A new arts space will soon be made available to Stevenage residents, thanks to a partnership between Stevenage Borough Council and Junction 7 Creatives.
17a Town Square will be transformed from a vacant shop into a welcoming space for exhibitions, workshops, poetry events and more - as Junction 7 Creatives takes up residency there next month.
The new space will launch with an inaugural art exhibition – ‘The Heart Of A Town Lies in its People’ – taking its name from Stevenage’s town motto. Residents from Stevenage and surrounding villages are invited to submit their artworks for inclusion in the town centre space or online.
Alongside the Town Square space, Junction 7 Creatives is also working in partnership with the council on various other projects around the town, including several new art installations that will transform stretches of Stevenage’s cycle network. They are also closely involved in plans to bring back Covid the Cobra – Stevenage’s community-made snake of 10,000 hand-painted stones – in a new and lasting form.
Councillor Richard Henry, executive member for leisure and culture, said: “We know how important arts and culture are to our residents, so I’m delighted that we have been able to work with J7C during the pandemic to make 17a Town Square available to develop our cultural offer.
"This new space will provide somewhere for people to attend workshops, poetry events and exhibitions right in the heart of Stevenage town centre.”
Gerry Strohm, co-director of Junction 7 Creatives, said: “We are so pleased to be opening this space for creativity and connection in the heart of our wonderful town. We hope it will offer people a place to pause, be inspired and express themselves creatively during these challenging times.”
Fellow co-director John Prebble adds: “While we’ll need to open the space gradually as lockdown restrictions are eased, we’re really excited to be putting the word out and finding ways for people to get involved from the beginning.”
You can find out more at www.junction7creatives.co.uk/the-heart-of-a-town-stevenage.
If you’d like to learn more about Junction 7 Creatives and how you can be involved, email info@junction7creatives.co.uk.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here