B Arts
B.ARTS is a UK-registered charity based in Stoke-on-Trent delivering participatory arts programmes including lantern processions, co-created theatre, youth engagement in priority areas, and a community cafe. Founded in 1985 as the UK's first female-led street theatre company, it operates as an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation funded by multiple charitable trusts.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1985
- HeadquartersStoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What B Arts does
B.ARTS is a UK-registered charity (number 1068736) and private limited company (number 2143658) founded in 1985 as Beavers Arts Ltd, the first female-led street theatre company in the United Kingdom. Operating from a post-industrial hub at 72 Hartshill Road in Stoke-on-Trent, the organisation delivers participatory arts programmes including lantern-making and processions, co-created theatre productions, youth engagement in priority areas of multiple deprivation (Abbey Hulton, Fegg Hayes, Norton, Smallthorne), and seasonal festivals such as the annual Etruria Canals Festival and monthly Climate Cafe. Sub-brands Bread in Common (community cafe and pantry using surplus food) and B.ARTS Studio (professional prop, puppet, and set-making team) extend the operational footprint into food security and commercial commissions.
Revenue is generated primarily through multi-funder grant stacking, anchored by Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation status for 2023-2026, supplemented by Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Tudor Trust, The Baring Foundation, and National Lottery Heritage Fund. Supplementary earned income comes from venue hire (Common Space, Cafe, Workshop, Middle Space), commissioned studio work for external clients (e.g., Walk the Plank's Spirit of Stoke puppet), pay-what-you-can catering, and public donations. International lantern procession work has been delivered across more than 13 countries including Mexico, France, Bosnia, New Zealand, and Italy, supported by partnerships such as British Council Mexico. The organisation is led by a co-artistic director model following the 2023 transition from founding artistic director Susan Clarke, with the Creative Producer team now jointly responsible for artistic direction across a portfolio of community co-creation programmes, inclusive theatre, and social-impact initiatives.
B Arts firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- B Arts
- Legal name
- B.ARTS
- Website
- https://b-arts.org.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1985
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- B.ARTS is a UK-registered charity based in Stoke-on-Trent delivering participatory arts programmes including lantern processions, co-created theatre, youth engagement in priority areas, and a community cafe. Founded in 1985 as the UK's first female-led street theatre company, it operates as an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation funded by multiple charitable trusts.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
B Arts industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Community and participatory arts
- NAICS
- Other Performing Arts Companies (71119), Other Performing Arts Companies (711190)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Performing Arts Organizations (Theater, Dance, Opera, Music) (BPAGAHAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Community Arts, Culture & Creative Placemaking Enterprises (BPAGALAO)
Keywords
Where B Arts is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Stoke-on-Trent
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
B Arts business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Grants and Funding: Primary funding from Arts Council England as National Portfolio Organisation, along with grants from foundations including Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Tudor Trust, The Baring Foundation, and National Lottery Heritage Fund.
- Venue and Space Hire: Rental of building spaces including Common Space, Café, Workshop, and Middle Space for rehearsals, training, meetings, events, exhibitions, and filming.
- Community Café and Catering: Bread in Common community café operates on 'pay what you can' model using surplus food. Catering services available for events including wood-fired pizza and hot/cold food options.
- Community Pantry: People's Pantry providing surplus supermarket food at no cost, supported by Fareshare scheme.
- Commissioned Studio Work: B.ARTS Studio accepts commissions for building puppets, theatre sets, props, and installations. Also runs paid workshops and masterclasses.
- Donations: Public donations accepted to support charity work and projects.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Community Café - Pay What You Can |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Venue Space Hire - Custom Pricing |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Catering Services - Custom Quotes |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels7 records
B Arts product offering
Product offeringCore offering
B.ARTS is a participatory community arts organisation that co-creates theatre, lantern processions, and creative projects with communities in Stoke-on-Trent and beyond. It runs a dedicated maker studio (props, puppets, sets), a community cafe and food pantry (Bread In Common), venue hire, youth engagement programmes, school workshops, and recurring community events such as Climate Cafe and the annual Etruria Canals Festival. Its core delivery is rooted in co-creation methodology with underrepresented and working-class communities.
Product overview
B Arts operates as a community arts organization offering a diverse portfolio of creative programmes and services. The organization functions as a unified arts hub with core offerings including B.ARTS Studio (professional maker team for props, puppets, and sets), Bread In Common (community cafe and food redistribution), venue hire facilities, and a rich programme of participatory arts including theatre productions (The Lost Post Office, Who Is Molly Leigh, The Lost Note), lantern parades, Climate Cafe events, Youth Engagement activities, and ArtsHill volunteer performers. The portfolio is interconnected through community co-creation principles, with many programmes feeding into one another—for example, B.ARTS Studio creates props and sets for theatre productions while also delivering public workshops, and Bread In Common serves as both a standalone service and a gathering space for other events. International lantern-making partnerships extend the organization's reach globally.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Bread In Common: Community café open on Fridays for 'pay as you feel' lunch made from surplus and waste food. Also includes a people's pantry and catering services.
- B.ARTS Studio
- ArtsHill Performers
- New Producers
Products and services
- B.ARTS Studio A team of dedicated makers providing prop-making, puppet construction, theatre set design, carpentry, metalwork, foam prop-making, and large-scale puppets. Accepts commissions from external arts organisations and runs paid workshops and masterclasses. Co-led by Richard Redwin and Dan Jaworski-Higgs.
- Bread In Common A community cafe open on Fridays offering pay-what-you-can lunches made from surplus and waste food, a People's Pantry providing free surplus food via the Fareshare scheme, and in-house catering services including wood-fired pizza and baked potato options for external events.
- Venue Hire Hire of B.ARTS spaces including Common Space (open plan office/rehearsal area), the Cafe, the Workshop (making space), and Middle Space (large flexible event venue) for rehearsals, training, meetings, events, exhibitions, and filming.
- Lantern Parades and Light-Based Events Workshops and processions using willow, tissue paper, and various materials. Supports communities to create their own lantern events and has been delivered internationally in countries including Sweden, Italy, Bosnia, Hungary, Romania, Turkey, Norway, Denmark, New Zealand, Indonesia, India, and France.
- Climate Cafe Monthly themed events exploring climate justice through workshops, discussions, creative activities, clothing/toy/book swaps, and community meals held on the first Saturday of each month at B.ARTS.
- Men Who Make Things A weekly creative making and wellbeing space for men held Wednesday evenings at B.ARTS Studio, covering carpentry, metalwork, foam prop-making, and other creative activities. Funded by The Baring Foundation.
- ArtsHill Performers A volunteer performer group that meets regularly for workshops and masterclasses, performing at interactive theatre shows, scratch nights, outdoor festivals, parades, and carnivals.
- Scratch Nights Performance showcase events for new and in-progress work including stand-up comedy, sketches, poems, spoken word, stories, and songs. Features a fully stocked bar and pay-what-you-can entry.
- Youth Engagement Youth activities delivered in areas of multiple deprivation including individual creative interventions, sustained project work, and weekly art clubs in priority areas of Abbey Hulton, Fegg Hayes, Norton, and Smallthorne. Reached approximately 1000 young people last year.
- The Lost Post Office An immersive, site-specific theatre production exploring where post goes that is too magical to send, with cardboard sets and participatory audience experiences.
- Who Is Molly Leigh? A co-created community opera exploring the legend of accused Burslem witch Molly Leigh through immersive music, storytelling, and promenade performance.
- The Lost Note An immersive, interactive theatre show for young people of all ages exploring where the music of life is born, designed and created with neurodivergent adults and young people.
- Creative Partnerships Joint creative programmes with other organisations involving collaborative funding applications and co-delivery of projects such as Imprints with Bolton Gate Arts and Once Upon a Time in Fegg Hayes with Fegg Hayes Futures.
- ArtCity Radio A podcast platform celebrating arts and culture in Stoke-on-Trent, with content chosen by the community and produced in partnership with local arts companies.
- Pockets of Paradise A project transforming underused urban spaces in Stoke town into biodiverse gardens with artist-designed features and murals, working with local communities on greening and eco-arts workshops.
- Etruria Canals Festival An annual festival celebrating the historic narrowboat gathering with family-friendly workshops, arts activities, performances, craft stalls, and heritage exhibitions held at Etruria Industrial Museum in partnership with the Etruria Canals Festival Group.
Quantifiable outcome
- Reached approximately 1000 young people across priority areas last year
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use B Arts
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
B Arts technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
B Arts partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
29 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Etruria Canals Festival GroupcoreCo-runs annual Etruria Canals Festival with representatives from Etruria Industrial Museum, Jesse Shirley's Bone and Flint Mill, Etruria Boat Group, Nimble Fingers, Etruria Artists, and local residents.
- Etruria Industrial MuseumcoreCo-hosts annual Etruria Canals Festival at museum site; represented on festival group.
- Jesse Shirley's Bone and Flint MillcoreHistorical industrial site represented on Etruria Canals Festival Group.
- Nimble FingersminorLocal craft group creating handmade items for Etruria Canals Festival.
- Staffordshire Wildlife TrustcoreCommissioned partner for Trent Valley Cabinet of Curiosities project exploring local folklore, stories and history of River Trent for touring exhibition.
- FaresharecoreCommunity pantry receives surplus supermarket food through Fareshare scheme, redistributing to local community at no cost.
- Stoke CreatescoreSupported wider project activity in Stoke town through creative programming partnerships.
- Les Poussieres (France)minorLong-term international collaborators (10+ years) for lantern processions and creative projects.
- Arte Sustentable (Mexico)minorInternational collaborators for lantern procession project in Cuautla, Morelos, Mexico - Fireflies for Peace event.
- Keele UniversityminorStudent placements from Pharmacy degree programme volunteering at Etruria Canal Festival and Pockets of Paradise.
- Festival StokecorePartnership on Greening Ford Green community garden project at Bradeley Community Centre, creating community growing spaces.
- Ford Green TeamminorPartnership on Greening Ford Green community garden project at Bradeley Community Centre.
- Fegg Hayes FuturescoreYouth engagement partnership delivering activities in Fegg Hayes area including lantern parades and youth animation projects.
- Sutton Trust Community GroupminorInternational youth engagement partner for cross-border models of creative youth activity.
- The Wallace CentreminorYouth engagement partner for creative activities and community programs.
- Stoke on Trent City CouncilcoreFunded youth engagement activities and supported through Stoke Accelerator Green Fund for Pockets of Paradise.
- Cultural ZebraminorYouth engagement partner for creative youth activities.
- 10 Count BoxingminorYouth engagement partner for creative activities in Stoke.
- Ulysses YouthminorYouth engagement partner for cross-border creative youth activity.
- LaolaltaminorInternational youth engagement partner (Spain) for cross-border creative youth activity models.
- Sala4TeatrominorInternational youth engagement partner for cross-border creative youth activity.
- ArtistaniaminorInternational youth engagement partner for cross-border creative youth activity.
- Kultulabor Trial&ErrorminorInternational youth engagement partner (Germany) for cross-border creative youth activity models.
- Bolton Gate ArtsminorCreative partnership to plan, fundraise and deliver co-created outdoor theatre show 'Imprints: Tales from the New Wild' for Moorlands area, including volunteer performer group and public arts workshops.
- Fegg Hayes FuturesminorCreative partnership for 12-month arts programme in Fegg Hayes including lantern parade, youth animation project, outdoor film screening, and advent windows.
- Walk the PlankminorCommissioned B.ARTS Studio to build Spirit of Stoke puppet for Manchester Day Parade during Stoke's centenary year.
- Watermill Special SchoolminorPartner for lantern workshops, light play sessions, and stop motion animation with students at Chell school.
- St Thomas AquinasminorSchool partnership for stop motion animation exploring canal heritage, featured on Stoke-On-Trent Living Heritage Trail app.
- Staffordshire UniversityminorStudent placements from Collaborative Theatre Practice MA course supporting productions including The Lost Post Office.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
B Arts competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Artsadmin: London-based arts organisation supporting experimental and interdisciplinary artists, producing touring work and providing development support. Comparable as a broader NPO within the participatory/contemporary arts sector, though less place-based than B.ARTS.
- Battersea Arts Centre: Major London participatory arts venue and producing house with a strong community co-creation methodology and NPO status. Comparable in philosophy (co-creation, inclusion, scratch performance formats) but much larger and venue-anchored rather than community-embedded.
Others
- Outdoor Arts UK: National sector body for outdoor arts in the UK; also a former B.ARTS venue hire customer (Away Day 2024). Comparable as a key sector convening body B.ARTS engages with for the outdoor/lantern/community arts scene.
Direct peers
- Walk the Plank: Manchester-based outdoor arts company specialising in large-scale outdoor spectacles, community carnivals, and pyrotechnic events. Highly comparable as both a participatory outdoor-arts organisation and a former B.ARTS commissioning partner (commissioned the Spirit of Stoke puppet).
- Create London: London-based participatory arts charity working in East London with young people and communities to co-create ambitious art and social change. Comparable as a place-based, community-led arts NPO with a strong youth engagement focus.
- Emergency Exit Arts: London-based participatory arts company producing street arts, lantern processions, and community co-created projects with a strong focus on underrepresented communities. Closely comparable model: National Portfolio Organisation producing lantern processions, community festivals, and co-created theatre.
- Slung Low: Leeds-based theatre company specialising in immersive, participatory productions for diverse communities and operating The Holbeck social club. Comparable model: site-specific theatre, community co-creation, working-class engagement, and a strong food-inclusion programme.
- People's Palace Projects: London-based arts organisation producing co-created theatre, music, and dance projects with marginalised communities including refugees and asylum seekers. Comparable focus on inclusion, refugee integration, and participatory arts practice.
- Apples and Snakes: England's leading organisation for spoken-word and poetry performance, producing participatory events and development programmes for diverse artists and audiences. Comparable as a National Portfolio Organisation delivering inclusive, community-rooted performance programming.
- Heart of Glass: St Helens-based community arts organisation focused on co-created and collaborative arts practice with working-class communities. Comparable as a similar-sized NPO doing place-based participatory work in a post-industrial Northern English town.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
B Arts social profiles
Digital presenceB Arts compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
B Arts financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
B Arts leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
B Arts funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
B Arts M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about B Arts
What does B Arts do?
B.ARTS is a participatory community arts organisation that co-creates theatre, lantern processions, and creative projects with communities in Stoke-on-Trent and beyond. It runs a dedicated maker studio (props, puppets, sets), a community cafe and food pantry (Bread In Common), venue hire, youth engagement programmes, school workshops, and recurring community events such as Climate Cafe and the annual Etruria Canals Festival. Its core delivery is rooted in co-creation methodology with underrepresented and working-class communities.
Is B Arts a public or private company?
B Arts is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was B Arts founded?
B Arts was founded in 1985. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is B Arts based?
B Arts is headquartered in Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does B Arts make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Grants and Funding is the primary driver. The others are venue and Space Hire, community Café and Catering, community Pantry, commissioned Studio Work and donations.
Who are B Arts's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Artsadmin and Battersea Arts Centre. Outdoor Arts UK is listed as an others. Direct peers are Walk the Plank, Create London, Emergency Exit Arts, Slung Low, People's Palace Projects, Apples and Snakes and Heart of Glass.
Does B Arts have an API?
No public API is recorded for B Arts.
What industry is B Arts in?
B Arts's product category is Community and participatory arts. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAHAB, Performing Arts Organizations (Theater, Dance, Opera, Music), with a secondary code of BPAGALAO, Community Arts, Culture & Creative Placemaking Enterprises. Its NAICS code is 71119 and its SIC code is 7900.