DRAW THE CURTAINS - A Creative Retrofit Preview + Exhibition Launch

Come and celebrate with us and let us show you the culmination of our creative retrofit and resilience project down at What if? next week.

Launch Evening - Thursday 23rd April | 7pm – 9pm

Expect…

Cheese, Wine and Gentle tunes
Video footage from the making process
Alternative prints on show
Community-stitched banners on display
Community produced Tetrapack artworks on display
Beautiful curtains that dress the space
Bespoke retrofit innovations: secondary glazing panes installed by the local community

And... you can take part in our playful act of reuse and transformation:

Through Draw The Curtains, we’ve gathered people, stories and skills to create something lasting - a locally inspired legacy of warmth and "useful beauty" within What if? that now hangs pride of place in the hall.

Together, we’ve built a community-led retrofit solution - and a space that continues to evolve with creative people who consider the past and care for the future.

A chance to see the space evolve, celebrate the small (but mighty) changes, and reflect on what comes next for the building and the wider community.

Please RSVP by reserving a ticket via eventbrite ( or return email to [email protected])

Thank you!

About Wendy

Wendy is a Stockport artist specialising in resourceful printmaking. She makes inks from food waste and foraged plants, and uses discarded materials to create work that celebrates the hand of the maker. Her lo-fi workshops focus on empowering people to make art at home.

What if? x Wendy Roby – Community Curtain Project

At What if?, we’ve worked with Wendy Roby to create fire-resistant, blackout and thermal curtains for the building’s large windows. Made from recycled plastic bottle fabric, they help make the space warmer in winter, cooler in summer and more energy-efficient - while enabling Brinksway Cinema Club to properly darken the hall for screenings.

And, of course, they look a little bit luxurious… because we’re worth it.

Rather than simply installing functional materials, the project has turned this practical need into community-made artwork.

Through free printmaking and sewing workshops, local people have helped design bespoke prints and produce the curtains and thermal banners - embedding messages of play and rest, resilience and creativity and inspired by the heritage, motifs and nature of Hollywood Park, Edgeley, Brinksway and Stockport as a whole.

This creative retrofit project has been made possible with support from S&P Global and the Resilient Cities Network, and is part of our ongoing effort to find creative, community-led solutions to improve energy efficiency in big old buildings like ours.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

What if?, Hardman Street, Stockport, United Kingdom

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.

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