East Durham Creates has been awarded £1 Million of investment from Arts Council England aspart of their Creative People and Places National Portfolio 2022-25 - made possible thanks to National Lottery players.
East Durham Creates was established in 2014 as part of Arts Council England’s Creative
People and Places programme, aimed at offering new and exciting opportunities for arts and cultural engagement to communities like East Durham.
Since then East Durham Creates has engaged more than 120,000 people in making and
accessing culture and art for, with and by local communities. This next chapter will allow the
project to work with communities like those in East Durham across the county as well as
continue to grow the ambition and aspiration of communities in the East.
Creative Champion Rona Hardy from Shotton, who was part of the interview process said. “East Durham Creates has transformed how people in our communities experience culture. For many years, people in communities like ours have thought that art isn’t for them and that nobody cares about their stories – we changed that. Together we made culture relevant and inclusive. Culture made for, with and by our communities.”
Rona runs a Cultural Hub in Shotton whose centre Shotton Community Hub has done
everything from showcase fantastic theatre to lead a safari around the village exploring what makes their village special. Shotton is one of 8 community venues supported by the project to integrate arts and culture into the vital work they do to support their local communities. Rona also champions culture and creativity as part of the project’s Community Panel.
Jess Hunt, the Project Lead for East Durham Creates said “This investment offers the chance for our communities to continue their cultural journey and share their learning with people across our county. We can’t wait for this next chapter.”
County Durham’s expression of interest to be UK City of Culture was submitted by Durham
County Council, with principal partner Durham University, on behalf of Culture Durham. In
October 2021 County Durham made it through to the final 8.
To find out more about County Durham’s bid and to leave messages of support, visit
www.durham2025.co.uk and follow @Durham2025 on Facebook, @Durham_2025 on Twitter
and @Durham2025_ on Instagram.