The Petri Dish Art & Culture on the High Street

We planned to create a place where children could learn and experience something new. Then we realised we needed to do more. We needed to establish a communal space for families and many special-interest groups who wanted to spend and share some non-digital quality time with each other. We want to be the first option for those who prioritise genuine analogue human communication, interactions, relationships, values and experiences.

We started refurbishing the premises in the summer of 2019. This work took nine months to complete. We shed some blood, much sweat, and many tears during that time.

 

Our target was to open in mid-March 2020, but as we all know, the pandemic stepped in and brought life to a halt. As restrictions blocked us, we could open only as a takeaway coffee shop in June. Then slowly but surely we started to organise music events and other activities.

 

However, further lockdowns and restrictions and our own illness meant we could only open properly in mid-February 2022.

 

This is where we are now.

 

We want to survive, thrive and continue our journey to fulfil our purpose and reach our target. As a result of the pandemic and the related restrictions and uncertainty, alongside a lack of financial support - because we couldn’t start trading before the pandemic - all our reserves are nearly used up.

 

After nearly 3 years of resilience, an enormous investment of time, energy and capital, our resources are depleted. We are now on the verge of becoming an endangered species, which would mean that we would have to close down all our activities.

 

Our present situation is critical, and the very existence of

The Petri Dish is in danger.

 

However, we require very little

to stay and continue the ongoing or start

new community projects

 

“…We have invested nearly three full years of

our lives into this project, this town and this community…”

 

If You believe our work is important,

We now ask for your contribution and active response

to survive and continue our mission.

 

Our resilience and dedication have brought us a long way. However, we now urgently need your help and support. We know we are meeting a need, ‘scratching where people itch’, as many say things like ‘I thought it was only in Oxford and Cambridge that such places existed.’

 

We would welcome both one-off and recurring gifts.

Please give as you are able.