The BMC Story

• Plans made to refurbish the reception area of Friese Greene House on Middle Street.
• Guys On Film - Duran Duran Unseen exhibition held in the BMC Gallery, featuring photographs from the band's early years.
• Additional exhibition space opened in the basement of Friese Greene House, offering an industrial style gallery popular with students and graduates.
• BMC Xmas party hosted at Sumo bar again, due to the success of the previous year. A charity prize raffle sponsored by local businesses raised over £200 for the Rocking Horse Appeal

• BMC is established as a Not-For-Profit company to ensure continuing development and support for clients.
• New website launched.
• BMC Xmas party hosted at Sumo bar, next door to our Middle Street sites.

• BMC achieves the Investors In People award in recognition of its supportive and progressive staff management and development.
• BMC further develops the Gallery providing a City Centre Info Point at 9-12 Middle Street.
• BMC is one of five companies shortlisted for the creative business scheme at the Sussex Business Awards.
• BMC Gallery hosts Omozap, celebrating 40 years of work by cult local film-maker Jeff Keen.
• Time Projects presents Deposits, a site-specific work focused on the relationship between the Gallery space and the Synagogue opposite.
• BMC launches ENews, the internal email newsletter for all 200 workers at the centre.
• BMC Xmas party for clients, partners and colleagues at The Ocean Rooms.
• BMC celebrates its tenth birthday and launches the Decade of BMC campaign.
• Everything But The Office scheme launched, providing BMC's business services to homeworkers.

• BizVizion - the business development service - launched in partnership with BMC.
• BMC joins the Broadband Stakeholders group, promoting the interests of the creative industries in the development of data technology.
• BMC Gallery hosts Rankin's Celebritation exhibition of celebrity photographic portraits.
• Photo-Media, in partnership with BMC, opens at 15-17 Middle Street, providing professional photographic studios, equipment, darkrooms and training.
• Sussex Womens Alternative Networking evening held in the Gallery for local businesswomen.
  
• Alfresco hosts BMC's Christmas party.

• BMC launches two large new sites at 21-22 Old Steyne & at Friese Greene House in Middle Street. The new sites provide space for a further 40 companies.
• The Gallery hosts 12 exhibitions through the year, including an exhibition of degree show highlights from the MA Fine Art course at Chelsea College of Art.
• BMC Christmas event held for all clients and suppliers in the BMC Gallery.

• Lighthouse achieve a successful National Lottery bid for nearly £1m to purchase the freehold of the building at 9-12 Middle Street and to take over the running and benefit of that building.
• BMC are one of the first organisations to join the new Digital Content Forum, established to promote the digital creative industries in the UK.
• The Gallery hosts the interactive sonic installation presented by Daikan and BN1 - just one of 9 exhibitions held that year.
• BMC Christmas event held at The Ocean Rooms, Brighton.

• BMC opens the new site at 68 Middle Street, providing workspace for a further 11 companies.
• The Gallery at BMC, in partnership with the University of Sussex and the Arts Council, opens the Like Life exhibition exploring artificial life.
• The Contact Gallery - a joint venture between BMC and the Contact photographic agency - is launched to provide exhibition space for professional artists and illustrators.
• Association of Photographers hold their 17th annual show at Contact Gallery.

• BMC is a runner up in the Regeneration Through Partnership award, supported by the British Urban Regeneration Association (BURA) and the Department of Transport Regions (DETR).
• The Centre hosts Get Real - an event to promote the work of companies based at the centre.
• Gallery events include Man in a Box, a seven-day endurance installation.

• BMC opens the new site at 9-12 Middle Street, housing 30 media companies.

• BMC successfully achieves £360,000 of Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) funding to move to a new large site at Middle Street with workspace for 17 companies. £160,000 of this goes to Lighthouse, the digital arts training organisation, for staff and training facilities. The £200,000 helps to provide public spaces including a cafe, cinema, administration, conference room & gallery.

• BMC receives funding from the British Film Institute & the Arts Council to set up and run 20:20 media magazine for 2 years.

• Despite recession, BMC expands to 9-10 Jew Street.

• The first BMC is established at 11 Jew Street, funded in partnership with Brighton Borough Council and the British Film Institute.

• Brighton Borough Council provides funding to Annabelle Jackson Associates to research the potential of a media cluster in Brighton.