Open Source Arts on the move (phase 1)

Aim

Help Open Source Arts to store all our equipment and resources while we prepare to create a fantastic new community arts venue for Leeds.

Open Source Arts LOVES Leeds, LOVES Culture, LOVES people and loves keeping it lit for community and culture, prototyping, celebrations and community.  We are moving premises (earlier than we expected) and we need some support with the move. Your support will help us with the essential costs of temporarily putting things into storage whilst we finish BUYING OUR OWN BUILDING!!! (Wish us luck / support more - read below)

Our home on Kirkstall road has been a place for making, prototyping, gathering, experimenting, learning, creating, activist-ing, dancing, singing, loving, and opening up new horizons and relationships for people from many different backgrounds.  It’s called Open Source Arts because we want it to be open for everyone, rather than just for one art form, and we love to say yes to wild ideas and fledgling creative projects.  This has been our pattern and our dream for the last 11 years.  

Now, the bulldozers are coming and the landlord says move on - this is kinda fine, we expected it, and we are working on buying our own building, but the sale hasn’t completed yet, so things aren’t quite lining up like we hoped - and therefore we have unexpected storage costs before we can move into our new home. 

In the last 11 years we have welcomes tens of thousands of people through our doors, from all different artistic and creative, community and cultural backgrounds, sometimes being a silent partner in the beginning of something great and fantastic.  Although most people know us as a venue, we are in fact a big community of creative and cultural dreamers who believe in people getting together in the real world, trying things out, getting it mixed up, figuring out what might work, learning a lot along the way and making something fantastic.  

This iterative approach to creation is how we have built up such a varied history of different artists who have been part of this space for so many years.  Because we offer our space for a low cost, it’s also the reason why we can’t respond to sudden shocks like a short-notice move, or expensive short term storage from within our own finances, and hence why we are humbly asking for some support during this upset. 

If you can donate it will help us with the really essential costs we are experiencing at this time including: 

• Temporary storage
• Van rental and transport for stuff to storage
• Volunteer expenses for folks helping out with the moving and shaking
• Little bits of professional tradesperson time for things we can’t do ourselves
• Rental of big storage boxes for the short time things are in storage (massive crates etc.)

These kind of things cost quite a bit, and every penny you can spare will help us tremendously.  Every penny will get spent on the move and we will publish it afterwards for all you interested - community-art-centre sudden-moving geeks out there.  You must exist if we do. 

So - with a whole heart and a lot of hope for the future, we humbly ask if you can support us during this fast and furious time.  We are here to stay, and are so much on the cusp of owning a permanent piece of community infrastructure in Leeds, we just need a little help to get there. 

From all of us here, and to everyone who wants to help keep the flame alive for grassroots culture and creativity in Leeds, 

Thank you

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 24th September 2026 at 5:00pm