About Us

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Arts Factory exists to develop people and serve the communities people form. The way we do this is best explained by our statements of vision, mission and values:

Our vision:
 A strong community, made up of people from all walks of life who share the same values and help each other.

Our mission:

Arts Factory is an independent Development Trust that is building a strong community through:

• CULTIVATING ENTERPRISE
• DEVELOPING PEOPLE
• PROVIDING FACILITIES

A strong community is an inclusive, enterprising community that can decide on and deliver against its own priorities.

Our values:

We believe in social justice and that everyone, regardless of any label, can be an asset and has the right to self-respect, to live in a decent environment, and to learn and develop. We believe in sustainable development and the power of reciprocity, teamwork, and positive attitudes. Arts Factory sets out certain strategic aims and objectives for itself. These are the goals towards which we work as an organisation within the community.

Strategic aim:

To develop a strong portfolio of businesses that will fund an extensive community programme focused on meeting the needs of the most marginalised people in our communities.

Key milestone:

The point where Arts Factory’s business portfolio is strong enough to support the core costs of the company, and our community programme wins funding on a project-by-project basis.

Challenges:

• To survive until our new businesses bear fruit.
• To maintain our values and prevent mission drift.
• To make the best use of investment opportunities to accelerate the development of our businesses.

Arts Factory is "mission focused". This means we direct all our activities, programmes and events to follow, as closely as possible, the points laid out in our mission statement for building a strong community.
Anyone, from any background, who shares our values and supports our mission is welcome to join in our work.

Arts Factory’s business headquarters at Highfield in Ferndale also started out as a venue in need of loving care and restoration. Overgrown by brambles and laden with rubbish, this site was cleared, renovated, developed and turned into a garden centre, primarily through the work of highly-motivated volunteers from the local community.
Since 1990, our programme of events and activities has changed with the times, but our aims, values and mission remain as they were from the very beginning. We invite you to browse through our website, get in touch with us by email or telephone, or call in at Trerhondda or Highfield and meet our staff and volunteers in person.

For Further Information: Please e-mail info@artsfactory.co.uk