About Us
We use creativity as a catalyst for social justice and community cohesionAbout Us
Take A Part are experts in socially engaged audience development for contemporary art. Based in Plymouth, we work in areas that have been historically underserved and don’t usually engage in the arts.
Our long-term, embedded process starts with listening and supporting communities to set agendas for projects that reflect and address community need and diversity. Our genuine processes with communities leads us to co-commissioning exceptional national and international artists in those communities.
We embed contemporary arts practice in the process of regeneration. Crucially, the process of creating the work itself is as important as what is created. Our purpose is to engage, educate and inform new audiences in contemporary arts while developing policy and setting agendas for neighbourhood regeneration initiatives in Plymouth. Take A Part’s work contributes directly to the social infrastructure of the city.
History
Take A Part started in 2006 in Efford, Plymouth, as a series of pilot projects supporting the area’s regeneration. Engaging residents in contemporary art processes allowed for a deep and creative impact into the regeneration of the area - this supported the core aims of the Efford Master Plan by supporting health, young people, skills development, access to green space and physical changes to place. You can read our ‘Efford: Capital of Culture’ case study here.
By 2011 Take A Part had grown, working in other areas of the city, and by 2014 we began to work regionally and nationally to support other organisations, advocate for socially engaged practice and spread our reach.
In 2016 we launched the UK’s first biennial symposium on socially engaged practice, Social Making, establishing ourselves as leaders of socially engaged practice in the South West region and since then, we have developed a successful line of consultancy and partnership commissions across the UK and internationally, supporting local authorities, arts organisations, educational institutions etc to widen their audience reach.
In 2018, we were awarded the prestigious Arts Council England National Portfolio Status for the 2018-2022 period, securing our programme for Plymouth.
If you would like to make a real difference to underserved communities in Plymouth, please visit our ‘Support Us’ page for more details. You can help us make a real impact in people’s lives.
Team Members
Kim Wide
DirectorKim Wide is Founder, CEO and Artistic Director of Take A Part CIC. Hailing from Canada, Kim studied Near Eastern Archaeology and Museum Management and Curation before coming to the UK. A maternity cover at ArtSway later, she fell in love with contemporary art.
Gem Smith
Creative Education ProducerGemma has worked in the arts in Plymouth for 10 years. Over that time her work has crossed many different disciplines and involved a range of projects as diverse as community radio, public art, theatre, sculpture, mass dance, stone carving, tour guiding and orchestral outreach.
Beth Maxwell-Pooley
Senior ProducerBeth is an artist, researcher, and producer, and has been working with Take A Part since 2015. She is an associate lecturer at Plymouth University, where she is also completing a practice-led PhD. She has exhibited nationally and internationally, most recently a solo exhibition ‘Poor Copy’ at Jerwood Visual Arts, London, The Northern Charter, Newcastle, and Exeter Phoenix (2018).
Rhys Morgan
Assistant ProducerRhys is an interdisciplinary artist and freelance producer based in the South West. Since 2017 he has been involved in the delivery of the DIY art festival Plymouth Art Weekender, and has since become a director of the steering group Visual Arts Plymouth and is a former director of CAMP. Most recently he has joined Take A Part as a public realm Assistant Producer. As an artist his work has been shown consistently around the South West and across the UK.
Lily Urbanska
Assistant ProducerLily is a community project worker, visual artist and environmentalist and has been working with Take A Part as a freelance assistant producer since 2019. Previous community work has included running nature and art workshops for inner-city children, managing an urban community garden project and setting up a community apiary and beekeeping project in Plymouth.