The idea was originally part of The Creative Village project and we were only supposed to have the space for 6 months from January to June 2025. But people liked it. When The Creative Village funding came to an end, the good people at County Mall Shopping Centre asked us to stay and with a bit of renegotiation of the deal, we did. It could all end with a month’s notice if a commercial client wants to take it over, but for now, we still have the space (at least until the end of June 2026) and we will continue to use the space for high quality, accessible arts and culture for as long as we can.
In our first year, over 8000 people have been through the doors. That’s nearly 700 a month. Not bad considering we were closed in August plus over Christmas and New Year. There have been so many different events in Unit 79/80 in this first year. We’ve transformed it into a catwalk twice; once for the Fashion Show for Crawley in April and more recently for The Posh Club’s High Fashion Special, there’s been doodling on the walls, crafting in the corners and an exhibition of sculptures you can climb on, to name a few.
Different community groups have taken it over with Creative Crawley’s support. From Diverse Crawley’s wonderful cultural day where people from the Chagossian communities in Crawley presented their history in a theatre show and Jamaican people danced the day away, to Crawley LGBT’s Unmasked Ball where attendees could reclaim their prom and attend as their true selves. Mandy Makes hosted many craft fayres, Mr Lilley’s Voices brought young people together to sing, Ensemble Reza brought adults together to play music while WordFest Crawley invited everyone to get doodling.
We’ve invited groundbreaking professional artists into the space from around the country and hosted local showcases for creatives from Crawley and close by who wanted to share their ideas thanks to Woodzy & Friends. Internationally renowned theatre and dance makers from Requardt & Rosenberg via Miss High Leg Kick, Chris Thorpe and Ceyda Tanc Dance have wowed people with their big ideas and exquisite shows for adults and children alike. Prize winning authors like Monique Roffey and Saima Mir have read from their books thanks to partnerships with New Writing South and the Forthwrite Festival.
Music is a big part of Unit 79/80 County Mall. Three times a week AudioActive runs music sessions for 12 – 25 year olds using quality electronic equipment in a bespoke recording studio. As part of their programme we’ve hosted gigs from Mak10, Donae’o and the Jazz Collective. The Creative Crawley programme has also seen musicians from Liz Akimba and African Night Music to players from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra welcomed into the space.
We’ve commissioned new artworks by local artists like Sarah Maple (her feminist reworking of Morecambe and Wise’s Breakfast Scene with Meg Mosely has been a highlight for me nnd has just been shortlisted for the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition), photographer Simon Edwards, sculptor Abdollah Nafisi (whose work was chosen for Frieze 2025) and we’ve shown their work alongside artists who weren’t connected to Crawley until now like Leap Then Look, Eric MacLennan and Tracey Graham whose new window commission opens the week after next.
And this month we are delighted to welcome three resident artists to the space. When we were told that we had to leave the West Green Studios, Sam (Head of Production and Learning at Creative Crawley until the end of March) and I put our heads together and Sam built a temporary shared studio space in Unit 79/80. He’s a Production Management and Design magician and I will miss him dearly as he starts a new job in London’s West End. But we can now welcome Sarah Maple, Beth Williams and Karl Singporewala to Unit 79/80 and I can’t wait to see what they cook up in their shared space together.
We’re trying our hardest to keep this work going. Everyone who works in the space has to make compromises; noise travels, there’s no sink or free parking, it’s cold in the winter, the floor is concrete etc etc. But it’s a little bit of creative magic in the back end of a shopping mall in Crawley. It never looks the same from one week to the next, it’s home to incredible staff and artists and nothing else like this exists in the town.
Despite not being funded to make the space happen, we are trying to make the finances work. Thanks to the rate relief we received from Crawley Borough Council and a good deal from County Mall, it’s almost possible. But people don’t realise how much it costs to run a space like this, even before we put anything fun in it. We insist on paying anyone who works with us at least living wage. So if you want to rent it out and you think it costs too much when you look at our rates, maybe think about it as a donation to the future of arts and culture in the town. Times are tight for us all. We want to keep it going. But we can’t without your help. You can find out more how to donate here.
This weekend sees the space transformed again for a Theatre Centre, Sheffield Theatres and National Youth Theatre co-production of a new play by award-winning writer, Grime poet and pro-raver Debris Stevenson. Blending grime music and poetry, it’s another example of welcoming local artists alongside nationally renowned theatre makers to Unit 79/80 County Mall. We hope to see you at My Brother’s A Genius this weekend.
Louise Blackwell
27th March 2026
Audience at Unit 79/80 by Ian Greenland
