A grant of £3,264 has been given to community ceramics studio, Made With Clay, for a new kiln and to help with running activities for members and community groups.
This grant from Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation has enabled Made With Clay to purchase a second kiln, which has enabled the group to put on more events such as open days and an exhibition during Heritage Open Weekend. It will also help to provide family workshops, taster evenings and fund neighbourhood workshops.
In 2019, the Foundation granted Made With Clay £7K to help move the group to The Vasanta Hall on Gernon Walk, in Letchworth. The funding was used to convert Vasanta Hall from a meeting space into a ceramics studio capable of accommodating up to 25 people. This is the only ceramics studio open to the community in the town and has been set up as a community space.
Head of Charitable Projects and Partnerships at the Heritage Foundation, Alastair Stewart, said “An initial grant of £1k enabled the group to engage a Business Consultant to assist them developing their Business Plan. Starting a new community venture is always very tough but over the past two years (and during the pandemic) the group have worked extremely hard to establish themselves. The Kilns are integral to the success of the business plan and we felt that funding the kiln would not only support their sustainability but would also facilitate the development and delivery of the wider arts and culture programme in the town. The events they are looking to run meet with the wider outcomes of our plan to boost access to the arts and create greater cultural awareness.”
The group are hoping to operate at maximum capacity and support future community work with the income they make from workshops. In addition, they hope to partner with Broadway Studio & Gallery to create a programme for residents and visitors to Letchworth.
To find out more about the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation grant programme, visit letchworth.com/grants
