OUR VALUES
RESPONSIVE
COLLABORATIVE
ENTERPRISING
PLAYFUL
REFLECTIVE
About
Nurturing Raw talent, catalysing creative development, and supporting mental health through industry-standard music and media pathways…
Raw Material Music and Media is a community music and creative arts centre, based in Brixton, and dedicated to supporting the creative and personal development of our South London community. Our purpose-built, 3-storey building houses recording studios, a digital audio production suite, DJ and video equipment and a live room for performance, workshops and ensemble work. All of this we make available to our community through two distinct strands of programming.
Programmes
Through Raw’s Young Creatives programme, young people at early stages of their artistic life can gain essential skills training, professional guidance and industry experience, placing them confidently on the path to further creative and personal success.
At the same time, Raw’s Arts and Wellbeing (aka Raw Sounds) strand of programmes uses social and creative activities to encourage self-expression, to inspire creativity, and to foster positive change in individual mental wellbeing.
Together, our these programmes span everything from audio production to photography, DJing to guitar, songwriting to theatre, and much more. We believe that everyone in our community has the creative potential and natural talent to do something special. That’s why our doors are always open to new members of the community - no matter their background, skills or experience.
Mission
We exist to:
improve the lives of young people through creative opportunities, progression, and development.
offer participant-led creative opportunities to young people and adults to support positive mental health;
target under-represented groups for our provision, focusing on those who face significant barriers to accessing creative opportunities or development;
involve participants and staff at all levels in Raw’s management and governance, including recruitment, project design, and governance structures;
become a model of good practice in inclusion and diversity within our creative practice, management, and governance;
model collective leadership structures at every decision-making level of the organisation which support a democratic approach, reflecting a diversity of experience;
seek new financial sustainability through teamwork and a collective entrepreneurial approach.
Facilities
At Raw Material we are lucky to own a unique building in the heart of Brixton which houses two recording studios, live rehearsal space, offices and a computer suite which allow the organisation to run a full delivery programme. During the summer of 2021 Raw Material opened the doors to local young people to “Revamp” the building and the results were incredible and a starting point in looking at the future of the building.
In the next twelve months the building will see a dramatic change as a capital project will get underway to take the building to its next level. Arts Council England has agreed to fund a capital project to unlock the creative potential of Raw Material’s unique 3-storey building, making it more environmentally efficient with much needed digital infrastructure and high-quality multi- purpose co-working spaces that will be safe and accessible for all. Through placing people and communities at the heart of this project we can create the conditions for turning creativity into careers, growing social capital, fostering collaborations, and extending our welcome to more people and communities under-represented in the arts and society in general.
Testimonials
