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Bedford: Pop-up art space set to enliven high street

Pop Bedford Talia Giles inside Pop BedfordPop Bedford
Talia Giles, a print designer, founded Pop Bedford and got it up and running in a matter of weeks

A pop-up creative space is being created in a town to "bring people back" to its beleaguered high street.

Pride of Place, or POP, will open in an empty shop in Bedford and provide workshops, exhibitions, and a space for artists.

Artist Talia Giles said she hoped the space would change people's perceptions of "what the high street is for".

She said she hoped the space would attract the "huge creative community in Bedford, under one roof".

The former mobile phone store was transformed in 26 days, she added, "to find out what people would like, need, what will bring them back to the town centre".

The POP space will be available until 20 August.

Talia Giles Patrick Quailey from Cultural Roots sound systemTalia Giles
Patrick Quailey from Cultural Roots sound system's crew said "come and see first-hand what it takes to build and run a reggae sound system".
Talia Giles The Cultural Roots Sound System Museum in place in the shopTalia Giles
The Cultural Roots Sound System will use the POP space from 12 to 23 July

Ms Giles said she had wanted to create it for about four years, but said support from Bedford Creative Arts, freelance producer Kaye Mahoney, Harnan Real Estate - and funding from Bedford Borough Council's Town Centre Priority Fund - had made her vision a reality.

"I want to garner the hearts and minds of Bedford for them to understand using creatives to create experiences in the town centre is a good direction to go in, when things are struggling so much," she said.

"I just want to find out what people like, need and what will bring them back to the town centre.

"I want to change people's perception of what the high street is and what it is used for."

Pop Bedford Talia Giles with two people painting inside the shop unitPop Bedford
Volunteers helped Ms Giles paint the insides of the former mobile phone shop

The town was not "just about big named stores," she said.

"We have a big independent scene here, people need to look past the empty windows and it needs to be a place to meet and engage, meet new people and try new things, it shouldn't just be about retail, it should be experiences.

"There are about 50 empty retail units in the centre of Bedford, we want to turn the minds of landlords and letting agents."

She now hoped the pilot would lead to a permanent arts space in the town centre as demand so far "bodes well for the future", she added.

Alex Pope/BBC The former mobile phone shop on Midland Street, BedfordAlex Pope/BBC
The former mobile phone shop will be open from 12 July to 20 August
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