Moor Imagination Collective CIC
About MIC
what we cannot imagine cannot come into being
bell hooks
all about love: new visions
Moor Imagination Collective (MIC) is a community interest company established in March 2022. It was set up to secure the former Methodist church in Buckfastleigh for transformation into a community hub.
So far so good. Imagination is a powerful force for change – it empowers and inspires local people of all ages to shape a better future.

Our mission
To enable resilient and regenerative community in Buckfastleigh
Our aims
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To co-create a supportive and inclusive space
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To cultivate connections among us
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To be champions for creativity and to inspire imagination
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To celebrate our diversity through education, arts and wellness activities
Our people
Co-founder Directors
Sophie Lovett
(changemaker, writer, educationalist)
James Lucas
(changemaker, co-founder Bristol Bike Project and Totnes Bike Hub)
Directors
Alexandra Brown
(public arts, events, marketing)
Carly Hobson
(charity, volunteers)
James Perrott
(social enterprise, finance)
Our commitment to community heritage projects for Buckfastleigh is a central aim of MIC, which brings us direct funding.
In 2024 as our doors opened to the public, our heritage projects began. Members of the community co-designed and led workshops and open-access creative activities for community weaving acorss the town (Moor Threads).
Our first oral storytelling sessions were also set up, with local people recording history and memories. Members of the community also began a conversation about what future we can imagine for the MIC centre.
Our ambition is to be a creative hub that will inspire, preserve and celebrate Buckfastleigh and its rich heritage. This includes the building of a town archive – a deep record for how we live, what we imagine and how we create together.
As we change and grow, we will add images, words, films, sound and other outputs to the archive.
In our hallway, just inside the main doors, we have created a little library that anyone can visit and use while they are in the building. We also welcome suggestions for what belongs here as we build our community collection.
Members, circles and more
Members
Our members share our day to day tasks and are mostly our volunteers and staff. They become members in order to be more involved in the running and the direction of Moor Imagination Collective (MIC). Anyone who is employed by MIC or who volunteers regularly (after first volunteering 10 times) can apply to become a member.
Circles
Our way of working together is based on a system of circles, each with different roles and responsibilities. Within a circle, everyone can play an active part in our work. The Mission Circle and the Operational Circle are the teams with the widest responsibility. As we grow and continue to focus in new directions, we will create circles for different departments. Our approach to leadership is inspired by Sociocracy and Holacracy as well as Frederic Laloux’s concept of Teal organisations. Our goal is to live today the future we want for tomorrow. Our business practices reflect this.
Our funders
The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the largest funder for the UK’s heritage. Using money raised by National Lottery players we support projects that connect people and communities to heritage. Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future.
From historic buildings, our industrial legacy and the natural environment, to collections, traditions, stories and more, heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past.