THE ink was barely dry on the day's issue of the Evening News before John Denton was on the phone.

Understandably.

In lamenting the struggles of the arts scene in Worcester, fellow columnist John Phillpott had posed the question "Whatever happened to Worcester Arts Workshop", the rambling old building at the bottom of Sansome Street, once the centre for alternative drama, dance and all things artistic in the city.

He then proceeded to give it a literary poke in the ribs by saying it's not the place it was.

Nothing seemed to happen there anymore.

Basically, get your arty backside in gear.

But the truth of the matter is, WAW has got itself in gear, it's just travelling in a different direction.

As John D, its general manager, rang to point out. Fortunately, with much good humour.

In fairness to John P, he was not alone in being unaware of this right angle policy turn.

In fact, unless you had been in on the formation of Worcester's Community Arts Team back in 1995, you too could be forgiven for not knowing.

"When I took over in 1992, it was immediately obvious the original concept for the Arts Workshop, which had opened in 1987, was not working," said John D.

"It was in a mess financially, the staff were demoralised and no-one seemed to know where we were going.

"We were under great financial pressure from West Midlands Arts and Worcester City Council, our main backers, the recession was starting to bite and the whole project was in danger of falling in. It was a horrible time."

Drastic measures were called for and although John had arrived expecting to be managing an arts centre, a role he had undertaken very successfully elsewhere, he soon found himself doing no such thing.

"We looked at all the options and decided the best course was not to expect the public to come to us, but to take our arts expertise out to the community, working with schools, colleges and community groups in their own environment."

Hence the formation of the Community Arts Team, created to develop and undertake what are called "outreach projects in the community".

It was a decision that went down well with WMA, which had a distinct preference for funding community projects rather than arts centres.

"Now more than 80 per cent of our work is outreach," John explained.

Some of the areas to benefit in Worcester have been Brickfields, Tolladine and Stanley Road and the projects have been so successful, the county council has enlisted WAW to work in other parts of Worcestershire.

The project that set the benchmark was the River Festival in Worcester in 1996, the highlight of which was the Carnival of Light, a galaxy of illuminations, performances and pyrotechnics. It drew 6,000 people to the banks of the Severn on a summer evening.

Many of the set pieces were built by schoolchildren and the whole event had a warm, community feel.

Since then, it has been followed by After Dark in the Park evenings at both Cripplegate and Gheluvent parks, again with illuminations, pyrotechnics and performances and much community participation.

A similar presentation is due to take place in another Worcester location this autumn, but John asked me not to divulge where, in case too many people turn up!

"They are very popular and we want this one to be just for the local area," he said.

WAW was a big hitter in Arts Worcester 2000, the Millennium project, and was responsible for the 2,000 self-portraits of school children displayed along the riverside.

"Getting involved with people is what we're all about," John added.

"Since 1995, when the Community Arts Team was formed, the Workshop has made a significant impact in bringing to the city innovative and exciting arts processes and events, with an emphasis on taking the arts to people whose contact is limited by social, economic, cultural, geographic and other factors."

A downside to all this - and another reason why performances at the Sansome Street premises are limited - is the damp problem in the basement theatre.

"It's a water table problem and, as such, something we can do little about. The floor is shot."

Apart from that, Worcester Arts Workshop is alive and well and recently negotiated a three-year funding deal with West Midlands Arts that will take it up to 2004.

A reason to be cheerful, indeed.