The Arts Council has given the organisation £616,000 to transform 50 New Walk, in Leicester, into the city’s first youth arts and heritage centre.
The money will be put towards the total cost of the project, which is more than £1 million.
Chris Wigmore, business and strategic director of Soft Touch Arts, said: “It’s taken us a long time to find the perfect city premises.”
The building, which is set to open later this year, will allow more people to access the services the charity offers.
Chris said: “We will encourage creative enterprise ideas and, through the support of our business partners and volunteers, young people will learn more about applying their skills and talents to the world of work so they are better equipped to progress to further education or enter the job market.”
For more than 25 years, Soft Touch Arts has been using arts, media and music to engage with the city and county’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young people.
Each year, the organisation reaches more than 1,000 young people, delivering creative projects in community venues, on the street and using its mobile music studio.
Its current premises are in Clarendon Park.
The charity said 50 New Walk would be a venue where children and young people could make a positive contribution to the cultural life of the city.
It said they would be able to put creative and communication skills into practice by organising pop-up restaurants, art sales, exhibitions, performances and creative and heritage workshops.
Chris said: “From autumn, 50 New Walk will open its doors and provide a place for art, music, fashion, crafts, performing, cooking, film, photography, graffiti – in fact, anything creative that young people like doing.”
Youngsters have been involved in the design of the building, working with the project architects and contributing their ideas.
Peter Knott, area director for Arts Council England, said: “I’m really pleased Arts Council England can support Soft Touch in its ambition to buy and develop a purpose-built arts centre in the heart of the city.
“I look forward to seeing how Soft Touch uses this funding to transform the building in New Walk into a sustainable and multi-purpose arts venue, which will become its new home.
“The exhibition spaces, digital studios, workshops and rehearsal rooms it plans to build will give young people from across the city more opportunities to get involved in the arts.”
The charity is looking to raise a further £60,000 to kit out and complete all the creative spaces.
It is interested in talking to businesses which may wish to be founder sponsors of the creative spaces.
For more information, e-mail:
chris@soft-touch.org.uk
