Twenty-four-year-old Oghosa Ovienrioba has more than 25,000 subscribers to her YouTube channel, which covers everything from fashion to her own life experiences.
But she admits: “I don’t know how I would cope without having found somewhere to work through somewhereto_.”
Through its service, she was able to find free space in London to film, photograph, edit and work.
Many more under-25 creatives and entrepreneurs, ranging from writers and artists to theatre workers, photographers, bike mechanics and fashion designers, could tell similar stories of how somewhereto_ helped them find the free space and support they needed to turn their passion into a profession.
In fact, this social enterprise, run by youth marketing agency Livity, has matched under-25s with 18,500 spaces, including market stalls, shopping centres, studios, desk space and arts venues since it was founded in 2010. Big names including Tate Modern, Spitalfields Market, the Office Group, Hoxton Hall, the Blue Fin building and the Saatchi Gallery have been among those to provide space.
But the £7m Big Lottery Fund grant awarded to somewhereto_ four years ago is now at an end, and it has closed down its operations in the regions to focus on establishing a new business in London.
“The demand for somewhereto_ far outstrips our ability to serve it,” says programme director Tom Barratt.
“Many of the requests we get we are just not able to serve, and the problem is more acute in London because of the high cost of property.”
So, sticking closely to what it knows, somewhereto_ has set up a venue hire portal to match landlords’ space with paying customers.
Spaces are hired out at competitive market rates and landlords take a cut of the revenue, while somewhereto_ reinvests its commission from each booking into its central cause.
“We are not only a potential partner from a space holder perspective, but also from a customer perspective,” Barratt says. “Sainsbury’s is an interesting example. The company has plenty of properties, but nowhere appropriate to hold a customer away day, so it sourced a space from us.”
Somewhereto_ is quickly building a portfolio of venues. Among them are underground exhibition space the Vaults, SE1; the Hippodrome Casino, WC2, which in addition to poker tables and roulette wheels offers an array of meeting rooms; desk space at the Office Group’s Bloomsbury Building, WC1; a private cinema at Rich Mix in Bethnal Green, E1; and the Big Top, a circus-themed space in Acton, W4, for parties, which has everything but the lion tamer.
But somewhereto_ is looking for more empty or unusual spaces to cater to the varied demands of event organisers and location hunters.
The firm will, however, still accept free space for young people to use.
Its aim is to establish a business that is not dependent on funding or more than start-up investment, and to expand beyond the capital by 2020.
“Landlords have absolute decision on price, how the space is used and by whom,” Barratt says.
And they also have the satisfaction of knowing that they are supporting an emerging class of artists and entrepreneurs who are under threat of being marginalised or pushed out of the capital altogether because of the scarcity of affordable, creative space.
London: losing its cultural vitality?
In an interview with the Evening Standard recently, the celebrated British sculptor Antony Gormley expressed his concern that London would lose its cultural vitality.
“I love London,” he said. “It’s an incredible place to live and work. I just hope it survives in its multiplicity of villages. I worry that artists are getting pushed out to
the edges.”
His comments demonstrate how vital the role of somewhereto_ is. Indeed, it sees its mission as fighting against “the hollowing out of London’s creative districts”.
Among its successes are Mary Otumahana, now 26, who approached somewhereto_ in Tottenham, N17, when she was struggling to find affordable space to record her music. She now manages The RecordShop, a free recording studio/skills development environment for young people interested in spending their free time in a creative way. It provides a wide range of activities and workshops, such as free recording studio sessions, DJ and music production workshops, beat-box workshops and rap/spoken word workshops.
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