FROM travelling around the world to working with vulnerable children, the creative arts has always been at the centre of Louisa Jackson’s adventures.

The mum-of-three is now drawing on her experiences to create a unique workshop in the heart of Hexham.

@theworkshop will begin life this summer with creative arts camps for school children, with different programmes for five to 13-year-olds.

Based on Burn Lane, it is a blank canvas which Louisa hopes will develop into a welcoming space not just for school children, but for people with creative minds of all ages and from all aspects of the community.

“As far as I know, it’s the only purpose-built space for this type of thing in the area,” she explained.

“I’ve been looking for a space like this for ages, probably about two years.

“The idea is that it will be specifically for the creative arts.

“The long-term plan is to engage the community.”

Originally from the Midlands, Louisa moved to Hexham nine years ago. Prior to that she had enjoyed an expansive and varied career based around the arts.

She has toured nationally and internationally as part of a women’s theatre company, visited war zones with a charity and taken part in performing arts and musical festivals in Africa.

On a number of occasions she visited occupied Bosnia, just after the Bosnian War, as part of a London-based charity attempting to promote the region’s tradition of puppet theatre.

She recalls many strange sights, including a half bombed-out house, unmarked minefields and an asylum taken over by the patients after staff abandoned them in the midst of the war.

Back in the UK, she has used the creative arts as part of her work with vulnerable teenagers and people with mental health problems for Dorset Social Services as well with Tyne & Wear Museums.

After moving to Hexham, she has hosted art activities at the Queen’s Hall and the popularity of those workshops inspired her to set up @theworkshop.

She currently works part-time at St Mary’s First School but plans to make the most of her time at Burn Lane during the summer holidays.

Acquiring the keys back in February, Louisa and her husband Mike put their own efforts into transforming the former tile showroom into the airy and colourful workshop space.

The hands-on workshop will run over the summer and will also be available for private hire for events, including birthday parties.

However in September, she is hoping to expand into offering workshops for adults, older teenagers and to set up an arts forum to bring in different creative minds to make use of the space.

“It’s an open space that would be great for different people to use, including different arts people and even book groups,” she added.

“I am really looking forward to getting it going; it’s going to be great.”