Janine
Space 2 is celebrating its 20th anniversary at the Old Fire station in Gipton, and we went along to see what it had on offer there.
Space 2 is a place of collaborative creative projects and arts in East Leeds, where they co-produce projects with the community in East Leeds. It was a good opportunity for them to look back over the past 20 years and what they have achieved. It is also a time for them to look forward to what they have to come in terms of co-producing a thriving, hopeful and sustainable future. There were loads of exciting projects for people to get involved in, and they welcomed everybody in, especially working with members of the public from Harehills and Gipton.
So, for their 20th anniversary as “Space 2 at 20”, they have been developing an archive with thousands of pieces from old posters and flyers from the early days all the way till now, plus photographs, pieces of artwork and poetry. As well as this, the archive works digitally. Hence, there are videos in their collection dating from throughout their history from 2003 till now. This all helps to tell a story of their journey, which is one of change and growth to be where they are today.
The Space 2 archive will be held and open to the public for people to come and visit to look through their extensive list of past community art projects.
They are also collecting 20 oral histories from the company founders, with Coralie Datta leading the way whilst working closely with a community group who also help in supporting the process of collecting them.
I had an interview with Coralie and was able to ask her a few questions:
Can you give me a bit of a rundown of what you do here at Space 2?
“So Space 2 is an art and social change charity. We do everything from visual arts and art groups that run every week to gardening and cookery groups, all based in East Leeds, particularly in Gipton and Harehills as well as Burmantofts and Seacroft and Chapeltown.”
How can people get involved in Space 2’s programmes?
“A lot of them you turn up to a group you think is interesting; we’ve got on our website a list of what we’re doing, you can email one of us or phone us in the office, and we’ll talk you through what might be the best one for you, but they are open for anyone to come along to.”
What has inspired the change and growth to make Space 2 the success it is today?
“A lot of it is the passion in everyone for being creative, and we know there’s a need for that. The creativity can really help people, and there’s a need for that space to be there.”
You can visit Space 2 at the Old Fire Station Gipton and online at their website: https://space2.org.uk/ , and across Social Media, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
Article and interview by Daniel Wilkinson
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