Hub — Attraction in North Kesteven

I wanted to visit the Hub for a while as it’s a national arts and craft centre and I was disappointed. The large exhibition space was showing Looking Back Looking Forward by Jason Wilsher-Mills, a visual artist with a very vivid imagination. I especially liked the Hull Powerhouse of a Humberside woman, a digital painting and statue. Living Wood: Artistic Expressions by Joey Richardson showed some beautiful filigree wood items in a small exhibition space. There’s also a cafe serving good coffee cakes and snacks, with indoor and outdoor seating overlooking the river and a workshop space. I love the beautifully designed items dotted around the stairs. There’s also a great range of craft and art in the shop. Staff were friendly and professional. The Hub feels like a large city exhibition and community space rather than one in a market town....

First day of the opening. Lovely to visit the refurbished Hub. Warm welcome from the staff on the ground floor. Everything looks very dapper and well thought out. I went up to the second floor to see the exhibition and there I found the warm welcome that I'd recieved downstairs vanish unfortunately. As I entered the room a young lady at the desk and a man with a lot of hair piled on top of his head, I think an IT guy, gave no welcome, no smiles and looked at me as if I had two heads when I commented on an exhibition piece. They might not have understood me with the mask but didn't even try to ask what I said. It made me feel a bit awkward . That was a shame as the rest of the visit was...

My experience of the Hub Sleaford exhibitions in the past has been somewhat the meeting of craft making and “Art” to a degree where the craft element seems to dominate. Another way of looking at this is the meeting of minds and hands. In “craft” the hands tend to be the driving force of the product and although the mind has been used to plan and vision the product it lacks some conceptual depth. The outstanding “Tailored” exhibition is a collection of works from 38 internationally renowned textile artists and is a triumph for the Hub and for Sleaford. The artists have used innovation and experimentation to push the boundaries and challenge conventions. It is well...