Roots

For the last several months, we've been throwing some ideas around in the Corn Exchange to do with youth participation, bringing young people into the programme and engaging better with young communities. The more we talked, the more interested and excited we got, and the more we realised that we wanted to do something quite big.

Various different ideas came up, from the sublime to the ridiculous, but after talking about guest editors for newspapers we settled on trying to duplicate the idea with the theatre. Basically, we want to hand over the Corn Exchange keys to a group of under-25 year-olds to do what they will for one weekend in April 2010.

And so Take Over the Corn Exchange! (TOCEX) was born! Lots of details for what's actually going to happen haven't been threshed out yet, largely because we don't want to run it - we want you to run it! (And by 'you', I mean under-25s living near the Corn Exchange).

There are some things set up already - we're going to host a meet-up on Saturday 24 October to start planning the event, we've got some ideas about how to contact people - but we really want your input.

Hence this blog. This will be the online home for the project, and we hope that everyone interested in taking part will join in the discussion here, either by contributing to the blog (see the side panel for info on how) or by leaving comments. We'll keep posting updates, including all important dates and other news, here in the meantime.

We hope to hear from you soon...

The people who make it possible

Take Over the Corn Exchange! is generously supported by Creative Junction. Check out their website for heaps of handy resources and exciting projects.

All about Take Over the Corn Exchange!

Ever wanted to run your own festival? Well, what are you waiting for?

Take Over the Corn Exchange! is an opportunity for under-25s to plan, programme and run your own festival weekend in the Corn Exchange. We’ll give you a budget and as much support and advice as you want, and the building is yours to do what you will for the weekend of 17/18 April 2010.

You can set up gigs, shows, film screenings, workshops, clubs and anything else you can think of. This is your chance to put on the event that you’ve always wanted!

Who is it for?

Anyone under the age of 25. We can’t put it more simply than that!

What’s going to happen?

We’re having a big meet-up at the Corn Exchange on Saturday 24 October to kick off the process of planning your event. Before then we’ll be getting out into schools, youth groups and the community at large to tell people about the project.

From October to April there will be enough time to plan your event and learn any new skills you’d like to pick up. If you’ve always wanted to see how the backstage bits of theatre work, or you want to learn how to market events, or you want to know what exactly a development manager does, this is your chance to get some experience and put it into action.

How can I get involved?

Come along to the meet-up on 24 October!

Before then you can also start talking to us and other young people about what you’d like to do. Comment right here on the blog, or contact Sam to write your own blog post. All information about the project will go up here, so it's worth subscribing to our feed or becoming a Follower.

You can also check out our Facebook group, or join the Google Group to receive information by e-mail.

If you’ve got any questions, get in touch with Sam Sampson, Learning and Participation Officer on 01635 582666 ext 206 or at sams@cornexchangenew.co.uk.