Longsight is rising: a celebration of Longsight Community Art Space CIC

Jo Manby

As part of the celebrations of the first two years of Longsight Art Space, and of its formalisation as a Community Interest Company (now Longsight Community Art Space CIC), the Fourdrinier editor Jo Manby discussed the inspirational cultural force for good that it embodies with directors Chris Bailkoski and Chi Emecheta, who together have ensured that LCAS, as a healing, life-enhancing, socially cohesive organisation, has its feet firmly planted within the grassroots of the vibrant, diverse Longsight community and its outdoor and indoor spaces. LAS, now LCAS, was founded in 2021 by PROFORMA, a non-profit visual art, performance and curating platform in Greater Manchester supporting artists and curators by commissioning new work and providing artist exchange opportunities. Founded by creative director Chris Bailkoski, PROFORMA has produced exhibitions throughout Manchester, nationally and internationally, with LAS initially starting as an organisational residency in Longsight before developing into LCAS CIC. 

With its plate glass frontage framed by decorative green ceramic-clad pillars and wrought iron, the reused shop display hanging system punctuating its expansive walls, and its signature PROFORMA neon, Longsight Community Art Space CIC (LCAS), began its existence as a place for creativity to flourish among Longsight’s local community. The original aim of LCAS was to establish a cultural centre in the heart of a previously underrepresented area of Manchester.

Founded in 2021 by PROFORMA, the initial long term intentions of Longsight Art Space, as it had been known over its first two years, were outlined in their first business plan. These were to utilise the rich cultural diversity of Longsight to co-create art and events that authentically responded to the needs of the people of the area. In two years, these aims have been more than met.

Back in the summer of 2021, ‘PROFORMA started the process of seeking a longer term, live art project’, PROFORMA founder Chris Bailkoski told me, ‘as something separate from our previous nomadic and temporary exhibitions. Spurred by the uncertainty of covid and its impact, our search for suitable space brought us to Longsight, having applied to Great Places Housing Association’s call out for community led businesses to take over the retail spaces on Northmoor Road.’

I asked whether at the beginning, was there an aspect of: build the arts centre and the people will come to it, a kind of leap of faith? ‘Yes, definitely, but also we knew that there was a creative scene already in Longsight – Chi [Emecheta] worked on “The People of Longsight” with Quarantine and we both knew artists living in the area too. Our thinking was that at least we could focus on this smaller group and then hopefully others would start to come.’

Linking LCAS inextricably with the community, in the most beneficial, inspiring and positive way, the Sustainable Northmoor Urban Greening Project (SNUG) has been the most visible project outside the Northmoor Road venue. SNUG itself developed from Emecheta’s Pear Project, which began in 2022 with her ongoing interest, as Nigerian diasporan British, in how place becomes home, how the individual can become part of a community, and the nature of ownership of place and space. The pear is historically a very British fruit, but also, as Emecheta points out, ‘it’s the most un-British thing; as a fruit it has had this massive migratory journey throughout human history and prehistory.’ The pear was literally consumed, as part of a series of dining performances, and consumed as a story recounting its journey from West China, Central Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, through to the Mediterranean and successive European empires, coming to ‘cold, grey, rocky England.’ Through the innumerable conversations sparked by the project, it became clear to Emecheta that she was not alone in grappling with what it meant to belong: ‘other people were struggling to do the same thing.’

Allied with the fact that in these austere times, ‘many people cannot afford good food,’ and the fact that although many diasporic people have the ability to grow their own food, they can be limited because they don’t own the land they’re on, Emecheta realised the various potentials of Crowcroft Park, the green space at the heart of Longsight. Led by director Claire Biggs (now on the LCAS board) and with the support of Green Spaces fund and Manchester City Council, orchards and a wellness garden were planted in on the site of a disused bowling green. This went hand in hand with a beautiful discovery: ‘Crowcroft Park has a very long and complicated history and was farmland at one point. It already has a very old pear tree – it’s huge and must be hundreds of years old… the pear tree and the old, craggy apple trees, suggest the ghost of a farmstead in the park.’ As Bailkoski points out, the eventual aim is to provide fruit, ‘which will help address food price rises alongside an environmental education programme. This community orchard is only possible with residents and park users’ involvement and ownership of this long term project.’

Emecheta was brought in as co-director to activate a combined vision to focus art productions in Longsight for a minimum of two years as an experiment in socially engaged practice. ‘We were very clear at the start of our tenancy that we wanted to create a new organisation by the end of the two years to take over the operation of the space and programme and that this new organisation would be led by residents as well as the PROFORMA directors,’ Bailkoski continues. Following research into types of organisational structures and the forming of a dedicated group of locals and residents to explore these, LAS formalised as Longsight Community Art Space CIC in November 2023.

I asked Bailkoski to what extent the co-op aspect and the work with locally based community economies has been successful. He explained that, whereas previously, operation and programming was the responsibility of PROFORMA, operating as a CIC meant incorporating many co-op elements, for example all members and directors having equal voting rights. Supplementary to glowing audience figures and feedback, Bailkoski said, the fact that directors who began working at LCAS to deliver projects or workshops are now steering the organisation is proof of the genuine success of its drive for change in the area.

Initial measures of success included audience figures and feedback which the directors used to find ways of better addressing the needs and ambitions of the local community. This would come from successful projects such as ‘You’ll like this exhibition because you’re in it!’ which involved an open call, to which a range of artists responded, and which included ten weeks of workshops covering diverse art forms where participants could exhibit the work they produced as a result. The exhibition showcased 62 artists and 150 artworks from artists based in East Manchester, generating the highest attendance figures so far, mainly due to its inclusivity.

 The success of LCAS can also be measured by the number of community members’ projects, workshops and exhibitions, and its majority female led board. The proportionality of the board was a natural development. Prior to formalising as a CIC, there was an initial call out for residents to have their say in the future of Longsight Art Space. A vote was held for those wishing to become directors. At present, LCAS’s initial board of directors are Chris Bailkoski, Claire Biggs, Rizwana Hassan, Saman Rizwan and Nadia Sultana.

‘It was integral to our success that different communities and individuals could openly approach us to discuss their ideas, areas we could improve and what we have done well, and all of this has informed the CIC,’ says Bailkoski. ‘The shift now is that the co-directors are some of those community members so we all have responsibility to ensure that we deliver the most suitable programme for Longsight that we can.’

In terms of the micro local economy aspect, I asked Bailkoski whether LCAS incorporates an element of fundraising that assists financing local projects or community initiatives. ‘In part, each of the directors at LCAS are effectively developing their own projects and initiatives and we have folded these into the umbrella of the CIC,’ he replied. ‘We are in the process of a huge fundraising drive and from this we hope to expand in order to assist in financing other local projects and initiatives. Ultimately, it’s about providing the means for LCAS, the directors and others involved to understand project management and finance to support an expansive cultural programme across Longsight.’     

Bailkoski also emphasised that the work undertaken by LCAS has been reciprocated. Other organisations providing workshop and exhibition space have further enriched the LCAS programme. ‘Offering or hiring services too for our events and markets, has provided a means for these groups and individuals to generate additional income,’ Bailkoski points out. An example of this was LCAS’s launch of a new monthly market in May 2023, to celebrate local economies, with residents also being stall holders. ‘It was a great party atmosphere,’ Bailkoski recalls, ‘with DJ’s and musicians alongside the markets. We have had to rethink the markets since but this first one provided a sense of social cohesion and pride in Longsight.’

Longsight has had a complex history of deprivation and disenfranchisement. I wondered how LCAS works to counteract this, and what LCAS’s success in this work look like. At first, volunteers who would ordinarily provide their services free or non-paid, were reimbursed for their time. LCAS is also a lessee of a housing association property and this has enabled working closely with Great Places to provide warm spaces within the gallery, free food and refreshments at LCAS events and maintaining workshops consistently free of charge. SNUG also forms part of the wider food and environmental educational programmes in the Longsight area.

LCAS supports artists from underrepresented backgrounds and ensures fair pay across its team by paying artist union of England rates. ‘Ultimately,’ Bailkoski says, ‘art has been a way to draw audiences and residents to discuss these complex issues while we are counteracting gentrification by ensuring we support hyperlocal artists, individuals and communities as much as possible. Success for us is how art – which can be inaccessible and/or seen as a privileged pursuit – enables us to directly address these complex issues at LCAS.’

Some of the work done at LCAS involves signposting to other services. ‘We are fortunate that there is Northmoor Community hub and Youth Elements on the same row of units between us,’ Bailkoski explains, ‘so we can often support those requests. We are currently creating a clearer picture for residents and users of the space to know what we stand for and how we link with different areas of Longsight going beyond those regulars at LCAS.’

There is an open dialogue with local government, and early on, LAS connected with local councillors and the neighbourhood with their vision for how the organisation could fit with a general drive for social change. By becoming LCAS CIC, ‘we feel our collective voices will be amplified and projects like SNUG are part of the evidence of what we can achieve together.’ Bailkoski works in several arts organisations, has been involved in the culture sector in Manchester for over twenty years, and is part of a new cultural consortium which is working closely with the culture team to create and deliver a new 10-year culture strategy for the city. This consortium is made of a range of voices within the culture sector and their aim is to platform grassroots and community arts within this new strategy.

I asked Bailkoski what has been the most cohesive, socially healing aspect or occurrence of their first phase at Longmoor Road. ‘The projects between LCAS and Crowcroft Park have been the most cohesive aspect of our first two years; this started with the REIGN street party and Carnival in the summer of 2022 through to active workshops in the park followed by the orchard planting and wellness garden created by SNUG. Gatherings of large groups of people to celebrate Longsight is the most satisfying and socially healing occurrences of our time so far.’

With future plans in mind, I asked Bailkoski how important it is to celebrate this midpoint in the organisation’s history; whether there is a five or ten year plan. ‘While this has been a project for nearly three years for the team at PROFORMA, it is a new beginning for the team at Longsight Community Art Space so our feeling is that we want to celebrate the past few years while starting something much more extensive for the future. We are still developing our future plans (looking towards 10 years) but over the next two years we are expanding our programme.’

The range of exciting plans include an annual summer Longsight focused festival; continuing to exhibit the work of underrepresented artists in solo and collaborative shows; weekly and continuous workshops covering non-Western artforms and promoting art as an everyday activity to support wellbeing and other benefits; a continued and expanded SNUG programme to include greening along the Northmoor area; a Longsight Art Trail; and courses on being an artist and working in the culture sector. There are no plans to move; instead, the organisation is currently transferring the lease to LCAS with the full support of Great Places. ‘We are also looking to expand our outreach projects too,’ says Bailkoski, ‘which will provide additional spaces around Longsight for our programme.’

Part of the wider programme at LCAS is to support national and international residencies: sending local artists to other countries and bringing artists to Longsight. ‘We work with Rogue Artist Studios in Openshaw who have a residency house and these projects provide new ways of thinking for both artists and communities on what can be achieved culturally post-BREXIT. We work with partners nationally, in Scotland, and internationally in Italy, Germany and Lithuania with plans to widen to more countries in the next few years.’

In parallel with the indisputable successes of LCAS, I wondered if there had been any pushback against the organisation and, if so, how this had been mitigated. ‘There have been moments of difficulty that have arisen – quite rightly we would argue, as there are negative associations of gentrification and contemporary art along with myself and Chi not being residents in Longsight,’ states Bailkoski. ‘We have tried to mitigate these by being open and honest with visitors, community members and the board we were developing from the start of our time here and showcasing artists and talent within Longsight. It has been very difficult at times – Chris and Chi both working elsewhere to support LCAS – where other pushback has come, it has generally been because people think we have larger resources than we actually have. This has, for the most part, subsided once we have talked through issues with those involved and by being as transparent as possible.’

To what extent does LCAS act as a model that other organisations could/ should/ are learning from, or indeed modelling themselves on? Although LCAS are working on documenting how they arrived at the point they are at now, a ‘pro forma’ which others could undoubtedly learn from, Bailkoski explains that ‘we feel our model uniquely reflects Longsight and the residents here; so there is a specifically Longsight vernacular at the heart of our CIC, while broadly creating a model for other living cultural institutions.’

What will remain unchanging about LCAS in its new incarnation is the warmth of the reception bestowed upon anybody who enters the space. LCAS is one of the most welcoming, inclusive and calm places in the region. Filled with light, conversation and countless acts of creativity, it is a place where people can gather, connect and be positively inspired. Truly something to celebrate.

This feature is supported by Longsight Community Art Space CIC and PROFORMA