Blog: From vision to reality

The ideas are there, the partnerships are developing and the building work is on track but we’re now moving into a new phase of The Station where the vision is becoming a reality.

We have been lucky enough to receive some Arts Council funding to pay for a range of projects that will work with young people to produce performances and exhibitions at the launch of The Station in October.  This gives us the chance to turn the ideas of so many partners and young people into reality.  We have already started working with 15 partner organisations (both arts and youth) to make this happen.  

On top of this The Station Drivers have selected ‘Full Tilt’ to produce a piece of iconic art that will adorn The Station on it’s opening and from then on.  It will be a combination of dance, acrobatics and projections that should blow us all away!

These sorts of projects are so exciting and although we are only at the beginning they are beginning to engage young people in The Station in a very real way.  It is a welcome step forward from the grind of fundraising and getting building work on track last year.

This progress is matched in the building as the first walls are starting to go up and pipes are beginning to snake their way around the building.

All this being said, money is still tighter than we would like.  Funding from all sources is hard to come by and the Creative Youth Network is likely to have to take out a significant loan to make sure The Station gets up and running.  This is clearly a risk to us and the future of The Station that will need to be managed.  So, what are we doing about it?  Well, we are still approaching a number of potential corporate sponsors and churning out those applications to any number of grant making trusts.  Bristol Youth Links is now all set to go out to tender in February and we are working hard as part of a consortium to develop a winning bid.

So, exciting times that bring with it a whole range of challenges but to me the best thing is I can see the vision beginning to become a reality one piece at a time.