Internationally acclaimed artist and musician Billy Childish (video of Meridian news item) officially opened the University of Kent's new £5m School of Arts development at Chatham's Historic Dockyard on Wednesday 17 October.

The Chatham-born artist unveiled a plaque in the new arts facilities, which form part of the University's Medway campus. The teaching and practice development features flexible work spaces for painting, sculpture, printmaking, film, photography, music and performance projects. It also offers bookable project spaces, an AV suite, a dark room and a digital editing suite.

Additionally, the Dockyard's old Boiler Shop now features a £1m sculpture workshop. Facilities there include a state-of-the-art 3D laser cutter and vacuum former, as well as plaster casting room, extraction room for glass fibre work, metal work room with welding and cutting facilities and a kiln room as well as the main wood working machine shop. There is also an enclosed outside working space. The old Foundry now houses recording studios.

Billy Childish currently has a studio at the Historic Dockyard where, after leaving school, he worked as an apprentice stonemason before embarking on his artistic career. He achieved creative recognition in America, Europe and Japan. Often described as the most prolific painter, poet and song-writer of his generation, he has published over 40 collections of his poetry, recorded over 100 full-length independent LPs and produced over 2000 paintings.