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Search the Public Notice Portal A FORMER private school building in York could be transformed into a new arts hub featuring artist studios, a gallery, photography unit, workshop spaces, cafe and small shop as part of an ambitious £2 million project.
The Moxie Centre for Art is planned for a Victorian building in Dalton Terrace, near Holgate Bridge, formerly part of The Mount School.
Lucy and Chris Haltiner, the couple behind the not-for-profit project, bought the two-storey former school house and dance studio from The Mount School and are preparing to submit a planning application to City of York Council.
Grit + Grain Architects are the York based firm hired for the project.
The plans would see the 8,000 sq ft site converted into a multi-purpose arts venue combining a free public gallery, up to 15 affordable artist studios, a professional photography studio, a traditional black-and-white darkroom, workshop and event space, cafe, and small shop.
Lucy and Chris Haltiner - founders of the Moxie Centre for Art in York
Revealing their plans exclusively to The Press, the couple said the centre had been designed to fill a gap in York's arts provision by bringing exhibition, education, creative production and community facilities together under one roof.
Chris said York had a wealth of talented artists but a shortage of studio space, with many existing facilities fully occupied and long waiting lists in place.
"The Moxie isn't just about a space to work and create art," he said. "It's also about a space where people meet: artists, visitors, collectors, someone who came in just for a coffee.
"That's where conversations start, and conversations are where ideas, inspiration and new art come from."
The couple say one of the centre's defining features will be its mix of facilities. Visitors will be able to view exhibitions free of charge, book on to workshops, meet working artists and use the cafe, while creatives will have access to studios, exhibition opportunities and professional development events.
Main gallery space at The Moxie Centre for Art in Dalton Terrace. Photo by Lucinda Grange
Chris said that mix was unavailable elsewhere in York.
"It all comes down to the combination," he said. "A gallery on its own is somewhere you visit once in a while.
"Put it in the same building as working studios, a photography studio, a darkroom, workshops and a cafe, and it becomes somewhere you keep coming back to. Every part of the building feeds the others, and no one else in York offers that."
The project includes plans for an annual exhibition featuring artists based at the centre, alongside between four to eight exhibitions annually.
The Moxie Centre for Art in Dalton Terrace. Photo by Lucinda Grange
The venue will also support more experimental work that uses new technologies and be a showcase for audio and immersive installations.
The Haltiners are encouraging artists interested in studio space, as well as community groups looking for event venues, to register their interest through the project's website: themoxie.co.uk.
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Lucy, an internationally recognised adventure photographer who works under the name Lucinda Grange, will lead the creative side of the project.
She said preserving the building's community role had been a major motivation. "We bought this building because it has incredible potential. It's been a school, a church hall, a nursery and a dance studio.
"It has always belonged to the community, and we wanted to keep it that way."
She added that private funding had already been secured for the project, allowing it to operate independently, with income reinvested into the centre and wider creative sector.
Courtyard of The Moxie Centre for Art - in a former Mount School building. Photo by Lucinda Grange
A traditional darkroom will form part of the development, which Lucy believes will help preserve analogue photography skills.
"The darkroom matters to me personally," she said. "Analogue photography is how I learned to see, and it's disappearing.
"Ours will be the only public-access darkroom in York, and we're excited to train the next generation of photographers in it."
The Moxie has been designed to open in phases, with the first areas potentially welcoming visitors in late 2026, subject to planning approval. A full opening is currently targeted for the end of 2027.
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