HE HIT the headlines earlier this year with a campaign against Bournemouth's anti-homeless measures.

But artist Stuart Semple is also one of this town's biggest supporters and has unveiled his latest project, Station, - a state-of-the-art studio complex in Branksome, Bournemouth to provide workspace for local artists.

Station will, he hopes: "Create an environment where conversation, creativity and good messy practical work can happen side-by-side."

He said the studios were for: "Painters, sculptors, multimedia artists and image makers, whose practice needs a day-to-day studio environment to flourish."

One of the reasons it's needed, he said, is because: "South of London there is little, if any, affordable studio space, and so for most artists focused on contemporary art the only option is to work at home, in solitude, and without the benefits of a buzzy communal setting."

Stuart, whose works appear worldwide, including in the American city of Denver, has been working on the Station project for 'months and months' and says its establishment was 'a life-long ambition'.

“I created Station to provide a nurturing supportive space – crucially, we are subsiding it so that it’s affordable,” he said. “AUB (Arts University Bournemouth) is an amazing institution that is turning out incredible talent, but the town is struggling to retain artists as they all leave due to lack of workspace and cultural community.”

He said Bournemouth and Poole are experiencing a boom moment for their creative industries and have more digital, creative, games and app companies than anywhere else in the UK – including London.

The new studios will be close to Stuart's own e-commerce brand, CultureHustle.com, which is responsible for manufacturing and distributing art materials all over the globe.

Rents at Station start from just £10 per day and include everything from the private lockable studio, central heating, Wi-Fi, a kitchen, chill space, and photo studio.

*stationstudios.org