A "passionately inclusive" community creative hub in Stevenage is raising money to help its talented musicians grow.

Junction 7 Creatives (J7C) opened an arts space in Town Square in April 2021, transforming a vacant shop into a welcoming space for exhibitions, workshops, poetry events, open mic nights and more.

Tony Bourne, a project manager at J7C, explained: "We are a community creative hub based in Stevenage that gives somewhere for artists of all kinds and across all of the different media to use and share their creative talents with the community.

"We give artists the opportunity to exhibit and sell their work. We also help students complete elements of their studies by giving them the chance to plan and create an exhibition in a safe space with minimal costs."

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J7C has now set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to pay for licences to allow musicians to continue to perform during open mic nights at the arts space, and to help pay for additional equipment.

Tony said: "Our GoFundMe goal for now is to help our talented musicians to grow and to protect ourselves at events by getting a PPL and PRS licence that allows us to perform with live and pre-recorded music.

"We would also like to be able to invest in some extra assets, such as audio equipment and lights, so we can deliver events that are more polished and professional in appearance. For now, our priority is to get the performance licences."

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Tony continued: "J7C is an important community resource whose activities are mostly funded by our dedicated team of volunteers, with some funding from Stevenage Borough Council, who provide us with the majority of our 'survival' costs and a place to work.

"We welcome everybody, regardless of their background and circumstances. We are passionately inclusive and want to bring out the best in people who would not otherwise have the opportunity to do so."

To make a donation, visit gofundme.com/f/junction-7-creatives-helping-talent-to-grow.

You can find out more at junction7creatives.co.uk.

If you’d like to learn more about Junction 7 Creatives and how you can be involved, email info@junction7creatives.co.uk.