About us

The Rising Sun Arts Centre is an award winning, independent arts centre, which for 28 years has been staffed and run by volunteers. The Rising Sun started as a squat, created by a group of intrepid artists who saw a need for ground-level arts development, for and by, the people of Reading. The centre gained charity status in the mid-90s, and has been at the heart of Reading’s cultural life ever since.

The Rising Sun creates a space where creativity flourishes and people come together to make things happen. Our programme includes a varied line up of high quality events and activities, avant garde music from some of the world’s top improvisers, ground breaking, participatory projects and the best band nights in town to name a few, all managed by volunteers without the benefit of core funding or full time staff.

The Rising Sun is a registered charity governed by a board of Trustees and has two part time paid workers. All the core work of the centre is done by volunteers and the centre survives on the basis of earned income with occasional funding for specific projects.