A £20,000 National Lottery grant keeps Creative Friends running at Artrix for a year and adds a free monthly Young Creators workshop from 13 October.

A Bromsgrove arts project that runs low-cost workshops at Artrix has won £20,000 from The National Lottery Community Fund. The money keeps it going for another year and adds two new monthly groups.

Creative Friends is run by Creative Art Showcase, the local group behind the annual Showcase weekend at Artrix. It announced the grant on its own website on 30 July. The Fund’s presentation cheque, dated 20 July 2026, is pictured on the same page.

The group says the one-year grant will pay for:

  • its existing monthly Creative Friends workshops to carry on
  • a new monthly Young Creators workshop for younger people
  • a new monthly arts and crafts workshop for people who have faced loss or bereavement

The first Young Creators session under the new money is on Tuesday 13 October, and it is free.

A large presentation cheque from The National Lottery Community Fund, dated 20 July 2026, made out to Creative Art Showcase for twenty thousand pounds, £20,000
The Community Fund's presentation cheque to Creative Art Showcase, dated 20 July 2026. Photo: supplied by Creative Art Showcase

Two years in, and a third on the way

Creative Friends began as a two-year National Lottery funded project. Its aim, in the group’s words, was “to bring our diverse communities together to take part in creative activities whilst forming new friendships”, and to “break down barriers that prevent our communities engaging with the arts”. Its project page lists the kinds of session it runs:

  • art technique workshops, from abstract and graffiti art to animation and digital art
  • wellness workshops such as Zentangle, mandala and expression art

The group marked the end of those first two years with a celebration evening at Artrix on Monday 21 September. Its invitation said the evening would “look back on the project’s achievements over the past two years” and that, with further support from the Fund, Creative Friends would continue.

The new grant covers one year, where the first project ran for two. The group’s announcement calls it “one-year funding”.

The October workshops

Both October sessions are the same class, an acrylic turtle painting workshop led by artist Lorraine Wright, with all paints and materials provided and the finished canvas yours to take home. Both run from 18:30 to 20:30 at Artrix, Slideshow Drive, B60 1GN.

Creative Friends workshops at Artrix, October 2026
SessionDateWho it is forPrice
Creative FriendsTuesday 6 OctoberAdults; under-18s with an adult£7; under-18s free; free concession places available
Young CreatorsTuesday 13 OctoberAll ages up to 21; under-18s with an adultFree; booking essential

The details are on the group’s event pages for Creative Friends on 6 October and Young Creators on 13 October. Tickets for both are sold through TicketSource, linked from those pages.

The group has not yet published a date or venue for the bereavement workshop on its website. Its July announcement said only that it would be launched as part of the new funding.

What it means for you

  • If you have a child or teenager who likes to draw or paint, the Young Creators session on 13 October is free for anyone up to 21. Book first: the group says booking is essential.
  • If you are an adult who wants to try painting, the 6 October session costs £7, with under-18s free and some free concession places.
  • If you have been bereaved and want a creative group, watch the Creative Friends page for the new workshop’s date.
  • The group’s bigger event, Showcase 2026, is at Artrix on 14 and 15 November, 10:00 to 16:30, with stalls, family films and a free silent disco. Its event page has a stallholder registration form.

For more of what is on in the town, see things to do in Bromsgrove and our guide to the Halloween Light Trail at Sanders Park.

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