top of page
Search

Service Spotlight: CentreStage 🔦

For this Service Spotlight, we’re celebrating the creativity, community spirit and relentless inclusion at CentreStage - a welcoming arts‑based organisation in the heart of Kilmarnock.


We spoke with Cailean Tait, Impact and Engagement Team Leader, who shared how CentreStage has built a vibrant, supportive environment where people of all ages can explore the arts, connect with others and simply be themselves.


Who Are CentreStage? 💜

CentreStage was created with a powerful belief:✨ Everyone should have the chance to access and benefit from the arts.


Their activities span a full lifetime - from preschool groups to dementia‑friendly sessions - offering singing, dancing, acting, creative writing and, more recently, instrumental music.


What once operated across 14 different venues is now brought together under one roof in the former Kilmarnock Academy. This historic space has been given new life, now shared with around 30 organisations providing diverse community services and supports.


Whether someone visits for a session, a coffee, a chat or simply to see what’s happening, CentreStage creates a safe and friendly space where people can find what they need without barriers.


Cailean describes this perfectly:

"We believe it takes a village - and that’s what we do.”

Relentless Inclusion 🌈

Inclusion isn’t just a value at CentreStage - it’s a way of working.


Cailean explains that their approach is rooted in relentless inclusion.


For neurodivergent individuals, this means:

  • every activity is open

  • no pressure to mask or fit a mould

  • freedom to express who they are

  • no labels required


Cailean shared:

"They are here just to be themselves and truly express who they are.”

From age six to age sixty, the arts provide a space where people can explore, move, play and create in a way that feels natural.


A Place to Let Go and Be Yourself 🎭

CentreStage sees every creative session as an opportunity for people to relax, escape expectations and tap into their strengths.


The arts allow for expression beyond words - something deeply meaningful for many neurodivergent people.


It’s a space where movement is allowed, emotions are welcomed and creativity is celebrated.


A Warm Invitation to Visit ☕

Cailean’s advice is simple:

"Come and see us - even if you’re just curious about the site or fancy a really good coffee.”

There will always be someone who will take time to chat, understand what you’re looking for and help tailor the experience to your needs.


It’s a place where being yourself is the only expectation.


Breaking Stigma and Celebrating Strengths 🌟

Cailean described a recent activity with young people where they explored the “challenges” and “benefits” of neurodiversity.


The challenges list filled quickly. The benefits list? Barely.


This shows how deeply society still views neurodivergence through a deficit lens.


CentreStage is working to turn that narrative around - celebrating:

  • creativity

  • entrepreneurial thinking

  • innovation

  • unique problem‑solving

  • diverse strengths


Cailean summarises it beautifully:

“There are so many positives that can come from being neurodivergent.”

This aligns powerfully with NEST’s commitment to highlighting strengths, not just struggles.


Names, Not Labels 💚

At CentreStage:

“We’re all about names, not labels.”

Nobody is defined by a diagnosis or expected to explain themselves. It’s a truly inclusive community - one that welcomes around 3,000 people every week through its doors.

Their message is simple: Come as you are. You’re welcome here.


🎥 Watch the Video


📝 Full Transcript


To read the full video transcript you can either download it below or read it below


Centrestage Service Spotlight – Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2026 – Full Video Transcript


So my name is Cailean Tait.


I am the Impact and Engagement Team Leader here at Centrestage


We're a little bit of everything.


So Centre Stage is a community arts organisation.


We were set up with the principle that anyone should have the ability to access and benefit from the arts.


So our activities range from preschool classes all the way up to dementia groups, and that's involving a wee bit of singing, dancing, acting, creative writing.


We've now stepped into instrumental as well.


So our arts offering is quite wide-ranging, but we go beyond the arts now.


We used to be based out in 14 different locations. We're now centralised in one place at the old Kilmarnock Academy and bringing this historic piece of Kilmarnock back into life.

We are based here with up to 30 different organisations who provide some fantastic services.


And the idea is that CentreStage can bring people through the door, whether it be for a coffee in the cafe bar or whether it be for the arts or whether it's just for a chat. And in one place, that individual or that family can find everything that they are looking for.


So we believe it takes a village and that's what we do.


One of our core values is inclusion. And when we talk about that, we mean relentless inclusion there. So for individuals who may have a neurodiverse condition,

It's just saying to them that any of our activities are available for them to come in and to not feel restrained by their condition. They are here just to be themselves and to truly express who they are. And that goes from, it's almost like a playground, but that's from everyone who might be six years old to someone who's 60 years old.


We find that the arts allows people to just let go and escape and just truly be themselves.

The advice I would give someone is come and see us, you know, even though it's just curiosity with what have we done with the site or if you just want a really good coffee, always an excuse. So pop in and see us, grab a chat with one of the team, and there's always someone who will take the time to sit down with you, chat through what you are looking for, and will tailor what your needs are to your experience.


I think it's truly important because a recent example I could give was we were doing an exercise with young people where we were discussing neurodiversity and in one sheet of paper we had, what are the challenges? And in one sheet of paper we had, what are the benefits? What we found was there was so many examples of what the challenges are and there was very few benefits.


And I think that just very simply puts it that people still look at neurodiversity as if it is only a challenge and it's trying to remove that stigma and flip it in its head and show people there's a lot that can come out, a lot of positives that can come out of having a neurodiverse condition, whether it is the entrepreneurs who have been very successful in our society, or whether it's your creativity or whatever skill you might have, there are positives. So it's trying to celebrate we're all different and highlighting the positive impacts that something like neurodiversity can have on someone's life.


It is for everyone. when we talk about inclusion, we truly mean that. And when someone walks in, we don't need to put a label on you, don't need to define yourself by what your condition might be. We're all about names, not labels in here.


So just come in and be yourself and become part of this community.


We get 3,000 people that walk through the doors every week.


So come and join in the fun.

Comments

bottom of page