Making creative industries accessible
In Kentish Town, on Regis Road, amongst a row of industrial units and warehouses lies Creators House, a free multipurpose studio for young creatives. Beyond the space itself, Creators House offers mentoring, mental health support, workshops and acts as a hub for young people to collaborate.
At a time where space is premium, equipment costs unattainable and industry knowledge is difficultly accessed, there is no doubt this is an invaluable resource to help break down the barriers for a young creative.
Batuala Alexander, founder and CEO of Creators House explains the journey of setting up, and what it looks like today.
Agency to give back
Creators House is powered by InZone, a youth-led creative agency that handles consumer insights for companies such as Nike, Urban Outfitters and Foot Locker, helping connect them to their consumers. Already specialising in youth culture, InZone was well placed to support the community and help reduce barriers for young people wanting to work in the creative industry.
Reflecting on his own career, Batuala explains “I used to work at Nike, I started off working in a store and figured it out through my 10 years there, as a lot of my friends did. There are alternative ways, that could potentially save time, and allow people to be the best versions of themselves.”
It began with mentoring
The COVID-19 lockdowns fast tracked the mission to give back, and Creators House launched in early 2021 as an online mentoring programme. It was an 8-week online course led by 8 mentees from the creative industry, for 20 people under the age of 25. Each session covered different topics such as leadership and working abroad. Batuala outlines, “First and foremost, it showed young people that these jobs exist. Secondly, it showed them how to be successful in the creative industry.”
“we didn’t just want to give them all this knowledge and facilities without also being able to provide support for their mental health.”
Batuala Alexander, Founder and CEO of Creators House
A physical space
Though the mentoring programme provided knowledge, the barrier of expensive studios, equipment and the difficulty of networking, still stood. A physical space seemed essential in being able to provide further support, and so the studio was opened in May 2022.
Anyone between the ages of 18 and 25 can visit the website to find an available slot, each 1.5 hours, and book it. When booking, they must specify what they’re using the space for so that it can be set up according to their needs.
With this slot, not only do people get access to a studio fully equipped for their project, but also access to creative assistants who can support with technical requirements. Batuala points out, “we have actually found a lot of people that use the space are quite early in their career, so a lot of them do need that extra support.”
360 degree approach
With a constant eye on the bigger picture, Batuala states, “We wanted to support the 360 element of the young person – we didn’t just want to give them all this knowledge and facilities without also being able to provide support for their mental health.” Creators House offer 7 free therapy sessions to 18-25 years old.
All of this is further strengthened by Batuala’s experience growing up in Kentish Town, only two roads away from the studio. He is from the same community that he is now supporting, making sure that the young creatives have a strong starting point from which creative communities can be built.
Batuala successfully applied to the We Make Camden Kit to help towards marketing costs to reach young people in Camden. If you have a great idea for your community, why not turn it into a realty?
Young creatives
Check out Creators House on their Instagram and Website and keep an eye out for the podcast that will be launched shortly. If you are an organisation that supports this vision and would like to partner, Creators House would love to hear from you. Email on community@creators-house.org
