About
Folkestone Creative Quarter is an urban village of designers, filmmakers, musicians, web developers and artists. We have restored 90 buildings and look after around 80 flats, 115 studios and offices and over 50 shops, making it a hive of activity. Enjoy watching artists paint in their galleries and sign up to classes run by skilled makers. Bars transform into micro-performance spaces and cafés are buzzing with people meeting to make exciting plans. Contributing to the reputation, infrastructure and economy of the town, Folkestone Creative Quarter is a playground for creative and digital businesses.
A stone’s throw from the sea and less than an hour from London, Folkestone’s Creative Quarter is home to hundreds of creatives who contribute to and support the creative community, making Folkestone a great place to live, work and visit.
The Creative Quarter is for the seekers, the lovers of the considered and handcrafted. Give yourself time to leisurely stroll down the cobbled Old High Street, take a seat in the most enticing cafes, pick up a book, enjoy delicious coffee and cake. Leave time and space to find yourself in conversation with strangers.
In this urban village of designer-makers, technophiles and artists, shops are not just sales outlets, galleries are studios, bars are performance spaces, and cafes are bookshops. The Creative Quarter is a hive of imagination and inspiration – where filmmakers collaborate with photographers, who go on to work with theatre producers; where fashion designers bump into copywriters who can sort their website content.
Developed by Creative Folkestone– an arts charity launched in 2002 (formerly known as Creative Foundation) to regenerate Folkestone through creativity – the Creative Quarter is a unique attraction for visitors and a fantastic example of creatively-led regeneration, with a thriving community that shares an ethos of encouraging, supporting and enabling creative activity. With affordable rents for flats, shops and studio spaces, Creative Quarter tenants are specially selected to bring a mix of flavours to this melting pot of creative talents in the historic heart of Folkestone.
Respecting the area’s heritage, Creative Folkestone have preserved the shop fronts of the historical buildings that make up the Creative Quarter, while giving them a new lease of life by opening them up for different businesses, practices, events and activities. The Creative Quarter is also home to more contemporary architecture, such as Folkestone Quarterhouse – a modern venue with a regular programme of theatre, comedy, music and festivals, including Folkestone Book Festival, Normal? Festival of the Brain, and SALT Festival of the Sea and Environment.
By working with partners and investing in people, buildings and public programmes, the Creative Quarter is a sustainable model and community that provides a progressive vision, an affordable space and an environment for growth.