Culture Durham Meet 2019 – exploring creativity, culture, heritage and wellbeing
Tuesday 15 October 2019, Ushaw, Durham, DH7 9RH
Networking lunch and information exchange market place 12:30 – 1:30pm Book lunch
The partnership board is made up of representatives from the county’s cultural and heritage venues and from Arts Council England-funded organisations. Our annual Culture Meet is a chance for the wider creative sector to explore opportunities that might arise as a consequence of the partnership’s work, spark ideas, make new contacts and meet like minds.
We are opening with an optional networking lunch at 12:30pm where you will have time to make new contacts, meet old friends and visit the Cultural Exchange Market Place. Lunch costs £12 and must be booked in advance and separately from the Culture Meet. Book lunch
You will be able to participate in workshops which demonstrate the benefits of cultural engagement to wellbeing – from circus skills to singing to hands-on experience of how Beamish supports people with dementia – or explore developing sustainable cultural projects for health and learn how to present them to ‘hit the button’ for the health and wellbeing sector.
The event will feature our popular Cultural Exchange Market Place where delegates will have the opportunity to find out more about the work and ambitions of organisations hosting information stands.
We are excited to present a performance by TIN Arts who are celebrating their 20th year of increasing wellbeing through inclusive contemporary dance.
The day will conclude with another opportunity to visit the market place, tours of our beautiful venue, Ushaw, time to view Ushaw’s current exhibitions and networking in the bar. Register now
Durham Year of Pilgrimage 2020
Information event for cultural and creative organisations, individuals and community groups, Wednesday 4th September, 1pm to 4.30pm at Ushaw, Durham.
2020 sees the launch of walking trails across the region in celebration of the Northern Saints. The theme is being used as a destination development and marketing initiative to attract visitors as well as creating new leisure opportunities for residents. The project is set within the context of the region’s considerable Christian Heritage but will appeal to those of other faiths and to those simply looking for their own personal spirituality, peace and tranquillity. Durham Cathedral will be at the centre of the trails recognising its role as a destination for pilgrims. The trails will appeal to those who like the challenge of long distance walking, others may wish to dip in and out of shorter sections visiting attractions, enjoying landscapes and sampling hospitality en route.
Culture Durham’s Events Forum is holding a half-day session where attendees can learn more about the project and the opportunities it represents for partnership working, creative thinking and new ideas. Whether a sole practitioner, a community group or a professional arts / cultural organisation there will be ways of being involved.
The event, which will include presentations, workshops, and networking opportunities, is now fully booked but if you would like to be added to the waiting list, please click here.
Durham Year of Culture 2019 – an unmissable year in Durham
Record turnout for Culture Durham Meet 2018
Culture Durham’s 2018 annual conference on Thursday 22 November attracted a huge turnout, with more than 160 people registered for the event which took place at Durham Cathedral and at Durham University’s Palace Green Library.
Attendees gathered in the Chapter House at the cathedral to hear speakers outline the work of the Culture Durham partnership and hear about the partnership’s plans for the future while exploring opportunities for the wider creative sector in the region. The event was supported by Durham Cathedral, Durham County Council and Durham University.
The annual conference is the key event in Culture Durham’s calendar and those present took advantage of the opportunity to network with representatives of the county’s cultural and heritage venues, Arts Council England funded organisations and other key players in the sector. Attendees heard about the extensive range of activities and events due to take place in County Durham in 2019 and how to tap into potential opportunities to develop their own work and businesses.
Exciting year ahead in 2019
“With the county hosting its Year of Culture next year, it’s a great time to be working in the cultural sector in Durham,” said Culture Durham chair Roger Kelly. “Events like the Cricket World Cup, the Norman Cornish centenary, the opening of the Spanish Art Gallery and Lumiere, the largest outdoor light festival in the UK, are all taking place in Durham over the next 12 months, so you can see that 2019 certainly promises to be an exciting and opportunity-packed year,” said Kelly.
Outlining the partnership’s work over the past year, Kelly went on to highlight the organisation’s key priorities over the coming two years which included advocating the importance of culture to the local economy and regeneration and work to raise the profile on marketing and reputation and develop audiences and programme.
Kelly said that Culture Durham was looking forward to working more closely with the County Durham Economic Partnership, the North East Culture Partnership and the North East Local Enterprise Partnership on the growth of the county’s culture offer and addressing skills gaps. The organisation would also promote the opportunities presented by the arts and creative industries as potential careers for young people and continue coordinating responses to major funding opportunities to secure additional external resources for development and delivery of collaborative projects.
“We will collaboratively coordinate programmes and promotion of cultural venues and activities across the county and celebrate good work and best practice, while identifying new ways to promote the county’s outstanding heritage and excellent cultural offer, aligning with the region as a place to live and invest,” Kelly said.
Greater role for digital
Over the next two years, he also looked forward to greater digital sharing of information about Culture Durham’s member organisations through digital channels, exploring the potential for joint ticketing and developing audience diversity, including in local communities across the county. “This is an ambitious agenda, but it is important to maintain and grow the vibrancy of our county. And we hope it will increase the contribution our sector makes to the social and economic wellbeing of our residents,” said Kelly.
Organisations represented at the conference included Arts Council England, The Auckland Project, Beamish, The Cobweb Orchestra, Culture Bridge North East, Durham Cathedral, Durham County Council, Durham County Cricket Club, Durham Creatives, Durham Music Service, Durham University, East Durham Trust, The Forge, Heritage Lottery Fund, Locomotion, North East Cultural Partnership, North Pennines AONB, Northern Heartlands, Redhills, TIN Arts, Ushaw, Visit County Durham and many others who see Culture Durham as a valuable hub to encourage opportunities for collaboration in the cultural sector across the county.
As well as featuring some excellent keynote speakers and highlighting future opportunities, the conference showcased some best practice examples of successful cultural collaborations and hosted a successful cultural exchange market place where attendees were able to discover more about the work of Culture Durham’s members as they hosted information stands highlighting their work. Attendees also took the opportunity to view the cathedral’s Open Treasure museum and take part in behind-the-scenes tours of Durham University’s Bishop Cosin’s Library.
Many of those attending the conference, which was organised by Culture Durham, Durham Cathedral, Durham Creatives and Durham University said that that it was the best Culture Durham annual event they had ever attended and delegates departed the World Heritage Site looking forward to an exciting year ahead.
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CULTURE DURHAM MEET 2018
We are delighted to invite you to our annual conference, the Culture Durham Meet 2018 which will take place on Thursday 22nd November from 1.30pm until 6.00pm
This is an opportunity to find out about the work of the Culture Durham partnership, its plans for the future and to explore potential opportunities for the wider creative sector.
This will be a chance to network with representatives from the County’s cultural and heritage venues, Arts Council England funded organisations and other colleagues in the sector. There is so much happening in County Durham and 2019 will see a really exciting range of developments, openings and events – we want to ensure that the people in the sector know where they may find new opportunities to develop their own work and business.
This year the partnership is delighted to be hosting the event at the World Heritage Site, Durham Cathedral and at Durham University’s Palace Green Library.
We will begin an exciting programme of activity in the Cathedral Chapter House with presentations from keynote speakers highlighting up-coming opportunities, including the Durham Year of Culture 2019, and showcasing examples of successful collaborations between partners and creative practitioners.
The event will feature a Cultural Exchange Market Place where delegates will find out more about the work and ambitions of member organisations hosting information stands, so there will be lots of opportunities to make fruitful connections and spark new ideas.
Delegates will also be invited to view the Cathedral’s Open Treasure exhibition.
The event will conclude with a drinks reception at Palace Green Library, with further opportunities to network and a chance to see behind the scenes renovation work on Bishop Cosin’s Library.
We look forward to welcoming friends old and new to a stimulating and valuable afternoon in an inspiring, world-renowned venue.
Ensure you receive an invitation by leaving us your contact details here
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RESIDENTIAL CREATIVITY FESTIVAL FOR ARTISTS AND CREATIVE PRACTITIONERS
Friday 16th and Saturday 17th November 2018 at Ushaw
This creative festival at Ushaw is getting ever closer and shaping up nicely!
To date over 40 writers, musicians, film makers, photographers, textile artists, illustrators, poets, performance artists, dancers and commissioners representing creative and cultural organizations across the region have registered to attend.
To give you a flavour of what’s happening, here are some brief highlights:
Mick Stephenson, renowned for creating large scale light installations that welcome audiences into extraordinary worlds of colour, will lead a professional development workshop where he will share his insights on how he has developed his practice after winning a Lumiere 2011 commission from Artichoke. Mick will also work with participants to build a new Ushaw-specific installation.
Bethan Laker, illustrator, compulsive doodler and drawing fanatic, will lead a workshop where she’ll demonstrate how drawing is a fantastic tool for thought, creativity and amazing entrepreneurial activity. Not shy of a challenge, Bethan embraces large scale work, celebrating the way simple materials and drawing can change an environment and she will lead the Big Draw, a playful session where you will be challenged to contribute to large-scale artworks to bring out your inner child. You’ll leave with a smile, as well as some unique insta-fabulous props.
Nick James, designer and maker of fabulous furniture, will offer valuable insights into the ways artists, designers and makers can create products for the cultural and heritage sector, make an impact online and whip up customers’ interest in their work.
Betty Brown, creator of the Floating City of Haberdashery, a dramatic and colourful textiles installation for the Gala Gallery in Durham, will work with participants to produce a spectacular new work for installation at Ushaw.
Musicians Gary Chaplin and Johny Brown will be sharing their insights about creative collaborations and will perform their co-created northern song cycle, Sally Wheatley.
Natalie Querol, Relationship Manager at Arts Council England, will offer insights into how to apply for Arts Council England funding.
Visual Arts Officer Lucy Jenkins will be exploring how artists can make the most of creative and commercial opportunities available at Ushaw.
Other creative Contributors include poets Katharine Goda, Ian Horn and Tony Gadd, visual artist Roz Gadd, Community Arts Officer Debbie Connell, Alix Collingwood-Swinburn, Curator of the Western Art Collection at Durham University, and Jane Shaw of Durham Creatives
Book Your Festival Place
You can choose to participate as either a two-day residential delegate or as a single day delegate. Charges for accommodation and activities are very heavily subsidised through European funding:
The residential rate (Friday and Saturday) includes all activities, lunch, dinner, en-suite overnight accommodation and breakfast. The residential price is £45.00
The day rate (Friday only) includes all activities, lunch and dinner. The day delegate price is £25.00.
For more information please contact Jane Shaw at Durham Creatives
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EAST DURHAM CREATES – FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
Apply for Funding up to £2,000 to make your Creative Project happen!
Let’s Create is a funding opportunity for North East community groups and individual artists based in or working in East Durham.
There is up to £2,000 available for each new creative project which will increase engagement with the arts. Anyone who wants to work with people in East Durham, with a great idea can apply, even if you don’t live in East Durham. It can be about any kind of art. The most important thing is that it is something which gets new people involved in being creative in East Durham.
The establishment of new local arts groups and helping artists make themselves more commercially viable are priorities. If you have received Let’s Create funding before, you can still apply as long as it’s a new idea.
This is a rolling programme so no deadline! You apply online here. If you’ve got an idea or aren’t sure if you are eligible please get in touch with Colin Jackson on 0191 569 3511 or email colin.jackson@eastdurhamtrust.org.uk
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COUNTY DURHAM CREATIVE LEARNING WEEK – Monday 11th to Sunday 17th June 2018
Facebook – Durham creative learning week
Twitter – @DurhamCLW
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COUNTY DURHAM CREATIVE LEARNING WEEK – Monday 11th to Sunday 17th June 2018
Brief for delivery and coordination of the communications campaign (freelance)
County Durham Cultural Education Partnership (CDCEP) is seeking an experienced communications professional to
coordinate and manage all communications activity to promote County Durham Creative Learning Week 2018. The
scope of work involves setting up and managing social media channels from scratch and quickly building a following,
researching and generating inspiring content, proactively securing press and media coverage leading up to and
during the week, as well as managing press and media at photocalls and handing enquiries.
Closing date: 5pm on Wednesday 4th April 2018.
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CREATIVE FUSE
Here is the Creative Fuse NE cultural sector opportunities and update (16th Feb 2018)
It includes opportunities open to micro-businesses and SMEs (including charities, social enterprises and voluntary sector organisations) in the cultural sector across the region.
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CREATIVE FUSE
The Creative Fuse NE cultural sector opportunities and update (24th Nov 2017) includes information about events and business innovation support available to freelancers, micro-businesses and SMEs (including charities, social enterprises and voluntary sector organisations) in the cultural sector across the region.
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LATEST NEWS FROM THE GREAT EXHIBITION OF THE NORTH
Great Exhibition of the North’s latest newsletter can be found here.
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CULTURE DURHAM MEET 2017
150 culture and heritage professionals have registered to attend the Culture Durham Meet on Thursday 23rd November.
The event, to be held at The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, will provide an opportunity for participants to hear keynote speaker, Darren Henley, Chief Executive of Arts Council England; Roger Kelly, the chair of Culture Durham, the County Durham Culture Partnership; and cultural practitioners. In addition, there will be time: to explore new creative opportunities through collaboration through our Cultural Exchange Market Place; for informal networking; to be entertained by students of Durham Music Service; view the New Light Prize Exhibition and Alexandra Carr’s installation, timed to coincide with the event.
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SEE TIM PEAKE’S SPACECRAFT
From 22 November 2017 to 15 January 2018, Tim Peake’s spacecraft will be on display at Locomotion.
You will have a rare opportunity to see the Soyuz TMA-19M capsule, a historic piece of engineering that transported Major Tim Peake back to Earth from the International Space Station in 2016.
As part of a national tour supported by Samsung, this temporary exhibition also features Space Descent VR, a state-of-the-art virtual reality experience narrated by Tim Peake which simulates the astronaut’s plunge back to Earth.
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COUNTY DURHAM BUSINESSES SCOOP PRIZES AT THE NORTH EAST TOURISM AWARDS
Congratulations to the following prizes winners at awards ceremony, 21 November 2017:
Gold award winners from Durham were as follows:
Large Visitor Attraction of the Year – Beamish, The Living Museum of the North
Visitor Information Provider of the Year – Durham Pointers
Business Tourism Award – Event Durham, Durham University
Silver was awarded to Hall Hill Farm in the Small Visitor Attraction of the Year category. A bronze award was won by Seaham Hall in the Hotel of the Year category, which was also Highly Commended in the Business Tourism Award category.
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NEW LIGHT PRIZE EXHIBITION AT THE BOWES MUSEUM
The latest New Light Prize Exhibition, is on display at The Bowes Museum from 18 November to 18 February 1018.
The visual arts charity, New Light, established in 2010, celebrates and promotes Northern art, supporting both well-known and emerging artists by offering some of the region’s best awards and opportunities through its biennial Prize Exhibition, including, amongst others, the £10,000 Valeria Sykes Award.
New Light unashamedly champions the, sometimes unfashionable, skills and crafts behind painting, drawing and printmaking, be it representational or the purely abstract. In this year’s exhibition they have brought together some of the best contemporary Northern artists working today and are proud to celebrate them here at The Bowes Museum – the North’s Museum of Art, Fashion and Design.
In a bid to make contemporary art more accessible New Light – Art for All is an education programme which includes talks, workshops and school projects that will run during the exhibition.
The common thread through all it does is a deep belief that art matters and the North of England – and its artistic talent – deserves to be recognised.
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LUMIERE 2017
Organisers declared Lumiere a resounding success as the fifth Lumiere festival in Durham drew to a close on Sunday 19 November 2017 at 11.00pm.
First estimates indicate that around 240,000 people visited the free festival over the past four nights, many of whom explored the outer reaches of the footprint to discover some of the most popular artworks such as What Matters, Cosmic Architecture, and For The Birds. Lumiere is produced by Artichoke, the UK’s leading producers of art in the public realm, and commissioned by Durham County Council with additional support from Arts Council England, Durham University and a host of further funders and supporters.
Since its inception in 2009, Lumiere has transformed Durham City into a nocturnal art gallery every two years. For the 2017 edition, 29 spectacular artworks and installations created an illuminated trail right across the city.
Iconic Durham landmarks were amongst the sites transformed by art, including the city’s historic Cathedral which Spanish artist Pablo Valbuena turned into a vast synchronised artwork of sound and light. The beautiful Miners’ Hall at Redhills was brought to life by an exciting 3-D video-mapped piece by Shared Space & Light, featuring real-life stories from the workers in the police, fire and health services.
Top visitor favourites included the mesmerising Frequencies by Finnish artist Kari Kola, that stretched along the Riverside under the Cathedral up to Durham Castle. Another firm favourite was For The Birds in Durham University’s Botanic Garden, an enchanting collection of more than twenty light and sound installations inspired by birdlife.
Lumiere 2017 in numbers:
• 240,000 visitors over 4 nights
• 29 separate installations including For the Birds, a collection of 20 different artworks
• 80 technicians to build the festival
• 315 volunteer festival makers
• 60 bellringers from Durham, North East and as far away as Cambridge
• 66 local people aged 6-75 years old for Our Moon
• 700 primary school pupils from 25 schools across the county took part in Cosmoscope workshops
• 2,000 shards of glass for What Matters at St Oswald’s Church
• 12,000 LED light bulbs for Cosmoscope
• 15,000 stems planted in Cathedral Cloister for Entre Les Rangs