Transforming local communities and environments
Old Kent Road Arts Club joined: Veolia's Sustainability Fund 3 years ago
Impact data and claims within this report are provided by the project creator and have not been independently verified by Spacehive.
Help transform an empty shopfront on Old Kent Road into a free arts club that brings together local people and strengthens cultural and creative presence in the area – as it faces major change.
Old Kent Road (OKR) Arts Club will be a highly visible, community-led creative hub that energises an industrial stretch of the high street. Let's transform an empty shopfront into a space that celebrates life on Old Kent Road! The three pillars of OKR Arts Club have been shaped by local voices and respond to the Covid-19 crisis: Sustainability, Community and Mental Health. These themes will be embedded in all our work. OKR Arts Club will run: – Open access sessions for adults, exploring sustainable making (with special workshops and monthly socials!) – An art club for young people – creating space for a new generation of artists – A professional development programme that supports local creatives to run public workshops We'll celebrate everyone involved with our road-side window gallery, annual exhibition and publication. *We will continue to be guided by safety considerations. In the event of needing to reschedule activities, we will communicate this via our Spacehive page*
What we'll deliver:
Why it's a great idea:
OKR Arts Club will be a creative community hub benefitting and welcoming all people who live, work and travel through the Old Kent Road area. Our free Art Club will be a space for adults to explore their creativity, meet new people and exchange sustainable making skills. Our free Young Art Club will be for local young people to expand their creative horizons, make new friends, and learn diverse making techniques. Our Professional Development Programme will benefit local creatives looking to gain income and develop their social practice in a supportive environment, alongside volunteers and collaborators. Everybody who passes through this busy high street will benefit from this project, by seeing work made by local people showcased in our gallery, in an area which currently has little visible creative presence. Our annual exhibition and legacy publication will bring people together to celebrate and document our community’s voices at a time when the area is facing major redevelopment.
Steps to get it done:
Encouraging survey results: Out of the 198 people (of all ages) who responded to our local area survey 97% wanted a new arts club on Old Kent Road. “An initiative like this would help to strengthen community bonds and act as space for fostering creativity in people that might not have another outlet such as this” 89% of the local creatives that filled in the survey said they'd like to run a workshop and receive support from our Professional Development Programme. "I’ve been wanting to run workshops for years but lack of experience and confidence has stopped me." The local councillors seemed positive too: "I believe that it is vital that members of the local community have access to [OKR regeneration] new employment opportunities and that this project has a role to play in developing the skills needed to make that a reality." Councillor R.Livingstone, Labour councillor for Old Kent Road ward.
Gallery
Location Southwark
About the space
Currently dominated by the road. Busy due to Lidl and Recylcing centre. 1 bar. A petrol station. OKR Arts Club would sit right at the heart, at the front of the new Arebyte Studio block, inside an empty furniture warehouse. A site facing big change in 10 years. Arts Club would bring a whole new atmopshere.
Council
London Borough of Southwark
Journey
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Transforming local communities and environments
We're almost speechless might now... all we can say is THANK YOU, from the bottom of our hearts, to everyone that has supported this campaign – it means so much. CHEERS TO A HEALTHIER, MORE EQUAL, MORE CREATIVE, MORE COMMUNITY-SPIRITED FUTURE, AND TO FREE COMMUNITY ARTS ON OLD KENT ROAD! People power makes things happen. Please come and see us at 765-775 Old Kent Road, London, SE15 1NZ. You'll always be welcome. Warmest wishes, F.A.T. Studio C.I.C.
Whoop, 290 people have pledged since fundraising began!
Brilliant news, thanks everyone!
Whoop, 280 people have pledged since fundraising began!
Whoop, 270 people have pledged since fundraising began!
Whoop, 260 people have pledged since fundraising began!
How will the money be spent?Total £37,978
Costs Breakdown
This shows how money raised for the project will be spent. These costs have been confirmed by the project's Delivery Manager and verified.
Overfunding
This project is enabled for overfunding. If the project hits its funding goal before the end of the campaign period, any extra funds raised will be spent (in order of priority) on:
Total £37,978
Our Volunteer List
Want to help?
Do you have stuff or skills to contribute to this project? Use this tool to offer something to the project creator.
VolunteerF.A.T. Studio is a creative studio and C.I.C. that specialise in running community-focussed projects in south-east London. It’s run by 6 creative professionals who each bring different skills to the table and are committed to exploring what it means to be an 'community arts organisation' in 2021.
We believe that communities are stronger when they unite and we know that the arts have a powerful way of bringing people together. As artists, we see it as our role to create space for this important gathering and sharing to happen. Since setting up as a Community Interest Company in 2019 we have run a wide variety of creative events for the public; bring-your-own-art exhibitions, online community projects from the depths of lockdown and ongoing listening projects that reach out to some of London’s most vulnerable. Furthermore, we have supported over 40 local and emerging artists to run their own public events, in which their skills and ideas can be shared.
We’ve been based in south-east London from the very beginning. We started in Camberwell, worked in Peckham and now we’re running from a shopfront studio that looks directly out onto the Old Kent Road through giant windows. We love this space because it helps us deliver one of our biggest aims; to bring creative practice out from behind the scenes and into public view, where it can be seen and easily accessed by many people.
Helping people be seen and respected is a fundamental part of our work and we’re committed to supporting that to happen here on the Old Kent Road. The area is on the brink of monumental redevelopment and there is a risk that the people that live and work here will be overlooked in this process. By opening up our space for the local community to get together and work on projects that represent their voice, we hope to strengthen cultural and creative presence on Old Kent Road and support the community as a time when togetherness is crucial.
Project Owner: F.A.T. studio The Project Owner takes legal responsibility for receiving and spending the funds raised and ensuring the project is delivered.
