We received a £1,000 donation to get the building up and running and we stretched every penny.
After those first six powerful weeks, we carried the belief that Streets Ahead truly had a place in the world but once again, we found ourselves searching for a building with no funding, facing more knockbacks and closed doors.
Then came the old Currys building. An empty space on the high street. Large, quiet, and full of forgotten history. To many, it was just another vacant shop, to us, it was another chance to reimagine what an empty building could become.
This time, the opportunity came with the support of Caxtons Estate Agents in Canterbury and the kindness of a very generous landlord from London, who believed in giving us the chance to bring the space back to life. With their support, we were once again invited into a building before its future was decided and just like before, we began with almost nothing.
We received a £1,000 donation to get the building up and running — and we stretched every penny. In the end, we spent £1,000.78, transforming a cold, empty shop into a space filled with creativity, colour, and community spirit.
We officially opened the doors on 7th November 2024. The scale was bigger, the energy was louder, the possibilities felt endless. We were able to deliver workshops, host music events, and create an exhibition space for large-scale work. The building became a platform for creativity in all its forms for all .
Artists, designers, students, and the wider community came together under one roof, the space filled with creativity, courage, and connection. Shop windows became galleries, walls became stories and the building felt alive again.
People wandered in out of curiosity and stayed because they felt welcome, conversations flowed, new ideas were born. The street felt different brighter, warmer, more human ,so much so, that just six weeks after opening, the building was under offer a powerful reminder of how quickly life can change on the high street, and how much impact creativity can have in a short space of time.
But this chapter also came with its challenges. We were operating month to month, never knowing how long we would have the space. The uncertainty made it difficult to plan, to grow, and to sustain what we were building.
And through all of that, one thing became clear:
If Streets Ahead was truly going to grow, to become stronger, and to fully nurture what we had started, we needed a permanent home somewhere we could settle, build roots, and truly create a home for our community.
So, on 7th May 2025, we finally closed our doors.
It wasn’t permanent. But it was powerful.
The Currys building became another proof point. Another moment where Streets Ahead stepped forward, took a risk, and showed what could happen when people are given space to create, to belong, and to be seen.
And once again, it carried us forward.
