From the beginning of April to the end of June 2025, Unit 79/80 County Mall became a temporary performance and exhibition space thanks to a partnership between Creative Crawley and AudioActive funded by Arts Council England and supported by Pop Up Culture Crawley & Crawley Borough Council via the Towns Fund and as part of The Creative Village.
Creative Crawley and AudioActive programmed a series of events and just under 2500 people took part.
The funding for the space has now come to an end but County Mall has invited Creative Crawley to stay in the unit until at least the end of June 2026. We are committed to caretaking the unit as a resource for local creative people and we are fundraising to continue to support the space as a cultural hub for Crawley. In March resident artists are moving in and although we have an agreement with County Mall that means if a commercial offer comes in, we have a month to leave, we are committed to trying to make the space work for the residents and creatives of Crawley.
This means we are still incurring costs to keep it running. Since the end of The Creative Village, the space has been used by local orchestras for music workshops, youth music organisations, local performers and film-makers as a rehearsal, workshop and performance space. We employ a group of 18 Crawley locals to staff and manage the space for activity to take place in.
We want more creative people to use the space and we encourage you to get in touch if you have an idea for an event you want to put on, a meeting you want to have or a creative session you want to run.
AudioActive continue to run their music workshops for 12 – 25 year olds in the space on Mons, Weds & Thurs. We’ll open the Unit when there is an event on, otherwise it’ll be closed to the general public. Even if it looks closed there might be a rehearsal or a session going on inside. Visit our website www.creativecrawley.com to find out what’s on.
We will continue to pop up in lots of other spaces and places around the town as well as here but for now, this Unit remains a resource to use for the creative people of Crawley.
The spaces are ideal for meetings, rehearsals, events, read-throughs and location shoots. Spaces are not available to hire for recurring weekly activities but can be hired in ½ day, day long and week long + blocks.
Contact [email protected] for more information.
Spaces available to hire include:
Frequently asked questions
Q: Can we book a space for a regular weekly dance workshop?
A: Maybe. The space is focused on one off events, rehearsals or workshops. If we book in regular events, it reduces the availability for rehearsals or other events. The space is also programmed with lots of art already and so regular slots are not always available.
Q: Why can AudioActive hold regular workshops in the space?
A: They are working in partnership with Creative Crawley and have invested in making the space happen.
Q: Do we have to be a creative professional to hire the space?
A: No, anyone can hire the space. It’s available to all for creative and cultural activities.
Q: I’m not based in Crawley, can I still hire the space?
A: Yes. If you are based in Crawley, West Sussex or Surrey there are special rates but anyone can hire the space.
Q: Can we hire the space outside of County Mall opening hours?
A: This is possible but events that end post 7pm will involve additional security costs.
Have a look to see what’s already on in Creative Crawley’s programme HERE
Gallery images by Ian Greenland, model: Grace Lambert
