The Turnpike CIC was a bold, independent not-for-profit arts project with community at its heart, based in Leigh, Greater Manchester.

This web archive, titled Could this be paradise? reflects on our 5 years in Leigh, highlighting the community voices and artists who have worked with us to shape our organisation.

We want to say a huge thank you to our Turnpike family; the team members, volunteers, artists, community members, peer organisations, funders and supporters who have invested their energy, creativity and ingenuity with us over the years.

The Turnpike CIC
Could this be paradise?
The Turnpike CIC. 5 years of art and community in Leigh. Could this be paradise? Channeling the visionary spirit in the town’s DNA for a new generation of artists, audiences and local communities. Unapologetically bringing high-calibre contemporary visual art to Leigh and proving there's an appetite for it. Creating projects to unearth and open up a dialogue around Leigh and particularly with young people, around what their future vision was, the aspirations they had for their town, how they wanted to break out of the mould. There was all of this really dynamic dialogue going on that was apparent amongst us all that was so vibrant and so vital. Testing out a different kind of vision for art in Leigh, in this brutalist, concrete heart of the town.