Get in touch

SOUND GALLERY STUDIOS OPENS NEW DOORS FOR YOUNG CREATIVES WITH ACCESS TO SIMPTI

Nov 2025 by Darren Branch

This post may contain affiliate links.

Studio sign 'sound gallery studios' in white on textured blue background with circular graphic, simple and modern branding image.

Funding opens new doors for young Devon creatives.

→ Sound Gallery Studios

The Devon Youth Council has awarded Sound Gallery Studios in Exeter a grant as part of the ‘Places to Go Things to Do Youth Fund’ for the Access to SiMPTI programme.

Access to Standards in Music – Production  – Technology & Industry is a youth enrichment programme designed by Sound Gallery’s studios’ creative team to provide music-making and training studio sessions for young people who are at risk of social exclusion, to engage and inspire, enhance creative/technical skills, and improve employability and well-being within a safe working environment.

The programme is aimed at young people (15-25 years) who live in Devon, have some experience in making music and are in one (or more) of the following groups: are not in education, employment or training, have mental health issues, are neurodivergent, are from the LGBTQ+ community, or are experiencing financial hardship. Through this programme, they aim to enrol 10 participants; each participant is entitled to 2 hrs of free recording studio time.

Please email Maria Peters for more information or to request an enrolment form: marketing@sound-gallery.net. Sound Gallery studios, Exeter Phoenix, Gandy Street, Exeter, Devon EX4 3LS. Tel: 01392-495301

Sound Gallery Studios has just secured support for its new youth programme. A win for young music-makers across Devon who don’t always get the chance to step into a professional studio. The team has been awarded funding through the Devon Youth Council’s Places to Go, Things to Do Youth Fund, backing their Access to SiMPTI project – a training and enrichment programme aimed at young people who want to further develop their skills in music and production.

Access to SiMPTI is designed for 15–25-year-olds with some experience creating music who need a safe, supportive space to grow. The focus is on young people who are at risk of social exclusion. This includes individuals not in education or work, those living with mental health challenges, neurodivergent young people, LGBTQ+ creatives and anyone facing financial hardship. What they’re being offered is proper time in a real studio with professionals who know their craft and want to pass it on.

Maria Peters, Education and Marketing Manager at Sound Gallery, put it plainly: this programme opens the doors wider. Young people get hands-on experience with the studio as a serious music-making tool. They learn how to create high-quality recordings, understand industry pathways and gain access to resources they would usually only see on the other side of the glass. The grant also helps Sound Gallery raise awareness of what they offer, both in Exeter and beyond.

If you know Sound Gallery, you’ll know this isn’t a new direction. The studios are run by Sound Gallery CIC, a long-standing social enterprise based at Exeter Phoenix. They opened in 2008 and have continually reinvested in young people and emerging artists. Their mission has remained the same throughout: to nurture under-the-radar talent and support musicians at every stage to thrive creatively and technically. This new funding strengthens that work.

For young people who want to step deeper into music but haven’t had the means or confidence, Access to SiMPTI is a genuine opportunity. It’s another reminder that grassroots creativity doesn’t happen by accident; instead, it happens when places like Sound Gallery keep their doors open and fight for those who need and deserve a way in.

For Involving Music, making noise about South West artists isn’t just a slogan. It’s about giving people a platform when they’re still fighting to be heard. This initiative sits squarely with that mission: real support, real access, and a chance for young creatives to rise above the noise.

– Darren Branch..

– Darren Branch

Darren Branch’s first love was Heavy Metal, sparked by seeing Iron Maiden live at the Cornwall Coliseum in 1984 at the age of 13. His passion for grassroots music grew after discovering the vibrant local scene around Daylight Recording Studios in Honiton during the late 1980s. Having lived in Honiton and Exeter, Darren now lives in South Somerset and enjoys spending time in South Carolina. He stays deeply connected to the Southwest’s emerging bands—often through families that keep the scene alive. Outside music, he builds websites, reads business books, and participates in English Premier League Fantasy Football.

The latest from the blog

View all blogs