Little Art Hub, sparking imagination in Galashiels

Little Art Hub (LAH) - Sparking imagination in Galashiels! Raising funds to bring more creativity, inspiration and out of the box thinking to more people in 2025!

We want to be bold and ambitious, 2024 was an amazing first year for LAH.

WHAT we've achieved so far:

Since opening in March 2024:

• We have engaged 1500 exhibition visitors and 800 participants in 77 workshops, exhibitions and events from Galashiels, the Borders and beyond. 
• 90% of workshops have been free to access (when facilitator has external project funding) and venue use is free/pay what you can.  
• Activities have involved local and the wider Borders community aged 5 - 75 yrs, have been delivered by partners such as Transform Arts CIC, TD1 Youth Hub (ages 13 - 18yrs), Connecting Threads, CABN (Creative Arts Business Network), SBCAN (Scottish Borders Climate Action Network), LAH freelance artists and local grassroots groups.  
• We operate an open-door policy and our workshops are accessible to a diverse range of community members including but not limited to: young and older people, the LGBTQ+ community, the creatively curious, families, everyday high-street shoppers, those who feel disengaged from traditional community spaces and activities, looking to make connections outside of traditional social activities available in Galashiels and those less likely to benefit from funded culture.  
• LAH  offers a physical venue for our local and wider community  to come and take part in workshops run by a range of experienced freelance artists from print making, drawing and darning to imagining the possibilities for 'meanwhile use' of empty shops.
• LAH offers a place in the town centre close to transport links for groups to gather.
• LAH is an 'Incubator' space that offers opportunities for artists to experiment and try out ideas in a public facing space.

We will use funds you generously donate to support:

• More FREE creative workshops that are accessible to all members of our community, especially those who feel these activities may not be open or accessible to them.  Funds would support facilitator/artist fees and materials for 5 free workshops and will work with local community groups to widen access to activities at LAH.
• Monthly Gala Market day FREE family drop in sessions working with Transform Arts CIC to support their jam packed drop in monthly family sessions coinciding with Gala Market Day. Funds will support 5 of these sessions.  These are so important for sparking imagination in young people, for connecting with each other and planting seeds to try ideas out at home or at LAH.
• Monthly young people FREE drop in for 11 - 18 yrs olds. Working with TD1 Youth hub to  continue their monthly Friday drop in sessions including purchasing art materials and bringing local artists to the group. Funds will support 5 of these sessions.
• Create a wee snug space in the hub window area - think settee, rug, book shelf, reading lights and drawing materials a space to chill, chat, read and draw. 

ABOUT US:

Little Art Hub (LAH) is an artist run space in a previously empty shop in Galashiels town centre in the Scottish Borders, established in March 2024 with the support of an Energise Galashiels Trust (EGT) “Build a Better Gala grant.”

LAH evolved in response to multiple empty shops in Galashiels town centre, partly due to 2 large supermarkets on the edge of the town taking footfall and business away from the once thriving town centre and partly due to the changing face of retail.  LAH can and is providing new vibrant, creative ways for empowering social change, we want to re imagine our town centre through creativity and imagination  to ask What if? for an alternative vision of the town centre.

LAH is run by a collective of local creatives, third sector workers and experienced arts education facilitators many of who live in or near Galashiels, here are some of them! Jon Andrews, Coz Harrison, Lara Greene, Felicity Bristow, Emma Whigham, Anne Louise Kieran, Kerry Jones and Pippa Sinclair.

Little Art Hub provides a safe, accessible, inclusive space for imagination and creativity in the heart of Galashiels.

What people are saying about the Little Art Hub:

"An amazing and much needed space, thank you for putting it all together so that our community may benefit from it" (Hub user)

"So good to bring like minded people together. Please keep offering different events!" (Hub user)

"It is good because of the art works and because you can talk about anything" (young hub user)

"The establishment of LAH last year was a very welcome addition to the town, it is a space which was well needed to make arts more accessible to the public. For young people it created a venue which they could identify with, it was a more modern space which was in the middle of town and for young people who attend our services, they felt it was somewhere “they could go”.                                      (Douglas Ormston, Chief Executive TD1 Youth Hub, Galashiels)

"The programme of LAH exhibitions, space hire, and open-access workshops are all examples of the excellent work the team have developed, often in partnership also, to support local creative workers and provide the local community with inclusive and accessible creative activities which also support mental health and wellbeing." (CABN Creative catalyst)

"The art hub brings a taste of culture that you might not be able to tap into, it inspires your imagination and it helps you believe that art is something you can be involved with and it can be a part of your life, something that everyone can come together to do." (Hub user)

"I feel that the art hub is a very safe space for people who aren't use to loudness, crowds - it's a safe space where you can chill, get on with things, draw, make some little piece of art - which I feel there isn't much of here in Gala. Little art hub has done a lot of things for me, socially, mentally and emotionally, it opened a communication space for me to talk to people....its a space where I can leave my thoughts behind me and laugh for a little bit. I hope more people find out about this space " (Young Hub user) 

"I love the art hub, as an artist myself I think it's really important we have creative hubs around small towns like Galashiels, it is fundamentally important ....Boom to the Art Hub!" (Hub User and Volunteer) 

We've asked some of our wonderful partners , collaborators and LAH collective members to donate rewards for you to pledge for please have a look below and on our rewards list. We are very grateful for all support of any size  (and remember with our Creative Scotland Crowdmatch funding your pledges will be matched on a £1 to £1 basis up to a maximum Extra Funding amount of £250 per unique supporter.)

£5 Bird A6 Postcards from Emma Whigham

£10 String art kit from Transform Arts CIC

£30 100% Norwegian wool walking mat. This seating pad is the perfect camping and hiking accessory.

£50 Petal sterling silver necklace with hammered 24ct gold leaf detail, approx 2cm long, on a 45cm (18") sterling silver chain

£50 Untitled, Artists proof, Photo plate Lithograph - Emma Whigham            Size: 30cm x 30cm - (available unmounted) 

£50 Only Their Shadows Remained Etching by Georgie Fay.                                                                32cm x 24cm (available unmounted)

£28  Visible Creative Mending, Book by Flora Collingwood-Norris - Hardback. 

£60 'Winter Birch' 19 x 27cm Hand finished solid ink transfer on wooden panel in frame by Pippa Sinclair

£50 'Touched by the Moon'  21 x 29.5cm Multimedia on wooden panel unframed  by Pippa Sinclair

£30  A5 - Link stitch (blue) rubber cover sketch book, recycled cartridge paper (2 Available) by Felicity Bristow.

£20 Untitled, A3 screen print (edition of 5) by Anne Louise Kieran.

 £100  Reclaimed Bike wheel string art. Made by a Transform Arts CIC workshop participant at LAH.  This beautiful piece of work using all recycled materials can be viewed in the LAH window from March 22nd.