For more than four decades, Reach Inclusive Arts has quietly gone about its work — opening doors, building confidence and making space for people too often overlooked by the mainstream arts scene.
Now, with a significant funding boost from Arts Council England, that work is set to expand.
The Swindon-based charity has secured a National Lottery Project Grant worth more than £90,000, funding a 15-month programme aimed at widening access to creative opportunities for people with disabilities, mental ill health and those experiencing social isolation.
It’s not a small step up. For Operations Manager Jeni Burchell, the scale of the investment marks a turning point.
“This level of funding is unprecedented and will be transformational for Reach,” she said, pointing to plans that will allow more people to take part in high-quality creative work within their own communities.
Founded in 1983, Reach has built a reputation for producing professional-standard performances and exhibitions. Its long-running Big Hat Cabaret has become a familiar fixture in Swindon’s disability arts scene, while its theatre company and visual arts groups have toured and exhibited across the town and beyond.
That track record is set to continue. The new funding will see the return of Big Hat Cabaret — absent since 2023 — alongside early plans for a brand-new Festival of Inclusion, led by Reach and shaped by its participants.
There’s also a broader ambition at play. As part of the Swindon Culture Collective, the charity is contributing to the town’s longer-term cultural plans, including support for a potential 2029 City of Culture bid.
For those involved, though, the focus remains close to home.
Arts Coordinator Sue Welsh said many participants arrive having had little or no previous access to the arts. “We help people develop skills, try new activities and reach their own artistic goals,” she said, adding that all sessions are led by professional artists.
For Summer, a young leader with the organisation, the impact is more personal.
“I have never felt like I belonged anywhere,” she said. “Then Reach came into my world — and now I’m doing things I never thought possible.”
It’s that sense of belonging — as much as the performances or exhibitions — that sits at the heart of what Reach does.
With new funding in place and fresh projects on the horizon, the next chapter looks set to bring more of the same — just on a larger scale.
