The Birley artists' studios sits at the heart of the great city of Preston, is home to 28 artists, and our gallery is currently the only space in the centre of town showing contemporary art. Opening directly onto the street, wheelchair accessible, bright and welcoming; we have just refurbished our gallery & project space and are planning to bring a year of exhibitions and events to the people of the city in 2023/24. From painting and sculpture, to experimental film & video, to sound art and performance, workshops, artist's talks and classes, we have a packed schedule planned, beginning in the spring. We will bring in artists from across the UK as well as showcase our resident talent. To make this happen, we need your help! Your pledges will help us get the funding we need to do this important work properly. Please pledge, to enable us to help keep contemporary art alive and kicking in this fabulous city!

What we'll deliver:

• Five exhibitions and a number of live events, talks and workshops over 11 months
• Payment for artists, coordinators and invigilators to program, produce, install and look after the work
• Update our obsolete digital equipment to enable us to show new work
• Build gallery wall space into our remaining publicly accessible gallery space

Why it's a great idea:

We believe in the power of contemporary art to fire imagination and shift perception, to bring meaning and inspire action - the impact of arts and culture to a community or a city can be inestimable. Importantly, we believe that our artists, coordinators, producers and invigilators should be paid to do this important work; this funding will be a much needed contribution to the economic health of our city's artistic community. So while our audience for the project is general, our aims are specific. We will be empowered to deliver our program of arts properly, and to nurture Preston as a cultural destination; somewhere artists and cultural workers will want to be inviolved with in the future.

Steps to get it done:

• issue an open call for artists to propose a show at the Birley
• formulate a social media campaign for early shows and events
• purchase necessary digital projection/sound equipment for shows
• Fit out our remaining publicly accessible space with new gallery walls