It started as an ambitious dream to save Altrincham's 123-year-old Town Hall - and almost a year on, OYEZ Arts is quickly blossoming into a community success story.
The historic venue, which dates back to 1901, has transformed into a bustling cultural hub hosting everything from weddings to art classes.
"We have grown immensely," said Jo Cushing, one of the OYEZ Arts co-founders with Jodie Saint. "We've gone from zero weddings in September to 36 weddings for this year, and the scope has expanded from just ceremonies to full blown weddings."
This increased demand has enabled OYEZ to expand from the two original founders to a five-person team, all working hard to bring the Edwardian building back to life as a community asset.
Charlotte Bourke, who has previously worked for organizations like the Wellcome Trust and British Council, is bringing her marketing expertise to an organisation she sees as integral to the community in her home town.
“Our offer has expanded hugely in the time that Jo and Jodie have been here, but we still have a job to do with awareness, to let people know about the exciting and really broad offer we have here,” said Charlotte.
"I live in the area, so I'm part of this community too. When I met Jo and Jodie, I was incredibly excited about the potential here. For me, this is the next stage of the regeneration of Altrincham, and it’s very exciting to be involved."
Emily Dixon, formerly of the Fig and Sparrow coffee shop in Manchester, brings social media expertise as the team looks to promote an increasing array of classes that include life drawing, yoga, watercolour painting, children’s classes and the popular Friday oil painting sessions.
And completing the trio of new faces at the town hall is Libby Innes, who has joined as Events Assistant after graduating with a Theatre Studies degree from Leeds University.
Under OYEZ Arts’ stewardship, the town hall has become a true community resource, hosting classical concerts, business meetings, networking events and even a hen do.
Other recent highlights have included corporate wellbeing sessions for local firm Myersons to mark Mental Health Awareness Week, and a dementia support day with Home Instead and the NHS that brought over 300 local residents into the hall.
"It was amazing seeing the hall buzz with community life," added Jo.
The venue's long-term future now hinges on September's community share offer.
"The share offer is the community's way of buying into the building and it becoming their building," explained Jo.
"They can buy shares - anything from £50 to £100,000 - and have a right to say how they want it run. It helps keep the building in community rather than commercial ownership."
OYEZ has developed a clear financial model where commercial activities like weddings subsidise the community events and classes. "You can get a reasonably priced wedding here - not like going to a big hotel and paying £20,000," added Jo.
With share offer funds, OYEZ would finally be able to address the essential maintenance needs of the historic building. "At the moment, if the boiler breaks down, we're like 'what do we do?'" admitted Jo. "With the share offer, we'll be in a much more secure position."
The message to the community is clear: use it or lose it. “The September share offer represents a chance to secure this beautiful space for future generations,” added Jo.
For more information about weddings, events and classes at Altrincham Town Hall, visit oyezarts.co.uk, or follow @oyez_arts on social media.
