Urban Wilderness CIC
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersLongton, Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
Urban Wilderness CIC firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Urban Wilderness CIC
- Legal name
- Urban Wilderness CIC
- Website
- https://urbanwildernesscic.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Urban Wilderness CIC industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Community Arts and Cultural Engagement
- NAICS
- Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Education & Community Programs (Junior Ranger, Citizen Science, School Programs) (THAAAGAK)
Keywords
Where Urban Wilderness CIC is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Longton, Stoke-on-Trent
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Urban Wilderness CIC business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Grant Funding: Urban Wilderness CIC operates primarily as a grant-funded community interest company. Major funders include Arts Council England, The National Lottery Community Fund, UK Community Foundations, Stoke-on-Trent City Council through UK Shared Prosperity Fund, and Stoke Creates.
- Donations: The organization accepts donations from individuals, companies, and grant-giving bodies to support programs like Art Club and wider community work. They have a GoFundMe campaign for The Bank project.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free community programs with voluntary contributions |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Urban Wilderness CIC product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Urban Wilderness CIC delivers a portfolio of free, place-based arts programs and community events in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent. Core offerings include regular weekly/monthly creative groups for young people and adults (Art Club, Teen Squad, Photo Club, Creative Volunteers, In the Balance, Open Door), large-scale annual community festivals (Longton Carnival & Pig Walk Parade; The Winter Gathering), project series (Wastelands, The Happenings), commissioned public artworks (Sky Works, Museum of Possibilities), and a community consultation initiative (Longton Time Machine, Longton Town Forum). Services are hosted primarily from The Moony Club, an ex-shop unit in Longton Exchange Shopping Centre.
Product overview
Urban Wilderness CIC operates as a community interest company delivering place-based arts programmes, community events, and creative engagement services across Longton and Stoke-on-Trent. The organisation's portfolio includes annual festivals (Longton Carnival & Pig Walk Parade, The Winter Gathering), regular youth and adult creative groups (Art Club, Teen Squad, Photo Club, Creative Volunteers), artist-led discussion programmes (In the Balance), and community consultation initiatives (Longton Town Forum, Longton Time Machine). It manages physical spaces including The Moony Club community hub and is developing The Bank as a future Creative Community Hub. The organisation also produces public art programmes (Sky Works, Wastelands, The Happenings) and commissioned artworks (Museum of Possibilities). These programmes are interconnected: festivals showcase community-made work from regular groups, public art engages Creative Volunteers and Community Makers, and consultation initiatives inform broader regeneration plans for the area.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- The Moony Club: Creative Community Hub - ex-shop unit in Longton Exchange Shopping Centre running a free arts programme
- Pig Walk
- The Winter Gathering
- Art Club
- Creative Volunteers
- In the Balance
- Teen Squad
- Photo Club
- The Bank
- Longton Time Machine
- Longton Town Forum
- Sky Works
Products and services
- Longton Carnival & Pig Walk Parade Annual community and heritage arts festival featuring town-wide events across multiple Longton venues with music, street theatre, creative workshops, and a pig parade finale. For local Longton residents, families, and visitors.
- The Winter Gathering Winter arts festival featuring live entertainment, illuminated puppet parades, fire shows, storytelling, craft workshops, and community performances, held annually in Queen's Park Longton. For local community members and families.
- Art Club Weekly artist-led creative space for young people aged 8-13 supporting wellbeing and mental health, led by award-winning artist Daby Obiechefu. Thursdays 4:30-6pm at The Moony Club. Free with suggested £5 voluntary contribution per child per session.
- Teen Squad Monthly space for teenagers to watch self-selected films combined with performance training opportunities and participation in large-scale events like Pig Walk and Winter Gathering. Includes 8-week stilt walking training with Circus in a Box.
- Photo Club Monthly space for photographers to develop skills, share inspiration, discuss challenges, and explore visual storytelling, featuring invited photographers and documentary-style work. Third Thursday of each month, 7pm-8:30pm.
- Creative Volunteers Weekly drop-in volunteer sessions creating large-scale street decorations, costumes and installations for community events. Wednesdays 10am-12noon during term time.
- In the Balance Artist-led series of talks, screenings and creative workshops exploring shared spaces, nature, and sustainability. Second Thursday of the month, 7pm-9pm.
- Longton Town Forum Monthly community forum bringing together businesses, community groups, and residents to share updates, explore collaboration, and discuss resource-sharing opportunities. First Wednesday each month, 6pm-7pm, in-person or via Zoom.
- Wastelands Multi-year project series bringing together artists to creatively respond to urban green spaces within Stoke-on-Trent, featuring commissions from artist collectives and individual artists exploring themes of nature, community, and public space.
- The Happenings Festival of public art creating new artworks for local spaces across Stoke-on-Trent, featuring diverse commissions including theatre, installation, audio pieces, and community-engaged projects. Launched in 2021.
- Sky Works Public Art Program Community-made public art installations created for the Skyworks Canopy space in Longton town centre, bringing bright, bold colours to the streetscape through participatory art-making with the Community Makers group.
- Museum of Possibilities Thought-provoking artwork commissioned by Keele University as part of the Decommissioning the Twentieth Century research project, exploring what museums should collect and share through performance, public space curation, installation, and co-creation.
- Longton Time Machine Community consultation initiative gathering thoughts, aspirations and ideas from Longton residents to create a community timeline and inform the Longton Masterplan being developed by Stoke-on-Trent City Council.
- Longton Community Action Grants Grant programme awarding ten grants of £1,000 to local organisations and community groups, nominated by the community and selected by Longton Town Forum members, to support initiatives making a real difference in Longton.
- Open Door Weekly drop-in space offering a free hot drink and toast where local community members can meet the Locality Connector from the Community Lounge team and learn about local support available. Free to attend.
- Longton Community Action Grants: Threads of Kindness Challenge Community engagement project under Longton Community Action Grants that distributed 215 friendship bracelet kits to town centre visitors through local cafes (Moroccan Cafe, Britannia Cafe) and partner venues.
Companies that use Urban Wilderness CIC
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Urban Wilderness CIC technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Urban Wilderness CIC partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
20 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and supporting.
- Shademakers UKcoreWorld-leaders in large scale 'kinetic costumes' who performed in the Queen's Jubilee parade and London Olympics 2012 opening ceremony. They designed and made Jolly the Pig for Longton Pig Walk and return to Longton to bring incredible costumes and movement skills.
- KiLNEcoreContemporary nu-marching band formed by musicians Danny Shaw & Ben Oakes in 2024. They lead the Pig Walk Parade with newly composed scores and spread positivity through the joy of music.
- Thingamajig TheatremajorPuppet masters who trained and guided the creation of giant lantern puppets including Asterion the minotaur and Echo the Eagle for The Winter Gathering.
- The PrometheanssupportingPerformance troupe that joined The Winter Gathering on a legendary journey through a flaming tableau inspired by Greek mythology.
- Domesday MorrissupportingMorris dancing group that returned to The Winter Gathering with dancing and fire performances.
- Gladstone Pottery MuseumcorePartner venue for Longton Carnival & Pig Walk Parade, one of multiple stages and venues across the town-wide event.
- Longton Victorian MarketcorePartner venue for Pig Walk Parade providing space for free, fun arts festival experience for families.
- Longton Central HallcorePartner venue for Pig Walk Parade events including storytelling sessions.
- Duchess China 1888supportingLocal partner organization collaborating on the Pig Walk Parade.
- Longton Exchange Shopping CentrecoreHome to The Moony Club and partner venue for Pig Walk Parade, central to the Cultural Quarter initiative.
- Picta ProductionssupportingFilm production company that created the film documentation for The Winter Gathering.
- Circus in a BoxmajorLed 8-week stilt walking training programme for Teen Squad participants who performed in the Pig Walk Parade.
- Changes Health and WellbeingcoreProvides free drop-in mental health peer support sessions every Friday at The Moony Club. Art Club was founded in collaboration with their Youth Council.
- Stoke CreatescoreCultural compact managing Arts Council investment across Stoke-on-Trent. Urban Wilderness CIC is the Arts Organisation leading Longton's Cultural Action Zone.
- Keele UniversitymajorCommissioned Museum of Possibilities as part of the Decommissioning the Twentieth Century research project, led by Modern Historian Ben Anderson.
- Local Cafes (Moroccan Cafe, Britannia Cafe)supportingPartner cafes hosting storytelling sessions and participating in Threads of Kindness Challenge with friendship bracelet kits.
- Without Wallssupportingarts network partnership supporting outdoor arts and events.
- Wastelands Project PartnersmajorPartnership with Kwanzaa Collective UK, Potboiler Theatre, Adina Lawrence, David Bethell, and Becki Kremer for Wastelands 2020 project exploring urban green spaces.
- Longton Town Forum MemberscoreMonthly forum bringing together local businesses, community groups, service providers, faith groups, volunteers, residents, and council representatives to collaborate on Longton improvements.
- Community CastsupportingPrepared the Community Conversation methodology and toolkit for the Longton Time Machine project.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Urban Wilderness CIC competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Create London: London-based arts organization using creative practice to drive place-based regeneration and community-led programming. Comparable in operating from physical cultural hubs, running public realm art commissions, and centering underrepresented voices in underserved areas.
- Metal Culture: Peterborough and Southend-based arts organization focused on artist development, community engagement, and creative placemaking in non-metropolitan UK towns. Closely comparable in operating physical cultural hubs, running festivals, and using arts as a regeneration lever outside major cities.
- Activate Performing Arts: Sheffield-based organization producing and supporting community-led performing arts and outdoor arts events. Comparable in producing free, large-scale public festivals with volunteer bases and working with local authority and Arts Council funding in northern English towns.
- An Tobar & Mull Theatre: Isle of Mull-based community theatre and gallery producing participatory arts, festivals, and residencies in a rural or geographically isolated UK community. Comparable in using a single physical hub to anchor a wide portfolio of community programming with a small core team.
- Heart of Glass: St Helens-based community arts organization producing socially engaged, place-based work in a former industrial UK town. Shares Urban Wilderness CIC's model of long-term community embedding, partnerships with local authorities, and programming around regeneration of a specific place.
- Fuse Medway: Kent-based arts and cultural regeneration program delivering festivals, public art, and community engagement in the Medway towns. Shares Urban Wilderness CIC's reliance on public funding, focus on under-resourced places, and use of participatory festivals as a regeneration tool.
- Super Slow Way: Lancashire-based creative place-changing program supporting community-led arts and cultural activity in Burnley, Pendle, and Rossendale. Directly comparable as a multi-arts regeneration organization using place-based programming and public art to drive community and economic outcomes in former industrial UK towns.
- Threshold Studios: North Lincolnshire-based arts organization producing socially engaged practice, public art, and community programming in a former industrial town. Comparable in scale, mission, and grant-funded operating model in a non-metropolitan UK setting.
Broad incumbents
- The Albany: Lewisham-based community arts center delivering year-round participatory arts, youth programs, and community health partnerships from a large multi-purpose venue. A larger, more established comparable combining youth creative programming, mental health partnerships, and community consultation, but with substantially greater scale and infrastructure.
- Battersea Arts Centre: London-based community arts venue running year-round participatory programming, scratch performance, and large-scale community events. A larger, more established comparable operating from a significant physical building, but with similar emphasis on community engagement, artist development, and accessible programming.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Urban Wilderness CIC social profiles
Digital presenceUrban Wilderness CIC financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Urban Wilderness CIC leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Urban Wilderness CIC funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Urban Wilderness CIC 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 Urban Wilderness CIC
What does Urban Wilderness CIC do?
Urban Wilderness CIC delivers a portfolio of free, place-based arts programs and community events in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent. Core offerings include regular weekly/monthly creative groups for young people and adults (Art Club, Teen Squad, Photo Club, Creative Volunteers, In the Balance, Open Door), large-scale annual community festivals (Longton Carnival & Pig Walk Parade; The Winter Gathering), project series (Wastelands, The Happenings), commissioned public artworks (Sky Works, Museum of Possibilities), and a community consultation initiative (Longton Time Machine, Longton Town Forum). Services are hosted primarily from The Moony Club, an ex-shop unit in Longton Exchange Shopping Centre.
Is Urban Wilderness CIC a public or private company?
Urban Wilderness CIC is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Urban Wilderness CIC founded?
Urban Wilderness CIC was founded in 2020. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Urban Wilderness CIC based?
Urban Wilderness CIC is headquartered in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Urban Wilderness CIC make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Grant Funding is the primary driver. The others are donations.
Who are Urban Wilderness CIC's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Create London, Metal Culture, Activate Performing Arts, An Tobar & Mull Theatre, Heart of Glass, Fuse Medway, Super Slow Way and Threshold Studios. Broad incumbents are The Albany and Battersea Arts Centre.
Does Urban Wilderness CIC have an API?
No public API is recorded for Urban Wilderness CIC.
What industry is Urban Wilderness CIC in?
Urban Wilderness CIC's product category is Community Arts and Cultural Engagement. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAAAGAK, Education & Community Programs (Junior Ranger, Citizen Science, School Programs). Its NAICS code is 712 and its SIC code is 7900.