Altrincham has a new community arts centre - and it's saved the historic town hall for the people.
We speak to Jo Cushing and Jodie Saint, the team behind OYEZ Arts, about their plans to create a vibrant arts hub in the heart of town - and why arts are so important to a community.
ALTRINCHAM TODAY: For those who don’t know, can you introduce us to Oyez Arts?
JO: OYEZ Arts is a brand new cultural arts centre and venue in the heart of Altrincham. We are developing a programme of high quality creative events and activities to benefit our local community. Our aim is to create a vibrant welcoming arts hub, where people come together, meet, create and thrive.
Based in Altrincham’s beautiful town hall, we are on a mission to save this fantastic building as a space for public use, the space here is unique and perfect for weddings and celebrations.
Our name, OYEZ, comes from the call of the original town crier which of course was used to gather the community together. We thought it was a perfect shout out to invite people of Altrincham to get involved. As a community benefit society our intention is to build a diverse and inclusive programme driven by local demand.
AT: You’re now based in this historic space here at Altrincham Town Hall - tell us how you came to move here and why it was important to retain this building for public use.
JODIE: Honestly it is the building itself that first inspired Oyez Arts and we feel incredibly lucky to be here. Many people may remember that Trafford Council found themselves in the difficult position of having to put the town hall on its disposal list in 2022. The hall was losing money and deemed unsustainable. Thankfully local residents rallied and with almost 2000 people signing a petition to keep it as a community asset, the council re-opened the bidding.
We saw an amazing opportunity to revitalise the building and bring something new to the heart of Altrincham with OYEZ Arts. With local support we would be able to save the hall as a public asset, protect its heritage and community purpose as well as provide something new, culturally exciting for the whole community. We were thrilled to win.
It matters because the hall is now one of the last remaining heritage spaces still available for public use in the centre of town. Exactly 123 years old, the Hall first opened its doors to the public in November 1901. It was built to serve the community, has a rich heritage and became a most beautiful space for weddings and other special occasions.
We are excited to be at the start of a new journey here that we hope will save this building and its heritage for future generations, bringing a new cultural and community focussed offer to the heart of town.
AT: You’ve described Oyez Arts as a place where people can meet, create and thrive - can you explain a bit more about what that means?
JO: It’s simply about bringing people together to make good things happen. We know that meeting new people, sharing new experiences and being a part of something all contribute to enhancing lives and bringing positive health benefits.
Taking up an interest and taking part is considered as one of the best ways of practising good mental health and well-being.
In a safe and welcoming space we learn and grow, have a go, make mistakes, support others, share and celebrate. Whether people choose to participate, volunteer, attend or support, there will be something for everyone at every level.
AT: How can the local community get involved and ensure the Town Hall becomes a well-used hub of arts activity?
JODIE: OYEZ is quite literally a call to gather people together and for us that means come and visit us and get involved at any level. Honestly the more people who get involved and support us then the more successful we will be.
A good start would be to join our mailing list and socials, share with friends and spread the word.
There’s loads of opportunities and ways to support us though. We are growing our volunteer groups, our creative networks, and of course our programme of events. This is a big old venue and there’s plenty of practical needs as well as creative needs to solve.
We’d love to talk to anyone who’d like to bring or see a particular activity here, run or join a class or workshop. If you have specialist creative skills that you think could be included or business skills to offer that would support and help us grow, ideas or advice, then please come and see us.
Of course the important thing is that you use the space, come and say hi, visit us, hire us, participate and attend.
AT: You’ve been involved in arts in Altrincham for many years, most recently with Inch Arts. How important is a thriving arts scene to Altrincham?
JO: In our experience a vibrant arts and culture scene is a huge asset to any community, it brings joy, supports inclusion and promotes a true sense of belonging for everyone.
Creative community projects are designed to spread joy and focus on cohesion, especially during Christmas, celebrating the people in our neighbourhood, bringing to light those in the community who make us smile.
Bringing activities and events to the town hall increases what Altrincham has on offer. It creates another layer of regeneration in town, making a place more desirable, giving people more reasons to stay as well as promoting a deeper sense that you belong to a community.
AT: A crucial part of your development is going to be a community share offer - can you explain a bit more about what that means?
JODIE: We took over Altrincham Town Hall on 01 September 2024 as a ‘Community Asset’ and set ourselves up as a community benefit society, much like Stretford Public Hall with a view to offer community shares. We don’t receive funding from Trafford Council and part of our original government funding is now on hold whilst the new government decides how to proceed.
We have however already made some great progress in the first two months, but our intention was always to engage the support of the wider community to really bring the vision of the building to life. The building has seen years of underuse, and restoring it to its full potential as a vibrant cultural hub is a major task. We will be ready to launch the Community Share Offer in February.
The share offer itself is a really fantastic opportunity to be a part of the story here.
Investing in a share will work in the same way as any other investment. It has a set interest and after so many years the money is returned to the shareholder, along with interest gained.
Of course the added value of the share offer is that it gives everyone a chance to invest in their local community asset, be a part of what is happening in the space and in our case help save this beautiful building for public use for future generations.
The money invested will help to crucially develop the space and maximise the way we as a community want to use it. It’s investing in the opportunity here for Altrincham and ensuring that the building remains in the hands of the community.
We’ll have much more information on the offer and how to get involved early next year.
It’s vital we get the offer right for everyone and gain support. The building is still potentially at risk and should we not be successful in the share offer the town hall may still be at risk of being leased to a private concern.
AT: What’s coming up at OYEZ Arts?
JO: In December we have lots of Christmas events and activities to get involved with from free children’s craft making, to art fairs, singalongs, wreath making and music concerts.
In January we are planning to kick start 2025 with a well-being weekender. People can look out for our Monthly weekender specials, where we bring special projects and one off events to bring the community together in addition to our core program.
Of course along with the share offer there’s much much more to come.
For more information, pop in to Altrincham Town Hall between 10am and 4pm from Tuesday to Friday, and on Saturday mornings. You can also visit oyezarts.co.uk or @oyez_arts on social media
