New Studio at Kent Science Park

PRESS RELEASE KSP WELCOMES ARTIST IN RESIDENCE TO INNOVATION CENTRE Kent Science Park has welcomed a new tenant to the site in the form of acclaimed artist Laurence Wood. Laurence is an artist, designer and academic, who has been painting for over 35 years. He is a graduate of the Royal College of Art in London and has paintings in the collection of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales and The National Trust Foundation for Art amongst others. Laurence has spent the last two years in South-East Asia working at the Hong Kong Institute of Education and as an artist in residence in Malaysia. He then traveled home via Italy where he was one of the 30 painting finalists from over 500 international submissions in the 8th Arte Laguna Art Prize, exhibited at the Arsenale in Venice. Before moving to Asia, Laurence was the Dean of Fine Arts at the University of Creative Arts in Kent, where he also first became aware of Kent Science Park. Laurence explained why he moved to the Park, “I am at an incredibly exciting point in my career, where I have been lucky enough to travel extensively and live and work in different cultures. I now want to focus on experimenting with new ideas and influences translating these experiences into new creative works. I have plans to exhibit in Kuala Lumpur in 2015 and will use my time at Kent Science Park to concentrate on production and putting the exhibition together.” He added, “I selected Kent Science Park as the space is absolutely perfect for what I need – with plenty of natural light and enough space for both my completed projects and work in progress. The KSP management team has been instrumental in getting the studio off the ground, ensuring I have everything I need to work. The Park is in a great location for me as an artist because of its close proximity to London and some wonderful Kent landscape. I will also enjoy the sense of innovation and entrepreneurship that first greets you when arrive here" James Speck, Site Director at Kent Science Park, commented, “We are pleased to welcome Laurence to the Park and look forward to him producing public art for the site during his tenancy. This is a completely new sector for KSP, and once again shows that we have space to suit all types of business. 2014 has already seen us diversify into a number of new industries and we continue to look at ways to accommodate different types of businesses with a variety of specialist requirements. I wish Laurence every success in his endeavors at KSP and hope he is inspired as much by the exciting work happening on the Park as he was in South-East Asia.” ENDS