Arts Lodge Humble Beginnings 2003

Mission Statement

Art and Soul Traders Ltd is a not-for-profit-driven CIC (Community Interest Company) CO-OP that exists to provide access to the arts for all, encouraging and promoting learning for life.

History & Background

The Art and Soul Traders founder, Mark E.W Lewis is a ‘visionary’ mural artist, who at the age of 21 was responsible for the first business of painting designer satellite dishes, presenting Prince Charles with one disguised as his High Grove home at the NEC trade fair, which resulted in National press coverage, Sky TV, Radio and articles in European magazines.

After building up extensive recognition and requests for his murals along the South coast of England, in 1997 Mark initiated The Art & Soul Traders group, primarily to provide the means for the development of artists and the community at large but also to create one of the largest murals on the South Coast.

This vision came to fulfillment in 1998 with the production of the ‘Strand City Map’ mural. A 60 x 50-foot map of Portsmouth (Portsea Island), painted on the gable end of a building on the Strand junction, Southsea. The mural took a year to complete with some help from the local community and was unveiled by the Lord Mayor subsequently winning the ‘Best Landscaping’ award in 1999 from The Portsmouth Society.
The Art & Soul Traders continued to evolve, establishing a premium position as leading muralists, embellishing principal areas of the city with large-scale, long-lasting vibrant community-based murals.

After saving from certain demolition and renovating the gatekeeper's lodge in Victoria Park in 2002 Art and Soul Traders became a not-for-profit social enterprise and Art in the Park was born.

The Arts Lodge has been a hub of the local creative scene for 13 years now and has organically developed into an extensive independent and primarily volunteer-run community arts centre. Whilst creating over £2 million for the City including micro businesses, commissions, community development, volunteers hours, and funding. The artists and band of volunteers affectionately called the ‘Artful lodgers’ proactively help not only to enhance the quality of lives in the community but also promote equality, diversity, and community learning.

The Art & Soul Traders is a not-for-profit-driven CIC and the purpose of the Lodge is to facilitate art projects, cultural events, exhibitions, creative workshops, and courses while offering a café service to park users in a beautiful unique green open space.
The renovation of the Lodge

The old gatekeepers lodge in the idyllic award-winning Victoria Park, has seen innumerable transformations since it was built over one hundred years ago in 1878. The lodge fell into desolation in the early 1990s and was left relinquished after 2 fires.

Recognising the potential for this building, Mark Lewis secured a £50,000 capital grant (for the building, no wages) from the SRB (Single Regeneration Budget) and £10,000 from the city council (landlord) in the year 2001. The Lodge was then elevated from the embers by ‘Project Phoenix ‘with the help of dozens of enthusiastic volunteers.

Whilst winning the best restoration award from the Portsmouth Society in 2003 unveiled by Lord Mayor Tom Blair since then the arts lodge has attracted much attention from the cultural and volunteer sector yet also from the media locally and regionally.

It has been home to a gallery, fair-trade café, multi-media suite, studio, office, workshop, and licensed bar situated in its enchanted private garden. With disabled access and toilet, broadband throughout this quaint little gatekeeper’s cottage has been transformed into a state-of-the-art creative hub and one of the most unique venues on the south coast with various organizations lovingly replicating our model and ethos.