For 27 years Soft Touch Arts has been using arts, media and music activities to engage with and change the lives of some of Leicester and Leicestershire’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young people. Each year the organisation reaches over 1000 young people, delivering exciting creative projects in community venues, on the street using their mobile music studio, and from their current premises in Clarendon Park.
Chris Wigmore, Business & Strategic Director says. “It’s taken us a long time to find the perfect city-based premises so that more young people can access and benefit from our services. From Autumn 2014, 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. 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.”
Peter Knott, Area Director, Arts Council England, said: “I’m really pleased that Arts Council England can support Soft Touch in their ambition to buy and develop a purpose-built arts centre in the heart of Leicester. I look forward to seeing how Soft Touch use this funding to transform the building on New Walk into a sustainable and multi-purpose arts venue, which will become their new home. The exhibition spaces, digital studios, workshops and rehearsal rooms they plan to build will give young people from across the city more opportunities to get involved in the arts.”
Young people have been involved in the design of the centre from the outset, working alongside the project architects, rg+p to contribute their ideas. More than just a space to make and create, 50 New Walk will be a venue where children and young people can make a positive contribution to the cultural life of the city; putting the creative and communication skills they learn into practice by organising their own pop-up restaurants, art sales, exhibitions, performances and creative and heritage workshops.
The total project cost is £1,162,000. Other funding support has come from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Leicester City Council Youth Service, the Trusthouse Foundation, the Wooden Spoon Charity, the Garfield Weston Foundation and other smaller trusts and private and business donors. The charity is looking to raise a further £60,000 in 2014 to kit out and complete all the creative spaces and is interested in talking to businesses who may wish to be founder sponsors for creative spaces within the building.
The tender for building works will be advertised shortly and refurbishment work should start in March.
For more information contact Christina Wigmore – chris@soft-touch.org.uk
