#ourbigask

Yesterday’s site meeting saw us talking about even more detail as the building really takes shape.  Next stop windows, ceilings, plaster and plumbing, there’s lots more work for our builders Brown & Shaw and our architects T-SA.  

The building has changed a lot since we first bought it in February 2015 and it will change a lot more before we move in October and open in November.

Our Big Ask - can you help Our Big Move?  Can you share our tumblr with your friends?  Can you make a donation to help us reach our target?  Can you come along to one of our pop up shops and buy donated prints, mugs or cards?  

Thank you for your interest and support so far in our endeavours to create a new and unique centre for printmaking in the heart of Leicester. We are encouraged by the friendship and help we have received for our exciting building project and over the summer we hope our final push will see us securing all the money we need.

Last week we told you about the final costs for our project and explained that we will see a bill that is £14,000 more than our initial calculations (scroll down to see the previous post), which meant our fundraising target had increased to £18,107.  So we are delighted to tell you that with your kind support it is already reduced to £14,613.  We need every penny to cover the costs of the building work, the new equipment and the specialist removals and we continue to ask for support and to work hard to raise the rest. We have mugs for sale, cards and prints and will be running two pop up shops in the summer, one at Simon Says festival (and for that we are producing a limited edition original poster designed by Sarah Kirby which we will be selling for £8) and one at the Summer Arts Trail at the LCB Depot, more information can be found on our events page.  We are still trying to find more funds from trusts and foundations and we hope we are able to find one or two that share our ambitions for printmaking and for Leicester.

Wednesdays have become Our Big Ask days and every fortnight we display our fundraising target via a fabulous graphic designed by one of our artists and kind volunteer, Dave Pegg.  Today you see it almost £10,000 higher than it was last time so we should not lose sight of the fact that we have already raised £537,000 since we started looking for money in November 2013 and within that we have raised £35,000 from individuals gifts, our raffle, our pop up sales and sponsored events, since November 2014.  Every contribution we have received is appreciated and invests in our new flagship and in opportunities for more people to enjoy printmaking.

Our quest to establish a flagship for fine art printmaking in the heart of Leicester, a centre that is fully equipped, expertly staffed, accessible and welcoming is coming along well. The architects are visiting fortnightly and holding site meetings with our builders, engineers, contractors and with me. I really thought we had covered every detail in the robust planning and preparation that has preceded this stage, after all we have been value engineering and making the project leaner for over a year now.  But there does seem plenty of detail still to tie up.  

The two storey office/toilet block has been demolished, the roof has been removed and a new one has been fitted, the foundations have been dug and the steel structure that holds the mezzanine floor has been installed and block walls have been built to create the various rooms within the studio.  Unfortunately, we found evidence of a cellar and a well which has led to some remedial foundation works that have resulted in more expense.

We continue to look at detail but the architects, builders and engineers have worked with me to produce a cost for the build that allows for the foundations problems and a new roof. We will see a bill that is £14,000 more than our initial calculations which means our fundraising target needs to go up to meet the cost.  So, whilst our last update on the tumblr said £4,107 our next one will go up, taking into account this extra £14,000.

Fundraising wise we continue to submit applications to trusts and foundations, sometimes successfully, sometimes, unfortunately, not and we continue to plan for our pop up print sales.  We still have Our Big Move Mugs and have added a new design by LPW Artist Peter Clayton. We raised £2,500 at our Summer Bazaar, which we are thrilled about, and we’re working towards creating an opportunity to buy donated prints online.

Even when progress slows and problems come along, we continue to move in the right direction and if all goes to plan we plan to move over a three week period in September/October. We’re planning launch events in early November and hope you can join us and celebrate with us then.