was carried out, with original and new light fittings being added to the building.
Whilst the repairs weren’t perfect, it certainly gave the rooms some character.
Unfortunately, most of the images from this time have been lost, but what have managed to survive show some of the steps taken to give the building a new lease on life.
Deconstruction and restoration has begun. Many of the structural features that came with the dollhouse were too badly damaged to save.
Trying out some of the old lights in the main hallway. Not all of them made the cut
Major re-wiring and new lighting fitted. One room left to complete (3)
Recycling old ceiling lights as wall lights for the final room.
They work!!!!
Sculpture Room finally re-lit
A job well done
With all the old wiring safely removed, it was time to connect all the wires up to their circuits.
A view that we would come to love.
The front door was sent off to be repaired but it was deemed that the door had suffered too much damage for it to be restored. We couldn't find a replacement for the original door and so it seemed better to leave it open and inviting to the public.
Repurposed
With the restoration completed, it was time to give it a name … The Minitopian Art Gallery
So what next?
First, to decide on the gallery’s mission:
“To change the audience views on perspective in the world of art and the significance of our ability to view art”
Next, Steffan spoke to fellow 2nd year students on the Fine Art course asking them if they would be prepared to shrink their works down to 1:24 scale to be displayed in the gallery and this formed the first exhibition to be held in the gallery.
He quickly began to realise that maintaining and running the gallery would be more work than one person could manage and started the process of employing volunteers in to different roles.
You can meet his team here
Our gallery leaflet standing tall next to the gallery.
Just a glimpse into the amazing works that the gallery has exhibited before.
Sculpture room housing the works of 3 equally unique artists.
Renewed
4 years later, a worldwide pandemic hit and many of us found ourselves with much more free time than usual on our hands.
So, it was decided it was high time the gallery had a face lift.
Repairs were made to some of the wiring inside, allowing the flooring to sit better and small details like skirting boards were added to the rooms.
The exterior of the building also had an extensive facelift. All windows were removed, repainted and reglazed. The exterior stonework was also given a fresh coat of paint.
The arch around the door was lovingly removed and replaced, lining the stones up better than they had been previously.
The final touch was to change the exterior colour to better accent the features of this magnificent building.
