Community Hubs Network at Pride Cafe

CHN is about working with freelance creative practitioners to deliver workshops, training, performance, exhibitions etc with communities and groups in underused venues across North East England and we work with venue managements to develop new spaces for community use.

In return for raising money to refurbish and then coordinate group access to the "community space" (left) and a suite of up to ten offices on the second floor, we've been given a desk in the Pride Cafe admin office and will be able to hire the space at a very discounted rate for our own programme of activities.

Work to date has been about getting the space ready to receive users whilst I draft applications to funders for a major refurbishment that will see the installation of audio-visual equipment, renewed ceiling and lighting, a system for exhibition hanging and lighting renewing the floor and installing a movable partition to make the 46ft X 20ft space into two smaller ones when required. Almost all the work so far has been done by volunteers. I estimate it will cost £45,255 to complete the project.

There is an obvious demand for the services we plan to offer at the Pride Cafe Centre: there is a waiting list of organisations keen to use the "community space" when it is complete as there is growing interest from groups wanting to be tenants in the building. After three months, I am keen to make my mark on the project doing what I know I'm good at and I enjoy: community development and network support. Access to a city centre office and address is a big boost for CHN. Once the community space is complete and ready to use, I will put all my energies into keeping it in use as much as is practically possible including a range of "in house" activities: workshop programmes, showcases, poetry and music recitals etc.

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