Group: Queens Park Arts Centre
Project: Running Costs
Grant: £7,878
Fund: Community Fund
Queens Park Arts Centre is a vibrant hub for arts, culture, and community, located in Aylesbury. They offer affordable access to a wide range of creative workshops, courses, live performances, exhibitions, and events. From comedy and dance to pottery, music, and visual arts, the centre invites people of all ages to express their creativity and learn new skills. By making the arts accessible to all, Queens Park Arts Centre helps increase participation in creative activities while supporting community wellbeing.
Behind all of the performances, workshops, and exhibitions are the many essential day to day running costs that keep the centre open and welcoming. From managing box office systems and supporting staff and tutors, to paying heating and insurance bills, these are all fundamental to keeping the centre operating safely.
A Heart of Bucks Community Fund grant contributed to these core running costs, enabling Queens Park Arts Centre to continue delivering their vital arts and culture programmes to the local community.
During the funded period, they held over 2,500 events, delivered over 100 weekly workshops, and supported 45 local and professional artists to exhibit their work. With affordable activities, free opportunities, and inclusive sessions for all ages and abilities, they received over 65,000 visits, of which 20% were free, ensuring creativity is accessible to everyone, regardless of circumstance.
“I’m on a fixed income and the workshops are really good value for money, it’s the only activity I do in a month and I’d be lost without it”
For many, Queens Park Arts Centre is their first experience of the arts. For others, it is a place to recover confidence, improve wellbeing, develop lifelong skills, or simply find friendship and belonging. Its impact extends far beyond the walls of the building, strengthening communities, nurturing talent, improving lives, and ensuring that creativity remains accessible to everyone.
