A new social enterprise café in the north west of Glasgow will be throwing open their doors early next year, and is on the hunt for up and coming artists to showcase.
Sat on Garscube Road, Toshie’s is a new venture with a partnership between Queens Cross Workspace and The Courtyard Pantry - a community project run by mental health charity Flourish House.
The new cafe, named after Charles Rennie Mackintosh who designed a nearby church, will serve up a selection of treats requested by the local community.
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Hoping to open early next year, Toshie’s are reaching out to Glasgow based artists who would be keen to display their work in the café. Prints and paintings would be made available for sale, with the organisation asking anyone interested to reach out.
Toshie’s will be housed in a property owned by the Queen’s Cross Workspace, a local economic development company. Rona Anderson, Queens Cross director of property, enterprise and regeneration, said: “This is a great example of how we can use our position within the community to help address employment gaps.
“We need to use all the levers we have at our disposal to try and create opportunities for local people where we can.”
Flourish House formed the Courtyard Pantry in 2016, before adapting in March 2021 as a response to the pandemic. Describing their aims, the organisation said: “During the initial phase of the crisis, our teams witnessed first-hand the hardship and challenges experienced by the local community as they struggled to access food due to income reduction, shielding, health decline, isolation and fear.
“As we were uniquely placed at the heart of the local food response, we felt we had to help, so building our partnership with Queens Cross Housing Association and utilising our existing café, instead of closing this vital community hub, we reimagined our service to tackle food insecurity.”
Aside from helping the local community during the ongoing cost of living crisis, Flourish House have also been holding art groups for members to relax in and express themselves. Over the pandemic, artists were working together over Zoom and keeping themselves busy while connecting with hours.
Now, they’re casting a wider net - and you can get involved if you’d like to see your work hanging in the new spot. You can get in touch here.
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