Meet the unique Glasgow venue making a positive difference to many across the city

The venue boasts a 180-capacity theatre, seven studios and meetings rooms capable of hosting everything from dance rehearsals and creative workshops to corporate events and conferences.

And in recent months the Boardwalk has played host to bookings as diverse as a summit for the Scottish AI Alliance, corporate team building days for the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organizations, and production showcases for Lanarkshire College’s New Clan Arts.

The flexibility at the heart of the building is part of what makes it special, says Rowen Letham, a lecturer at New College Lanarkshire. “The space is adaptable, something we find really useful, especially in the Brian Cox studio. When we book it for our end of year productions. We don't know what they're going to be yet. it is a black box we can adapt and change to suit what the director wants or what the show requires.

“Spaces like that in Glasgow City Centre are so limited and the demand is there.” Its location is also ideal for the industry professionals who visit the showcase and might offer the first step into professional performance to some of the students. “Some guests come from Edinburgh, some from London, so they're straight into Glasgow and just a short walk along to the boardwalk because it's such a great central location, which is really important to us.”

Calum McDonald from the Scottish AI Alliance agrees. They recently hosted a summit bringing together sector experts alongside Scottish creatives, and were struck by the uniqueness of the building. “When you arrive into the building, you've got that staircase down and you're looking across the main room. It's an impressive space. You can see that it's well used by different community networks and stakeholders. And to me, that shows a real value and quality to a venue.”

Because the building is run as a social enterprise, all money raised from hires, events, and tenants at The Boardwalk directly benefits the life-changing work of Impact Arts across Scotland.

Impact Arts has just marked its thirtieth anniversary, and in the last year nearly 4,000 people have engaged with the charity’s work, across more than 50 diverse projects; One example tackling social isolation in older communities is a project like Craft Café in Govan, which each week welcomes elderly residents to make new friends and learn new creative skills from photography to furniture making, painting, and much more. 70% of members report feeling less isolated as a result of the project.

Education is at the heart of much of Impact’s work, from improving the wellbeing and attainment of children via art therapy, and empowering teens and young adults through employability programmes such as Creative Pathways and Cashback Summers, which have also helped hundreds of young participants to gain SQA qualifications.

All of these projects are helped to be made possible by companies and artists making use of The Boardwalk. Since opening its doors a year ago the venue has welcomed more than 22,000 visitors from Glasgow and beyond, with its spaces having played host to more than 250 different organisations and customers. Alongside many corporate and public body hires, many of the country’s leading creative organisations have benefitted from the spaces, from permanent theatrical tenants like Solar Bear and Birds of Paradise, to dance studios brought to life by the likes of S-MB Company and The Work Room, and transformative creative engagement charities like Playlist for Life and Inspiring Scotland. 

This tangible social impact is important when looking for a hire space, says Calum from Scottish AI Alliance. “It allows us to be responsible as an organisation. It marries perfectly with our wider vision, which is to be working, looking for and collaborating with organisations that have a positive social and community impact.”

And as Impact Arts looks to the future, The Boardwalk will continue to be at its centre according to Chief Executive Fiona Doring. “The Boardwalk has a real social heart, and all those that visit comment on just how friendly and welcoming it is and has been over the last year. The mix of people who use the studios creates a fantastic buzz and the range and volume of people who have accessed our studios and events over the year has been wonderful! It has become a hidden gem for the city, and we’re so excited to welcome more visitors to the space in the coming year and beyond.”