Why Northlight Arts Centre is becoming Chapel Allerton Arts Centre

You may have noticed a new name appearing above the door, on the website and across our social media.

Northlight Arts Centre is becoming Chapel Allerton Arts Centre.

For regular visitors, most of what you know and enjoy about the building isn't changing. There will still be art, exhibitions, workshops, events, artist studios, good coffee, framing and printing, and plenty of reasons to come through the door.

The change is really about making things a little clearer — and giving the building a name that better reflects what it has become.

A centre that's grown and changed

Over the last few years, the building has developed into a home for a number of different creative organisations, businesses and activities.

What began with a strong focus on visual art has gradually become something broader: a gallery, café, workshop and event venue, a base for artists and creative businesses, and a place where people from across Chapel Allerton can meet, work, learn and take part in things.

As the centre has evolved, it has made sense for the organisations based here to have clearer identities and responsibilities of their own.

North Art will continue to run the gallery, support artists and provide framing and printing services.

Northlight the CIC will continue its community-focused work, including workshops and creative activities.

And the building itself — the place that brings all of these things together — will now be known as Chapel Allerton Arts Centre.

Why Chapel Allerton Arts Centre?

Quite simply, it says where we are and what we are.

We wanted a name that belonged to the area and made the centre immediately understandable to someone discovering us for the first time.

Chapel Allerton has a brilliant independent and creative community, and we're proud to be part of it. Calling the building Chapel Allerton Arts Centre feels like a natural next step and gives us room to continue developing what happens here.

The new name also allows the centre itself to have an identity separate from the individual organisations working within it.

What's changing?

Mostly, the name.

Behind the scenes we're also using the opportunity to make the centre easier to understand and navigate, with a new website, clearer information about events and workshops, and a more defined role for each of the organisations based here.

Over the coming months we'll also be continuing to develop the café and bar, our programme of events, studio and workspace options, room hire and the different ways people can use the building.

What's staying the same?

The important bit: the building is still here to be used.

You can still visit an exhibition, come to a workshop, have a coffee in the café or garden, attend a talk or event, hire a space, get something framed, or simply find out what is happening locally.

Our aim is for Chapel Allerton Arts Centre to be an open, useful and welcoming creative space for the neighbourhood — while also giving artists, organisations and independent businesses somewhere to develop their own work.

So while the name above the door is changing, we're very much continuing what the building has always been about: bringing people, creativity and ideas together.

Welcome to Chapel Allerton Arts Centre.