The Mill Arts Centre is the only dedicated arts and performance venue in the whole of the Cherwell District – meaning that without The Mill, many in our area wouldn’t have access to the huge range of performances, workshops, exhibitions and outreach that we offer each and every year.

Like many small charities, we rely on your generosity to continue our work with local communities. Your donation will help make Banbury and the wider region an even more vibrant and creative place, with The Mill at its heart.

Our Priority Projects

Your donation will enable us to continue proudly inspiring, educating and entertaining people from across our local communities. Our current priority projects are:

CODE School Outreach Programme: Engaging young people through theatre and workshops to tackle county lines, knife crime, and youth vulnerability. Working with schools and partners such as Justice in Motion, we are helping to equip young people with the tools to make safer choices and strengthen resilience.

Community Connections Tickets: Providing subsidised and free tickets to families, carers, refugees, and individuals on low incomes. These tickets remove financial barriers, ensuring that everyone has access to the joy, inspiration, and shared experience of live performance. Recent funding has supported families in Bicester to attend There’s a Monster in Your Christmas Show, creating treasured festive memories they would otherwise have missed.

FREE Community Classes: We are raising funds to reinstate three proven weekly programmes paused due to lack of funding: Creative Café, Spark Arts & Crafts, and Spark Movement & Yoga. These free to attend inclusive sessions reduce isolation, improve mental wellbeing, and promote physical activity. They offer around 990 participant places each year, at a cost of just £15.67 per place — outstanding value for high-quality, artist-led activities.

Supported Artists Scheme: Empowering socially engaged artists to create locally rooted projects that address pressing social issues. Our current supported artists include:

• Jane Castree – Intergenerational dance and inclusive movement.

• Imogen Hunt – Creative work co-developed with young carers to amplify their voices.

• Caroline Horton – Theatre exploring mental health and inequality.

What Your Donation Could Achieve

• £15 – A free ticket for a local child to our Christmas show

• £125 – A bespoke creative workshop for a community group

• £600 – Audio description or BSL interpretation for a live performance

Even a small gift makes a big difference. Every pound goes directly into creating opportunities, removing barriers, and making the arts accessible to everyone.

With Your Support Last Year

Together, we achieved so much:

• 30,000+ people attended our events, generating £1.1M for the local economy*(source)

• 2,000 young people engaged in creative workshops tackling County Lines and knife crime

• 218 sessions kept older people connected and active

• 4,000 enjoyed free world-class performances at Banbury Canal Festival

• 416 people from deprived communities accessed our programme through Community Connections Tickets

Your support is what makes all this possible — thank you.

Gift Aid Your Donation

The Mill Arts Centre Trust is a registered charity (No. 1165998). For every £1 you donate, we can claim back 25p from HMRC through Gift Aid.

Every donation, no matter the size, helps keep creativity at the heart of Banbury. Donate today.