Manresa City Council and AMPANS will collaborate to set up the city’s second craftwork nursery, which in this case will be located at Plana de l’Om 7, on the ground floor of Casa Oller.
It so happens that AMPANS was already planning an exhibition space and shop for handmade products in these premises, in a bid to get closer to the municipalities and have a presence in community life. The city council proposed that we share the use of this space at an affordable rent to house the city’s second artisan incubator. We will carry out an inclusive art project with the production in situ of craft products, as well as the exhibition and sale of Urpina wines and Muntanyola cheeses, design items that we create with pallets that are going to waste, and gift items, sharing space with the artisans who will be housed.
The operation of the new nursery will be very similar to the one already operating in the Muralla del Carme, which under the name of ‘L’Artífice’ hosts, since December 2020, three commercial craft proposals. In Plana de l’Om, the new premises also have three areas – each measuring 33 square metres – so that three people can start retailing their craft products at an affordable rental price. To give continuity to the initial project of the Muralla, this new nursery has been given the name of Artífice La Plana.
With the new incubator, Manresa City Council aims to promote artisan entrepreneurship and the visualisation of new projects and to commercially underpin the historic centre. The aim is that people interested in opening new businesses can have premises at an affordable price to help them get started, and that once the established period of time is over (a maximum of five years) they can take the step of opening their own premises in the Historic Centre, clearing the way for a new batch of craftsmen and craftswomen who can start their adventure in the incubators.
In the case of the Plana nursery, moreover, the project allows the city’s historical heritage to be showcased, as the premises are located on the ground floor of the Casa Oller (14th-18th centuries), declared a Cultural Asset of Local Interest (BCIL).
Artisans will be able to apply through public competition and will have to develop a business project that involves the creation of a new company or the consolidation of a recent one. Businesses that have not carried out retail sales in the last five years in a commercial premises (with the exception of non-sedentary sales) will also be eligible. Applicants will also be required to have a business plan. Leases will be for a duration of four years, which may be extended for a further year. The rent will be 193 euros, including VAT and utilities.
We value very positively the participation in this project because we are convinced that there will be good synergies between the artisans and the project that we will carry out and that we will provide mutual learning between both groups.