1978-1987. By the early seventies, it was clear to Nicholas Treadwell that, as a small gallery competing in the art “Game” with wealthy establishment galleries, there was little chance to win. Somehow it was necessary to take greater control of his gallery`s art historical destiny. At the time, Public Gallerys were not buying his gallery artists. Art history books were rarely including his gallery artists. In 1974, he began his search for an impressive building that would act as an alternative approval system, which would exhibit a collection of important works by the artists for whom he worked and in whom he believed, as well as related work by other artists. He saw the building as a meeting place for his gallery, a holiday house for the artists, as well as being a place where the international collectors interested in the gallery`s programme could be offered an appropriate level of hospitality. It would also be a venue for inter-media live art and film, as well as, of course, a place for large scale exhibitions. Furthermore, it could be promoted as a tourist attraction, supplying an income source outside the risky arts business. He searched for a building close to his international connections. He found Denne Hill, a run down sixteen bedroom Victorian mansion between Canterbury and Dover in 1977, completing an arrangement to rent it with an option to buy in May 1978, and after restoration with the help of artists, the building was opened to the public in July 1980, which was the year he bought it.
Nick with Director, Heinz Diekmann and the ZDF Aspecte Team 1982
