“There’s one young man we work with and the key difference for him is not so much that we’ve stopped his offending – it’s that he gets up in the morning excited about what he’s going to do that day.
That’s the power of what we do and everyone needs that in their lives.”Vince Attwood, Founding Director, Soft Touch Arts
A commission to create a panto to celebrate Spence Street Pool in 1986 was how Soft Touch began. A talented, ambitious and innovative band of 5 youth workers worked alongside the local community to create an original production, staged – bizarrely - in an empty swimming pool. It played to packed houses over Christmas. Soft Touch Arts was born.
Originally a co-operative, always community led, Soft Touch Arts is now one of Leicester’s leading arts education charities, providing life changing projects for hundreds of young people every year.
Originally based in the city centre, before moving to Highfields and Clarendon Park, Soft Touch Arts now owns its own Youth Arts Centre in the heart of Leicester. More importantly, its’ blend of community and studio-based projects is at the heart of the city’s offer to young people, now able to provide that excitement to a young person about what they might to do today every day throughout the year.
This evolution has seen Soft Touch Arts develop fundamentally important partnerships with long time supporters Arts Council England and Leicester City Council as well as delivery and project relationships with local schools, community groups, Youth Music, the Youth Offending Service, the local enterprise partnership and local businesses.
An Arts Council National Portfolio organisation, our role is pivotal in the city’s cultural provision because Soft Touch Arts exists to provide young people - who often have significant challenges in their lives – with access to brilliant, inspiring creative projects.
And we intend to be providing these opportunities for young people in Leicester and Leicestershire for many years to come…just maybe not from an empty swimming pool.