Project Art Works has been awarded £89,379 from Arts Council England's Sustain programme to support core activities, sustain the quality of artistic output and maintain cash flow affected by a recessionary decrease in income from trusts and foundations in 2010 and 2011.  The award will allow us to develop a new business plan setting out future funding plans with a view to increasing longer-term core sustainability.

For one day in July 2009, Fort Brockhurst - an English Heritage site in Gosport - became a small kingdom populated by people with neurological impairment; people who are highly sensitive to spatial qualities of scale, light and sound and the different buildings and environments of the Fort. Their visit was recorded through sound, video and drawing and then processed to produce elements of a mixed media installation. This film shows a narrative of some of the journeys taken that July day and follows the investigations and navigational decisions of people as they explored the Fort's Keep.

Kate Adams, artist and director of Project Art Works has conducted several innovative investigative projects that focus on how people with complex needs experience built space. Despite a huge increase in awareness of issues around all aspects of physical disability and the effects of the Disability Discrimination Act on Building Control processes, there is little information or discussion about the impact of built space on those with perceptual and/or cognitive impairments.

The creative team on this project included Kate Adams (lead artist), Ben Rivers (film), Tim Corrigan (film and support of people) and Marley Cole (sound). They collaborated with a group of people with whom we have worked for some time on our Tuesday Studio programme in Hastings. Tuesday Studio The artist team worked closely with the participants and those who love and know them well, to establish consent for exploring the Fort, for their being filmed and for the subsequent installation being shown at the English Heritage Open Day.

Following news of a significant award from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, together with support from East Sussex County Council, we have now begun planning for the delivery of a further 36 film portraits in collaboration with young adults at a point of transition in their lives. We will provide updates as the project progresses.

Three of our participants have recently had work selected for exhibition. Jonathan Rogers (Mentoring Studios) was one of 500 marginalised artists to submit work to the biennial 'Outside In' exhibition at Pallant House, Chichester. 'Outside In' aims to create a level playing field where access to the art world is possible for all who create. 150 works were chosen in total, including Jonathan's painting 'Penny'. 'Outside In' is going on tour - to the Salisbury Art Centre in January 2010 and to Hastings Museum and Art Gallery between June to September 2010.

Project Ability and Collins Gallery invited artists with austism spectrum conditions and Asperger syndrome to submit examples of work for selection towards a major exhibition at their gallery spaces in Glasgow in 2010. Darryl Spencer (Tuesday Studios) and Neville Jermyn (Mentoring Group) both had work selected for 'myscape? a journey into the autistic architectural landscape'. Myscape is a critically significant exhibition focussing on the architectural landscape, real and imaginary, allowing the audience insight into each artist's relationship with their environment.

We are continually developing new collaborations with artists and filmakers to work with us on future projects. To register your interest please contact us.