We are an artist and women-led charity with lived experience of neurodiversity and queerness. We build a network of artists, practitioners and educators who make, support and share work that is vital to the wellbeing of artists and the communities they are part of. Alongside a year-round programme of exhibitions, events, residencies and workshops, we have always provided affordable studios for the production and development of artist work and ideas. Artist development runs through everything we do, with a supportive, collaborative and non-hierarchical approach to exhibition and event making.

Our open learning programme is rooted in Strange Exchange Library, our community and education partnerships, and the knowledge and experience of the people we work with. Participants work alongside other artists and community members, building their own curriculum from a range of workshops, events and resources. We aim to reach as diverse a group of people as possible and to remove the barriers that stop people taking part in creative activity.

Direct action, mutual aid, the commons and contemporary working culture have all been important conversations in our development. As individual artists and practitioners, we each have the autonomy to develop and shape our own work, brought together by a shared methodology and a shared politics. We work through horizontal, sociocratic governance structures, and are committed to grassroots approaches and community ownership as steps towards cultural resilience and the redistribution of power and resources. In 2021 we led the campaign for The Pipe Factory’s restoration and transition into community ownership, and we are working towards the same future for French Street.

Our vision is for accessible creative platforms to be embedded across Glasgow, at the heart of communities, as catalysts for creative development, education, experimentation and inclusion.

Clink on the links to find out more about Our Thinking, Our Vision Aims and Purpose and Our Strategic Priorities.