About

We believe that art has the power to bring us together, imagine new futures and create real change.

Our aim is to create spaces where people can bring their different lived experience, knowledge and perspectives, in order to understand the world differently, together.

We are collaborative

Valuing difference and diversity and creating space for change.

We believe that the story of our communities should be owned by our communities. That’s why our programme will always be participatory, interactive and collaborative by its very nature and informed by accessibility, inclusion, diversity and difference. And it’s also why our approach to everything we do is honest, open, democratic and always exciting! We don’t write the rules. We work them out, together.

We challenge

Challenging who gets to set the agenda

Throughout our programme we prioritise marginalised, under-represented voices, taking a justice-led and regenerative approach to explore issues such as migration, disability, the climate crises, children’s rights and mental health. We seek to challenge who sets the agenda, who makes the decisions that affect the place we call home, and whose stories get heard.

We care

Looking after ourselves, and one another

We are committed to being part of the solidarity economy, working towards a just, fair and more caring society for all of us. We may be a small organisation, but we love the fact that we are part of something bigger. We value and respect the experience, insight and participation of all of our community members, staff and artists, because each of us has a story to tell. And, together, the stories we tell today can change the narrative of the place we call home, tomorrow.

Our Projects

We know our work will be its most ambitious and meaningful if we create the right space - and time - for it to happen.

It could be using film, music and performance to give form to the infinitely complex and multi-layered nature of suicide (The Suicide Chronicles), contemplating the many possible futures of St Helens through the eyes of young people (Lookout), creating colourful murals to cover concrete buildings with the help of young families in supported accommodation (Sphere of Nature), or working with colleagues across Europe as a founding partner of the Collaborative Arts Partnership Programme, a four year programme of artist exchange, research and learning.

Read more about our projects.

Our Community

Our community is everyone we work with! From artists and participants to partner organisations and audiences.
The artists we work with are a vital link between our communities and our practice. By developing long-term artistic partnerships between them, communities and funders, we can support spaces of possibility, investigating social issues and amplifying voices

Co-created projects, partnerships and collaborations drive everything we do: they create room for dialogue, research, learning and experimentation. And room for fun, connection and friendship, too.

Read more about our team and who we work with.

Our Home

Wherever our work happens, it’s very unlikely to be a traditional art space. From forests to libraries, empty shops to allotments, we’re drawn to the spaces that we occupy and share together. Spaces that fill our projects and events with new possibilities!

The other context for us is St Helens. It’s part of our origin story, and a core part of why we exist. In more recent times we’ve expanded into Knowsley, and the wider Liverpool City Region, and we are working on projects nationally, internationally and online too.

Our Impact

The impact of our work can be incremental or transformational - from simply being heard, gaining a deeper understanding of personal experiences, or feeling less isolated. We don’t prescribe outcomes in advance - they emerge through shared creative experiences and meaningful connection.