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Directors of The Art Club in Dover celebrate one year since opening live music venue in Market Square

A year after opening, the owners of a live music venue say they have “made a good start” on improving nightlife but need more businesses to open to help their hometown “thrive”.

DJs Travis Skelton, Alfy Dunne and Rory Pye took over the former Bairstow Eves estate agent last year and turned it into The Art Club in Dover’s Market Square.

The Art Club in Dover's Market Square is celebrating its first anniversary
The Art Club in Dover's Market Square is celebrating its first anniversary

The trio became so fed up with travelling to London for a good night out, they came up with the idea of opening their own venue to liven up and bring something new to the Kent coast.

The venue doubles up as a cafe and co-working space by day, and a live events venue and bar by night – with music, art and comedy on show.

While the 12 months have been challenging, director Travis Skelton feels the venue has helped to revive Dover's nightlife.

He said: “It’s been so hard, I won’t lie about that. For us, it’s what we want and if you want something bad enough you do whatever it takes.

“What we’re offering, it’s definitely up there.

The Art Club in Dover's Market Square has had a successful first year of trading
The Art Club in Dover's Market Square has had a successful first year of trading

“It would be nice to see some more venues and bars pop up. We can’t do it on our own, and for nightlife to thrive we need more options and variety for everyone.

“I definitely think we’ve made a good start though.

“We’re bringing high-profile DJs down to play intimate sets. Dover has never seen anything like that, not in my lifetime anyway.”

While nightclubs like Funky Monkey, Club Karma and Images are now lost to the town’s past, new venues are popping up.

The Churchill Bar and Lounge at the Best Western Premier Dover Marina Hotel and Spa is the latest venue to open. It welcomed its first patrons earlier this month and has been themed around the “rich heritage of Winston Churchill”.

Directors Alfy Dunne, Travis Skelton and Rory Pye say they have big plans for the venue’s future
Directors Alfy Dunne, Travis Skelton and Rory Pye say they have big plans for the venue’s future

The trio at The Art Club have been working in events for the past six years and are also behind Section 82 festival, held in Dover.

The town centre venue has become an extension to this, giving them a permanent base to host more regular events.

Mr Skelton said: “This year we’ve been lucky enough to welcome Darren Emerson from Underworld. Jasper James, Demi Riquísimo, Jive Talk, KeeQ and Ramin Rezaie to name a few.

"To have them play in Dover is still something that absolutely blows my mind.

“It’s not just DJ sets that we do either. Our Friday nights are dedicated to bringing the best local bands and artists to perform.

The venue has an outside courtyard which also hosts events
The venue has an outside courtyard which also hosts events

“I think that’s what we do so well. We’re great at bringing a wide mixture of people down.

"It doesn’t matter what you’re into, whether it be comedy, open mic or poetry. We’ve even started doing a quiz night.

“I can pretty much guarantee we’ll have the best of the best performing for everyone to enjoy.

“We’ve also built a great community with our ‘Art Run Club’ hosted and organised by my better half Lydia.

“Late-night parties and events aren’t everyone's cup of tea, and for us it's all about balance. We’ve always said from the start we wanted to be a mixed creative venue, and I think we’ve done that.”

The Art Club has plans to introduce more outside seating next year
The Art Club has plans to introduce more outside seating next year

Now the first year is out the way, the directors are looking at ways to “take things up a notch” in the future.

“Next I want to start bringing more events and festivals to the town. Focus on the bigger community events," explained Mr Skelton.

“We’ve built the platform, now it’s time to start taking things up a notch.

“We also want to focus on little things like nicer outside seating front and back, outside speakers - oh, and most importantly, air conditioning. Summer was tough without it.”

They chose the unit in Market Square as they feel it has become a “hotspot” after recent investment to transform the look of the area costing £3.6 million.

The directors are hoping to bring a wider range of events to the venue
The directors are hoping to bring a wider range of events to the venue

A water feature with four rings was installed and the square now has a paved space for performance, more seating and lighting making it more pedestrian friendly.

A staggering amount – almost half a billion pounds – is being invested in Dover across various projects, with the hope of improving the town and its vibrancy.

This includes the transformation of The Citadel, the Dover Beacon project for Bench Street, Dover Fastrack, the restoration of the Maison Dieu, and upgrades to Dover Discovery Centre.

The changes are something Mr Skelton described as a “good thing” as “things won’t change without it”.

He added: “I just hope the right people can get involved in these projects and something good actually comes from it.

The cafe serves coffee and sweet treats during the day
The cafe serves coffee and sweet treats during the day

“From what I’ve seen and who I’ve spoken to, I think Dover will be on the up within the next few years.”

KentOnline reporter Millie Bowles spent an evening at The Art Club earlier this year to see if it could really compete with a night out in London.

She said it has “huge potential to be a super trendy, popular spot to party” but needs more people through the doors.

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