Goodbye Building & Next Steps for The Middle Floor.
The Middle Floor in 2019
This week marks our last week in our building at Wharf Street.
We hope you can join us for our Bye Bye Building Party on Thursday 31st July!
From Artistic Director Imogen Reeve:
I co-founded The Middle Floor in 2019 with my best friend Marie, and support from Wharf Chambers. We both worked 3 other jobs each and did repairs and events here in our spare time. It grew from our determination to MAKE STUFF HAPPEN. I wanted somewhere to share my work, and I wanted to bring all my mates along with me. We gradually did more and more stuff, made more and more stuff happen. We kept going. Over the years the space grew, what we offered changed, formed and reformed, we tried to stay responsive to the communities we served and I think we did a good job of that.
I am really proud of the work we did here, specifically our residency and spare space programme, our classes programme, our Surge programme for musicians, our Thrive programme for community arts practitioners, the documentary that we have just commissioned, our Hive artist gatherings and being able to host Roadhouse. Also just our day to day chats with artists, offering support even if that is just someone to complain to.
I am sad to see the building go, when it was full of people it really was a beautiful thing. With so many arts organisations struggling right now I think it is more important than ever to support the venues that you love to ensure that they can stay open. I know cash is tight for everyone, but that means we need to be pickier than ever when choosing where we spend our money so that we can help shape the ecology around us. Buy tickets, buy beers, go to workshops, dance in the streets, talk to the organisations, tell them what you need, scream at them if you have to, never give up.
Where to now?
Although I am leaving my position as Artistic Director of The Middle Floor, I am excited to be joining the Board of Directors to help steer the organisation in its next phase of life. I am also refocussing on my own practice. I have been making shows alongside my work here and I'm excited to invest more into that. I am starting a fully funded PhD in choreographic practice (keep calling myself a dance genius, hoping it will catch on) and this will give me space and time which I am really looking forward to.
The Middle Floor in 2023
From our Executive Director Callum Holt:
“When Imogen invited me to join the Middle Floor 18months ago, it felt like an honour. I’d had the privilege of working with them previously on various projects and they regularly helped me support the artists I was producing, so not only was I familiar with their work, but I was in awe of what they were doing. We shared so many values that it felt natural to say yes.
And what an experience it’s been! While the last 18months haven’t always been easy, I’ve loved every minute of it. I am so incredibly proud of the team and what we’ve achieved – it’s felt like we’ve made a real difference to Leeds and the support the city offers to artists at all stages of their careers.
It’s going to be tough moving forwards in such a radically different way, but, as I keep having to remind myself, change isn’t always a bad thing. We might not have a building anymore, but we will still advocate for artists, provide support where it’s needed, and make things happen. I’m excited to see where this chapter takes us next, and I promise I’ll continue to uphold the values that made The Middle Floor such a special place.”
What’s Next?
From 31st July, The Middle Floor will no longer operate as a building-based organisation. While our classes, spare space, and studio-based activities will come to a close, we will continue our producing work, artist development programmes, and training offers - just in a different form.
While our monthly newsletters will be slowing down, we encourage you to stay signed up (or sign up if you haven’t already) to be the first to hear about new work, tours and opportunities for artists.
The Middle Floor
29th July 2025