The Coal Dust Arts Collective CiC (CODAC) is a 'Community Interest Company' located in Barnsley, South Yorkshire.

CODAC has been created to inspire, educate and fulfil the needs of a poor, deprived town. Our main aim is to initiate connections within the community, not just in the town itself but in it's surrounding boroughs. And we need your help, so please read on...

We are currently in the process of setting up an independent multifunctional creative space and community hub based in the heart of Barnsley town centre. Primarily aimed at offering free artist studios and rehearsal space for young artists, we aim to run mental health and addiction workshops, counselling and wellness sessions, choirs for people who can’t sing, graffiti walls, spoken word, poetry workshops, exhibition space and live music events. The possibilities in the space are endless, and the benefits to our community will be priceless.

Our purpose is to create a new cultural ecology in Barnsley, one that our community can be proud of, feel part of, regardless of background or financial situation, educational or work experience. A space for people to enjoy, to create, to embrace hope, to communicate with others, share their stories and feel part of their town and the wider-community. Fortunately for us, two local, community-spirited businessman have offered us a unit situated in the centre of Barnsley town centre. Accessible to all, created for everyone.

Barnsley, if you don’t know, is famous for Kes, Michael Parkinson, Charlie Williams and pork pies. It’s lesser known for being one of the most poverty-stricken areas in the U.K. with one in three children living in low-income families. Our town is, unfortunately, overseen by a council that pretends there isn’t a illicit substance misuse and homeless problem in the area and appears to think that the talented, creative, more affluent young people in town should attend college and university, whilst the talented, creative less-affluent young people from less well-off areas work zero hour contracts in behemoth warehouses in nearby industrial estates. Or not work at all, bereft of hope and ambition. Barnsley, once a thriving market town, is still under the shadow of the pit closures that devastated the area and it’s wider community and the town has never truly recovered, having been neglected by successive governments for decades.

It has taken a long time to find the right venue and there is still so much work to do before we're even up and running, but we're working hard to get this amazing space ready, and we're certain that CODAC can become something special and help serve the needs of the people of the community.

Jamie, John, Lucy and I decided we needed to create something to inspire, educate, offer hope and perhaps help fulfil the needs of a town on it's knees. Our plan sounds very grand and high-falutin’ but we feel we can create something real and long-lasting for people of any generation, in our community, and allow those people to feel that they belong. We are a new, totally independent CiC with little money but we are bursting with ideas, having vast experience of working in mental health, drug and addiction services, music and art. We, The Coal Dust Arts Collective, are based in an old pigeon coop in the less well-heeled part of Barnsley town centre in a historical former Co-op building.

Thank you for reading this far. Now we need your help. We're asking for donations to help breathe life into this idea alive, to help us purchase supplies, audio equipment, paint, brushes, chairs, the list goes on and on and on. We understand that times are extremely tough financially for so many people right now, so we ask you to offer whatever you can spare. Or, if you fancy getting your hands dirty, you can offer your services if you have a trade, or materials, or a strong back. Just give us a shout. If you can’t donate, we ask if you could kindly share this 'Justgiving' page to everyone you know.

Thank you, peace and love.

FAIL WE MAY, SAIL WE MUST ✊

Thank you!