Blog – Page 4

Community workspace in the centre of Oxford is announced officially open, as new spaces are secured across the county through the ‘Meanwhile in Oxfordshire’ programme

April 1, 2022 Emily Jarrett Meanwhile Comments Off

Dozens of purpose-driven individuals representing funding bodies, key partners and social enterprises from across Oxfordshire came together on Tuesday evening to celebrate the official opening of Makespace Oxford’s new ‘Community Works’. In November last year, Makespace Oxford announced that the third of its flagship city centre workspaces was opening its doors for the first time, with the […]

Makespace Oxford & Oxford City Council celebrate one year anniversary of ‘Meanwhile in Oxfordshire…’ initiative

February 25, 2022 Emily Jarrett Meanwhile Comments Off

25 February 2022 – One year after its launch, an innovative pilot scheme from Oxford City Council and Makespace Oxford to transform the use of vacant shops across Oxfordshire is being studied by other councils. Initially launched in February 2021, the £1.875m “Meanwhile in Oxfordshire…” programme has been so successful in its first year that other local […]

The (Complicated) Process of Matching Applicants to Meanwhile Spaces

November 29, 2021 Emily Jarrett Meanwhile 1 comment

Since we launched the ‘Meanwhile in Oxfordshire’ programme, we’ve received over 315 applications for space from local businesses, organisations and individuals across the county. This number underlines the huge amount of demand there is for affordable workspace, as well as a wider issue in the commercial rental market across Oxfordshire. These are exactly the problems we’re trying […]

Press Release: Meanwhile in Oxfordshire in the Covered Market

November 15, 2021 Emily Jarrett Meanwhile Comments Off

Two people hold a large red key outside and empty retail unit in Oxford's Covered Market

15 November 2021 – Four empty units in Oxford City Council’s Covered Market have now been transformed into pop-up shops for local, purpose-led retailers ahead of the festive season. The ‘meanwhile’ or short-term use of these spaces is part of Makespace Oxford’s ‘Meanwhile in Oxfordshire’ programme, commissioned by the City Council, which seeks to reanimate space in […]

Coming soon: The Community Works

October 27, 2021 Emily Jarrett Meanwhile Comments Off

If you’ve spent any time around Frideswide Square recently, you might have seen a vibrant splash of colour in one of the shop windows. This mural was by local artist Eleanor Greenhalgh, known as Nor. Against backgrounds of yellow, red and grey, the work featured abstracted figures embracing each other. In some of the individual figures sat […]

Black History Month – Reflections, Reading & Resources

October 7, 2021 Emily Jarrett EEDI Comments Off

Oxford BLM Protest Image featuring a person holding a sign that reads 'Oxford, What do you stand for?' by Emily Jarrett Photography

In light of Black History Month, we wanted to share few resources that we’ve found helpful in recent weeks.

Meanwhile in Oxfordshire: Orinoco’s New Banbury Location

September 27, 2021 Emily Jarrett Meanwhile Comments Off

You may have heard the news last month, but in case you missed it, we’re thrilled to announce that we’ve helped a couple more organisations into space in Banbury through the ‘Meanwhile in Oxfordshire’ programme. One of these organisations is Orinoco, who got the keys to a property on Banbury’s High Street and begin the fit out […]

Meanwhile in Oxfordshire: Making space for Autism Champions

September 15, 2021 Emily Jarrett Meanwhile Comments Off

Dee Nic Stiric, Founder of Autism Champions, in their new unit with a LAB sign next to her

The process of finding a space, securing a ‘meanwhile’ lease on it and fitting it out can be a long and arduous one, so when we were able to support our first occupiers into a space earlier this summer, we were very excited. We were introduced to Dee, founder of a local community interest company called Autism […]

Launching Meanwhile in Oxfordshire

February 25, 2021 Claire LeMaster Meanwhile Comments Off

Makespace Oxford and partners have teamed up with local councils to launch a new £1.7m programme to breathe life back into high streets and urban centres across Oxfordshire, supporting our communities to bounce forward from COVID-19 over the next year. ‘Meanwhile in Oxfordshire…’ is unparalleled in its ambition, and the first in the UK of its kind. Over the […]

The Community Works Mural

February 12, 2021 Claire LeMaster Community, Meanwhile Comments Off

If you've been wondering who's responsible for that riotous pop of colour in Frideswide square, wonder no longer! It's a brilliant comissioned piece by local artist Nor to help bring some life back to the area and speak a little to the emotional toll of the last year, speaking to our need for connection, and the impact [...]