Brentford's new community arts worker is 22-year-old Finley, who aims to reach new audiences in the ward and make sure Brentford's creative scene is accessible to all.

Finley works with Creative People & Places Hounslow, a group of local organisations and local people who work together on creative projects in the borough.

New to Brentford, Finley has been learning what the area has to offer, and the changes it faces.

"There are a lot of exciting things happening in the area," said Finley. "I think it's also a really interesting time in Brentford with lots of changes and people feel very strongly about them.

"My hope is that the creative side of Brentford gets preserved and Brentford doesn't lose that.

"Hopefully the new developers create art offerings that work for all residents and not just for the new ones."

Finley graduated in graphic design from Cardiff University in 2020 and has only been in London since 20, September.

Having previously worked in community arts in Wales, Finley was excited to see the varied creative side of Brentford.

He works with the Brentford Local Advisory Group (LAG) to programme creative activities in the town.

The LAG is made up of individuals who live or work in Brentford and have an interest in growing the level of arts provision in the area.

Finley said: "We really want to look at how we can reach people who don't go to Watermans and engage with communities who have less cultural capital.

"Our goal is to transfer power from us to the communities, so that, if we weren't around, we would have worked with people to build a sustainable network of creatives."

Their current aim is to reach new audiences in Brentford that they might not have with previous projects, and give more Brentford residents a say in what they do next.

Past projects in Brentford included creative writing classes and a short course in stand-up comedy.

So if you want to get involved with Creative People & Places, put on creative activities in Brentford, or have any thoughts about what they're doing, contact Finley at [email protected].