Gut Level Sheffield is fundraising for new venue building works
Despite "new ceilings, insane amounts of fire safety bits, shit filled pipes" the queer-led DIY collective is finally on the cusp of a permanent new home
Sheffield's Gut Level has launched an emergency fundraising appeal to cover final building works required to open a new venue.
The queer-led DIY collective originally lost their base as Covid-19 hit, and have since been forced to relocate three times due to various external factors. Last year they announced a new space, in an old Cafe at Chapel Walk. £10,000 is now needed to realise that, with initial costs having mounted in what the team describe as "a classic tale of building works".
"You will have heard all the stories of insulation, new ceilings, insane amounts of fire safety bits, shit filled pipes, new widemode stairs — resulting in complete rip out and redesign upstairs — painful building control-architect communications, additional accessibility works and more," the statement read.
"A visit from environmental health and the police in mid Feb has added on extra unknown work in order to get our licence approved including a ventilation system, CCTV, extra urinals to get the capacity needed (archaic guidance around gendered toilets means gender neutral loos don't get your far, but of course we aren't budging on that!)"
You can donate to the GoFundMe page here.
Founded in 2019, Gut Level offers social and creative opportunities for underrepresented people, with a focus on LGBTQ+ communities and marginalised genders. Historically operating as a music venue, event profits are used to provide workshops, equipment access, and the upkeep of a community garden for the organisation's 1,900 members.
Since inception, the Sheffield collective has faced huge challenges, losing their first home at Attercliffe Arches due to the pandemic and another on Snow Lane at the hands of gentrification, leaving events in a temporary location on Eyre Street until the new Chapel Walk address was found. Last year, Gut Level took over the Curve Gallery at London's Barbican Centre with an exhibition about DIY club culture in the north of England, working with others in the region such as Manchester’s Partisan, and Leeds' MAP Charity and sister party, Cosmic Slop.
