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HOW WE GOT HERE AND WHERE WE WANT TO GO
Back in 2012, Stirling’s high street didn’t reflect the talent and creativity of people who live here. But Joe, founder of Creative Stirling, wanted to change that. She believed in listening to people and creating opportunities for them to explore arts and culture that connected people with each other and their communities. After opening the first Made in Stirling store at the bottom of King Street, the shop moved several times until it settled at 44 King Street in 2018, the location for the old Wilkie’s shop (where you can still see a huge poster for ladies’ wear above the stairs).
Creative Stirling has grown into an organisation that benefits not only the local community of artists, but also the folk who live and work here. The organisation brings together people from all backgrounds in a way that is fun and welcoming, a place where ideas can flow freely and people can learn from each other. We share a common experience living here and we want to stay in our ideal spot at the heart of the city so we can do even more for our communities through making a place where creativity is for everyone.
This year at the Stirling Business Awards, we won the public vote for Outstanding Contribution to the City. It was a real honour to mark our success so far, but we are just getting started on the real goal: to make a long term difference for our communities, local families, and young people in Stirling. We have plans to do much more to keep providing a creative community space where everyone is welcome to work, have fun, learn, and to experience something new, and that will continue to help build a real sense of community for everyone who lives around us in the city first and foremost.
BEATING the challenges
Creative Stirling has gone through the same massive challenges that everyone has experienced in the past few years, but we have proved how strong our creative community is by beating the odds to get through the pandemic. We have worked with volunteers and partner organisations, making the most of its connections and resources to adapt and help the local community through those challenging times. As we continue to learn and listen, we also want to continue to grow with and for our community, being a force for good for all the people who live here.
Currently, we are at risk of losing the lease for 44 King Street and everything that goes with it: Made in Stirling Store, the Community Radio Station, The Kitchen at 44 King Street, the gallery and event spaces where we hold workshops and events for community projects. We have a plan and have been working hard to get support that we need to do this, but we know that we have a huge challenge ahead of us.
We need local support to allow us to buy the building from our absent landlord and make history by being the first ever community organisation to force a compulsory purchase of a building in Scotland.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
This is where you come in! Creative Stirling needs to become a community membership organisation which is what we have always been at heart - but we need people who live in Stirling to register to join our membership and show support for our plans.
It’s free to join and all members will be invited to all of our community events and be able to vote at AGMS. We will offer more perks to our community members once we have secured our future on King Street and continue to grow.
So please consider signing up to become a member and help Creative Stirling to continue being a positive force for our city using the form linked above. You can also get in touch with the team using the contact form at the bottom of this page and we’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have.
FAQs
What is the problem we are facing?
Creative Stirling currently cannot secure funding because of our absent landlord. This is preventing us getting the funding we need to do more creative projects with our community.
Why become a community membership?
As a community membership organisation, we can get help from Scottish Government to buy our building as well as get the funding we are going to need to continue making a space for creativity here at King Street and having a role in revitalising the city centre.
What is the solution?
We need people to become members and be involved in our plans for the future. We need our local community to show support for what we do. For Creative Stirling to become a membership-based organisation, we need at least 100 local people to show their support by signing up for our plans for community buy-in.
This means that local people will have a stake in securing the future of 44 King Street, as a central creative community hub for Mercat Cross and City Centre.
By becoming a member, you will be helping Creative Stirling to keep growing and create more opportunities for local artists as well as doing fun and exciting projects working with community residents and groups.
WHY THE MERCAT CROSS AREA?
The Mercat Cross area represents everything and everyone we aim to help with our community projects. Our city centre residential area is very diverse as well as underserved, with many families and young people experiencing deprivation. Creative Stirling is committed to making sure creative opportunities are available to people who live here in Stirling city centre, by helping to build community and connecting people through culture and art.
WHAT DO I GET FROM BEING A MEMBER?
Everyone is always welcome to visit our space and by signing up for membership of Creative Stirling, we can make sure that you know about all of our community events and receive a monthly newsletter detailing everything that we’re doing and how you can get involved.
Becoming a community membership organisation is the first important step to helping us achieve everything we want to do for our community and as we grow, we will be able to offer more new benefits for our membership.
Contact us.
enquiries@creativestirling.org
01786 357550
44 King Street
Stirling, FK8 1AY