Boosting music and arts venues in York
1 December 2023
Boosting grassroots music venues
We’ll be helping to boost community places and spaces hosting live music, arts and culture, whilst providing our free hands-on work experience opportunities for local young people.
Our first project in this new programme saw us help popular York music venue, The Fulford Arms, to become more accessible for gig-goers with mobility issues or physical disabilities, by creating a ramp at the entrance of the venue and building a sound booth to provide a safer experience for audiences and music tech teams.
This first project has been co-funded by Barclaycard as part of their ongoing involvement in the live music industry. This activity supporting grassroots music and arts venues sits alongside wider Barclays community activity, including our work with the Barclays Community Football Fund supporting local sports teams and clubs. Previous VIY projects supported by Barclaycard include Aaja Music in South London and Nottingham Arts Theatre.
The next four projects will follow in 2024.
Cllr Pete Kilbane, Deputy Leader of City of York Council and Executive Member for Economy and Transport, said:
“We’re very pleased to be working with Volunteer It Yourself and Barclaycard, both to improve our city’s much-loved entertainment venues like the Fulford Arms, and to enable the next generation of tradespeople to develop skills that will help them build rewarding careers.
“In our four-year council plan, One City for All, we committed to making York a fairer and more equal place for all. This project will ensure that gig-goers will have equal access to this venue, and that young people at risk of economic and social exclusion can obtain the skills and experience they need.
“There really is no substitute for on-site experience of the kind that this project offers, where young people can see first-hand the difference made by their hard work to their community, as well as to their own futures.”
Daniel Mathieson, Head of Sponsorship at Barclaycard, said:
“We are excited for this project to kick off and see the benefits the refurbishments will make to the local community and young people who are volunteering at The Fulford Arms. We are working with VIY to support local young people gain skills and qualifications and help give them a headstart to their working life.”
Hear from the young people in The York Press here
See Fix Radio on site with us too!
About the UK Shared Prosperity Fund
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus
