Free art studio opens in Bristol to help develop city's young creatives

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An artist community group in Bristol has taken it upon itself to help more young people break into creative professions.

The Cargo Loft in the Stokes Croft area of the city houses professional studio equipment free to use 24 hours a day.

It is hoped access to the space and its facilities will help talent from the black community advance their skills to secure a future in professions few make it into.

"Being a poet and a creative has opened doors for me and put me in spaces with people I wouldn't have met," says spoken-word poet Malizah.

22-year-old Malizah is using the opportunity to help with the next chapter of her career. Credit: ITV News

"It's also allowed me to express myself. Sometimes it's hard to be able to speak to people and tell people my story, so through poetry, I've been able to tell my story.

"Here helps because it's less struggle and it's less having to fight the friction of what's going on around me."

"It makes the journey a bit easier, the process easier. You can achieve as much as you want in this space."

She is one of six artists that have so far made use of the space since its opening. Another one of those is producer Will Taylor.

Will has spent the past two years working to connect other young people with creative opportunities. Credit: ITV News

"A space like this is incredible because what you realise is that it's not that far away actually," he explained.

"When you listen to the different stories of the people who built Cargo loft and the Cargo classroom, they vary incredibly.

"Some stories are shocking you like how did you turn that from that, into this? For a lot of people from our background, the stakes are very, very high.

"But being in a space like this and being able to rub shoulders with the founders, directors, producers, you're just like actually it is possible."

Cargo co-founder Lawrence Hoo echoed that point.

"Most of the creativity I know the talent and raw skill comes from these spaces," he said.

"It comes from pressure. From that pressure, there's just explosions of ideas and talent. A lot of it maybe is to escape, identify or try to deal with or address some of the stuff that is going on that other people won't recognise."