The Barnet Group has donated £1,000 to Art Against Knives’ (AAK) Save our Space crowdfunding campaign.

AAK’s creative studio provides a vital safe space for 400 marginalised young people every year. It has been open since 2014, and is home to their youth-led nail and hair bar, and a music and podcast studio.

However, their studio was facing closure due to funding cuts. We can now share the good news that AAK has reached the £80k target to keep their studio open!

AAK teach creative skills and provide industry-standard, accredited training. They said:

“Every young person should be able to build the life they want through creativity rather than violence. Yet risk factors for serious youth violence such as economic instability, unemployment & deprivation have been exacerbated as a result of Covid-19. We’re at a crisis point & risk not being able to respond to the demand for our support.”

“The Creative Studio will sustain critical support for young people, giving us the space, skills & capacity required to meet the volume, scale & complexity of their needs. 

“It will allow us to reduce violent crime & exploitation in our community, by taking a long-term, preventative & strengths-based approach. It will bring trauma-informed safeguarding support to them in a place, & at a pace that works for them.”

“We will continue to bridge the divide between young people & the institutional ecosystem around them, building their resilience & capabilities, & empowering them to change not only their circumstances but also the systems that make them vulnerable.”

Tim Blanc, The Barnet Group’s Head of Community Engagement said: “We are pleased to provide our support and would like to personally thank our 2022 Covid-19 Community Recovery Fund sponsors for their timely investment of £1000 toward a much-needed service for children and young people in Barnet, who will continue to benefit from the excellent and inspirational services of Art Against Knives.”

You can find out more and continue to donate at https://www.spacehive.com/artagainstknives

The funding would not have been possible without the generous support of our social value partners who sponsor our Covid-19 Recovery fund. The sponsors are listed below.