For Arts Council England and Julie’s Bicycle’s Annual Report 2024-25, we feature over 70 practical examples of cultural organisations taking climate action including in depth case studies like this one. Check out the full interactive report.
Since its founding in 2010, The NewBridge Project has stood at the intersection of art, community, and activism. They are an artist-led community supporting the development of artists, curators and communities through the provision of space for creative practice, curatorial opportunities and an ambitious programme of exhibitions, projects, artist development and events.
Now housed in the Shieldfield Centre in Newcastle, NewBridge has reimagined what a cultural space could be: a place where artists, local residents, and community groups collaborate, learn, and co-create in ways that strengthen both the social fabric and the creative ecology of the region.
Transforming the Shieldfield Centre
The Shieldfield Centre, once a neglected building, has been transformed by NewBridge and Topo Architects into a thriving community hub. The renovation, which won both the Adaptive Reuse Award at the Lord Mayor’s Design Awards and the Architects’ Journal Small Projects Sustainability Award in 2024, exemplifies sustainable design as a community-driven act.
When NewBridge first moved to the site they had a short initial lease and found capital funding opportunities were limited. With. This meant that the organisation prioritised reuse and sustainability at every stage. Great consideration was given to how to embody a circular economy model; a great proportion of the materials used were salvaged from previous NewBridge sites, for example, doors from the original New Bridge Street site were repurposed across multiple buildings. A “reveal, restore, repair” philosophy guided the refurbishment, celebrating its raw concrete and masonry construction and restoring elements such as timber floors, that had been lost behind years of piecemeal internal renovations.
Internal walls were reconfigured to create open, social areas, studio and exhibition spaces – responding directly to the needs of the members who moved with the organisation. The space now houses 135 artists in affordable studios alongside a gallery, co-working areas, a youth room, bookshop, free shop, event spaces, and workshops for ceramics, print, and woodwork. Each element serves a dual function: supporting artists while inviting the wider community to participate in art-making and dialogue, creating a shared home for creativity and connection.
A Community Rooted in Collaboration
When NewBridge relocated to Shieldfield in 2021, the move represented more than a change of address. It marked a cultural and philosophical shift. Unlike their previous city-centre locations surrounded by shops and offices, Shieldfield is a residential area with a strong community identity. Recognising this, NewBridge prioritised listening, building friendships and co-creation. As the team notes:
It was important that we didn’t just land as an art space and start doing things that didn’t feel connected to where we were.
Instead, the organisation focused on embedding itself within the local fabric, ensuring its work responded to community needs and aspirations. This commitment led to programmes that break down the perceived barriers between art and daily life, for example, community meals, youth initiatives, and social gatherings that promote wellbeing and connection, forming the groundwork for residents to engage in processes of looking at, and making, art.
NewBridge has genuinely made the crossover into a community-oriented art organisation. They have real people involved in almost everything they do; real people not being used as material, or to tick diversity boxes, but who come because they like it. And they are properly encouraged to make whatever art they like.
– Corridor 8, 2025
Their work in the neighbourhood includes:
The Shieldfield Youth Programme
Working with over 100 young people and their families in an area that previously lacked youth provision, this programme offers weekly sessions, workshops, and events designed to nurture creativity, confidence, and environmental awareness. The youth participants recently co-wrote a sustainability policy for their own programme, using recycled materials in sessions and organising regular litter picks. Their engagement is transformative- not just for their environment, but for their sense of agency.
As one young participant shared:
The Youth Programme is a place to come home. It boosts my confidence, it’s a place to meet new people and be happy.
Fix-It Café and Circular Economy Practice
Studio members Marek Gabrysch and Lindsay Duncanson lead the Fix-It Café, where people bring broken household items and learn to repair them, promoting reuse and reducing waste. This initiative embodies NewBridge’s ethos of skill-sharing and mutual learning. Extending their work to young people, the pair recently hosted bicycle repair sessions for the Youth Programme, further connecting generations through practical, sustainable action.
TopSoil: Queer Gardening and Radical Care
Another community-rooted initiative, TopSoil, is a queer gardening collective where gardening becomes “a radical act of resistance.” Members cultivate food, experiment with natural dyes, and explore ideas of queer ecology and environmental stewardship. The group’s projects, including A Revolt in Bernicia’s Garden curated by studio member Holly Argent, combine hands-on gardening with walks, workshops, and discussions that connect ecology, identity, and place.
For Solidarity Network
Initiated by NewBridge in 2018, For Solidarity links organisations and individuals across the North East committed to social and climate justice. This network demonstrates NewBridge’s belief that artistic practice can be a tool for systemic change, using creativity to imagine and build more equitable futures. Collaborative projects have included food sustainability initiatives with partners such as Dwellbeing and Shieldfield Art Works, and shared learning exchanges with community gardens and food networks across the region.
Memory Café and Social Spaces
For older residents, the Memory Café offers an inclusive, creative space for people living with dementia and their carers. Through art activities, participants build confidence and connection, reaffirming the value of creativity at every stage of life. Meanwhile, Coffee Mornings and Saturday Socials provide informal opportunities for neighbours, artists, and visitors to meet and share. One regular attendee summed up the impact for them:
This is my second home. I love coming here, it lifts my spirits immediately.
Supporting Local Artists
As a vital part of the arts ecosystem, NewBridge also has an important impact on artists in the region, offering affordable studio space for artists to determine their own creative goals and ambitions. The organisation is committed to broadening opportunities for creative and professional development, particularly for those historically marginalised or underrepresented in the arts sector.
In these very challenging times NewBridge feels that art is more important than ever, and they aim to support artists from a range of backgrounds to overcome economic, social and discriminatory barriers, finding the space, resources and opportunities to develop sustainable careers.
NewBridge Project runs three artist development programmes, supporting artists at different stages of their creative careers. In the past three years, they’ve reached 4797 people through these programmes and offered 40 bursaries for participation. This is having a hugely positive impact; 82% of artists say that the programmes have been effective at helping them to establish or develop a career in the arts, and have supported them to improve and develop new professional and artistic skills.
Furthermore, the programmes are contributing to talent retention in the region, with 68% of artists saying that being a member of NewBridge has contributed to their decision to live in Newcastle.
Conclusion: Art as Shared Practice
The NewBridge Project’s story demonstrates how community access and sharing can be embedded not only in programming but in the very architecture and governance of an arts organisation. Through co-creation, repair, reuse, and radical hospitality, NewBridge has built a sustainable model where creativity belongs to everyone.
As NewBridge looks ahead, it remains committed to deepening these connections, ensuring that art in Shieldfield continues to grow from the ground up and is collectively nurtured, accessible to all, and rooted in shared purpose.
Images: Header image: Shieldfield Home Opening, photo by Matt Denham / Image 2: Kandake Sudanese Sisters, photo by Matt Denham / Image 3: Topsoil, photo by Izzy Finch / Image 4: Studio at The NewBridge Project, photo by Ruby Glover.
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