An honest reflection…

…on the inevitably slow and uncomfortable journey towards equity in a community organisation

A Blog Post for RadHR

Creating a welcoming community space

Ort Gallery is a visual arts and poetry organisation based in the residential area Balsall Heath in Birmingham. We started in 2011 with an arts and community cafe in an old warehouse. There were three of us at the start: Ridhi, Noemi and myself. In 2011,  the highstreet lacked spaces for people to spend time in. It was important to us to create a space where people could spend time, be warm, meet others and do all this for no money or at a very low cost (a cup of tea cost 50p). We never asked people to leave or consume more. Very quickly people came to our space and felt safe there, people who were local to the area and some who travelled here. It had a unique, relaxed atmosphere that not many spaces had at the time.

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