
Over fifty years ago, South Hill Park Arts Centre was opened as a charity by the community in a partnership between the then New Town Council, Arts Council England and local businesses, in order for the inhabitants of the local area to be able to enjoy and benefit from the creative arts. To this day, our aims and values continue this mission, with community underlying all our activities.
Community Events
Offering free-of-charge community workshops and activities to engage people who may never have taken part at South Hill Park allows us to connect with new audiences and to foster greater community spirit.
Every year we open our doors and grounds for our Festivals and Fairs, many of which are free to attend. Our Festival of Food and Music is a highlight, usually attracting around 6000 visitors to experience two days of culinary and musical delights. In addition, attendees enjoy free outdoor theatrical performances and usually over 500 children take part in free craft activities.
We also participate in events in the local area, such as Bracknell Forest Council’s Summer of Fun initiative which provides free activities for families during the long summer holidays. We happily get involved with Bracknell town centre events such as the Culture and Community Day and Pride.
Other examples of activities include our free stay-and-play drop-in sessions, low-cost course tasters and informal family arts sessions which offer an easy and accessible means for families to get a flavour of what we offer.
Community Theatre
Our in-house community theatre productions fully encapsulate our mission to nourish a creative community, create experiences to engage the local population and to nurture talent. These shows are hugely popular with participants and audiences alike.
Our productions encourage creativity across generations and provide opportunities for local performers, from 6 to 99, to hone their skills and star in high-quality drama and musical theatre. We often receive hundreds of applications from amateur artists looking to take part, including many from our younger community members.
Read the Maidenhead Advertiser review of our “absolutely spectacular” Beauty and the Beast production.
Community Partnerships
Creating partnerships with local organisations is one of our key aims. In order to reach the widest audience possible, we collaborate with agencies who already support those with particular needs in our community.
We are proud of our relationships with groups such as Age Concern, Mind, Stepping Stones College and many local schools. The activities we are able to provide, thanks to our partners and sponsors, are run in line with our aim to make a meaningful, positive social impact. Through these experiences, we address issues faced by members of our local community such as isolation and loneliness while working to improving their mental well-being and a sense of belonging.
Watch our short video about our Age Concern partnership.
Our Follow The Yellow Brick Road interactive performing arts project was an example of an exciting collaboration between South Hill Park Arts Centre, The Lexicon and Bracknell Forest Borough Council. It was designed with equality of access embedded from the start, ensuring a truly community-focused experience.
Removing barriers to access has been a top priority for us as we work to address inequality. We know that the cost of arts-based workshops can be prohibitive for some members of our community and we are committed to making our programmes as accessible as possible. Through our partnerships, we have been able to secure funding and resources to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to participate.
Our strong relationships ensure that our Arts Centre is able to play a pivotal role in empowering our community.
We are also grateful to our corporate sponsors. By supporting South Hill Park and our charitable objectives, local businesses are able to demonstrate their own Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) whilst growing their brand awareness across our broad, diverse audience.
Community Groups
We want local groups to feel that South Hill Park is their home. From hosting regular, bookable sessions run by groups advocating dance, fitness and cinema, to informal LGTBQ+ and running group meet-ups located at our venue, we aim to be inclusive and accommodate the wide range of interests and cultures which make up our local area. We are also a valuable option for holding the meetings and functions which help our community groups run efficiently.
Find out more about some of the community groups running out of South Hill Park
Volunteers

We are lucky to have around 120 amazing volunteers working with us. We are incredibly grateful to them for their part in ensuring the smooth operation of our arts centre – we couldn’t run this place without them. For many of our volunteers, South Hill Park has been a part of their life for many years and they are proud to support a venue which means a great deal to them – and this means a great deal to us too!
SHP Bridge
We know that Digital is a fundamental part of modern life and so online media plays a fundamental role in our programme. During Covid, we adapted our work to deliver an all-digital, multi-disciplinary programme which included professional and community generated work.
Digital initiatives continue to be essential to our learning program, helping to increase participation, expand our reach and share our work with a broader audience. We’ve created innovative projects that enhance audience engagement in line with our commitment to digital integration. Over the past ten years we have regularly uploaded content which has surpassed 58,000 lifetime views.
We have started building relationships with care homes with the ambition of delivering the previous years pantomime for free into their settings via a pre-recorded and professionally edited video.
You are South Hill Park
South Hill Park is a registered charity and it is only through the donations, grants and legacies of our members and supporters that we can maintain and build on the work we do here.
Please help us continue to inspire, connect and enrich through the creative arts.
Need Help?
Community permeates into everything we do here. If you’d like further information on anything mentioned above and can’t find it on our website, please use the link below to get in touch