Populate Co-operative is passionate about bringing places to life with people, whether those places are parks, city squares, libraries, cafes or art galleries.
We are a community owned organisation creating and facilitating events and projects in UK cities. We actively deliver programmes of events and develop resources, while also mentoring and supporting artists, creatives and community organisations to deliver their own successful events.
Our ambition is it to both ‘populate’ urban places with people and creating a network of active communities in its work on three core activities:
- Developing innovative event formats
- Delivering pioneering events
- Enabling communities to run local events
We are an organisation which wants to have a social impact through everything that we do. These can be summarized into three broad aims:
- Reduce health inequalities by getting people involved with active events
- Improve community cohesion through events with diverse attendances
- Support local organisations to increase impact and better report impact through tools and training
The arts, culture and a playful, creative approach to life is fundamental to how Populate operates. Embedded at the heart of the co-operatives operations will be:
- Advocating the importance of space for the arts and creativity within all communities
- Seeking out opportunities to involve young people in achieving goals through creative projects
- Creating opportunities for emerging artists to gain experience, income and exposure
The People
We are lucky to have a team of founding members with a lot of experience of co-operatives, the arts and running community organisations as well as a passion for food, events and bicycles. Read more about what they bring to the community below:
Dan
Dan is happiest when exploring innovative ways to bring people together. A keen baker and cyclist with a background in the arts, Populate will benefit from a broad skill set and bags of positive energy and a love of co-operatives. With experience of social enterprises, charities and local authorities, Dan will be a great asset. See his Linkedin Account for a detailed history of his experience here.
George
Experienced in facilitating activities to promote arts and culture, George works with a talented team of freelance designers, writers, artists, actors, musicians and creative people to provide creative projects for communities. George comes to Populate with a background in charities and currently working closely with local educational authorities, he brings a passion for building effective services for Children and Young People to reach their full potential in education.
Joseph
With experience of holding the position of treasurer for a Brighton based Design Co-op and working to establish himself as a freelance illustrator and designer, Joseph brings knowledge of both the creative industries and co-operatives to Populate. Currently living and working in Oxford after graduating from Falmouth College of Arts in 2006.
We are currently pulling together the Steering Committee which will bring experience to Populate in it’s first year as an organisation as we establish income streams and build a firm foundation for the future. Members of the Steering Committee recruited so far:
Caro Howell – Bringing expertise in Education and Museums
Rebecca Minton – Bringing expertise in Health and Inclusion
Populate Co-op 