New arts facility for the disabled and socially excluded

A new arts facility dedicated to education, innovation and excellence in the arts for disabled people and socially excluded groups has opened in Chipping Ongar, Essex. As well as providing a community performance hall, exhibition facilities and teaching spaces, the Zinc Arts Centre offers 25 fully accessible bedrooms and nine supported housing flats. Services include residential courses, professional touring productions, employment and supported employment for emerging artists, and longer-term employment opportunities in the arts for disabled people and other socially excluded groups. The capital cost of the project was £6.2m. Principal funders include local authorities, Skills Funding Agency, European Social Fund and BBC Children in Need, but the nine units were built with a Homes and Communities Local Housing Grant of £720,000, supported by Epping Forest District Council, whose residents get first choice of the placements. Some of the revenues for running the scheme will be provided through the residents’ personal care budgets. Jeff Banks, Chief Executive of Zinc, described the project as “a national landmark for social arts organisations. It will allow us to increase our work in support of the most vulnerable and marginalised groups in society to engage in the arts and help them lead a rewarding and fulfilling cultural life."