Terms of Use I’m a terms of use section. I’m a great place to inform your visitors about the nature of your website and how it may be used by visitors. Add details such the type of information and content you publish, or any additional features like taking online payments or collecting emails for a newsletter. Transparency helps build trust with your website visitors, so take the time to write an accurate and detailed policy. Use straightforward language to gain their trust and make sure they keep coming back to your site! We Need Your Support Today! Donate

From September 2024 to March 2025 we delivered The I:D Project - using creativity to inspire young people in Teesdale to explore their curiosity, identity, and their sense of place and belonging in the world, to support positive wellbeing outcomes as part of Durham County Council’s Big Arts Project. the i:d project Back to Health and Wellbeing Next Project The I:D Project brought artists and young people together to explore identity, sense of place, and encourage curiosity with the aim of improving wellbeing. We worked with students from Teesdale School & Sixth Form and with young people from TCR Hub and UTASS. Activity included visual art and spoken word workshops with artist Lizzie Lovejoy , visits to Grassholme Observatory and a pop-up camera obscura residency with photographer Elaine Vizor . 390 young people from Teesdale took part 71% agreed "this activity has given me space to explore my own ideas" 68% agreed "using creative writing/photography/drawing has helped me to express my ideas" A booklet was created containing artwork and poems by young people providing a tool for future work Watch the I:D Project video to hear directly from the young people involved in the project Thank you to our generous Funders: We Need Your Support Today! Donate

Connect with the County Durham Artists' Network and view presentations from previous netowrking and training sessions. Artists' Network Back to Artists' Space Throughout April - September 2021, Northern Heartlands hosted the County Durham Artists' Network. These weekly, free sessions were a chance to hear from fellow creatives, regional arts organisations and take part in professional training sessions. Below is a collection of presentations that were delivered throughout during our meetings. The Creative Adventurer's Survival Guide East Durham Creates Website Fundamentals for Creatives Teesdale Artist Network Durham County Council Cumbria Arts and Culture Network Beamish Museum Northern Saints Trail Durham 2025: City of Culture Culture Durham Federation of Small Businesses Arts Council England The Network also received a number of training sessions to support the work of artists. These were delivered in a mixture of online and live sessions. Below you can find presentations from some of the training sessions. Website Creation and Development for Creative Practitioners Defining Your Why Finding and Getting funding for Arts Projects Q&A with Arts Council England If you are an Artist or Creative Practitioner and would like to be added to our Artists' mailing list, get in touch with other Artists or hear about new training or commission opportunities, get in contact by emailing info@northernheartlands.org We Need Your Support Today! Donate Thank you to our generous Funders:

Meet the Northern Heartlands team and our dedicated board who are passionate about the work we do. The Team Jill Cole Director Katy Milne Senior M anager Lyndsey Middleton Creative Communities Coordinator Jayne Bradley Office and Systems Manager The Board Graham Young Chair Jane Hartley Trustee Tony Harrington Trustee Amanda Tutin Trustee Ben Tinkler Trustee Lucy Jenkins Trustee We Need Your Support Today! Donate

View current contract opportunities for Artists to work on projects supporting communities in South West County Durham. Artist Call Outs Here you will find Artist call outs for projects we are delivering. We do not have any artist call-outs at the moment. Call outs are often shared via our mailing list so make sure you subscribe using the form at the bottom of this page. We Need Your Support Today! Donate

Find out about the diverse range of projects we are currently working on throughout South West County Durham! Strategic Partnerships Back to projects Text needed, images and/or logos We Need Your Support Today! Donate

Delivered in partnership with No More Nowt in 2024/25, Cultivate Commissions was designed to support creative practitioners to work with and alongside communities in County Durham to increase participation in arts activity, develop creativity and instil pride within communities. The goal of Cultivate Commissions was to bolster creativity in County Durham. Cultivate Commissions Back to Connected Communities Delivered in partnership with No More Nowt, Cultivate Commissions supported creative practitioners to work with communities in County Durham to increase participation in arts activity, develop creativity and instil pride within communities. The goal of Cultivate Commissions was to develop creative growth in the county. 20 artists/arts organisations received a commission. 2273 people directly took part in activity 12,608 people engaged with the project. "This project allowed me to finally build an idea that's been rattling around for a long time! It was a privilege to bring it to life in a bustling shopping centre and engage a diverse cross-section of the community. The unique setting inroduced me to new participants and brodened my understaning of audience engagement in non-traditional art spaces." [Artist] "This project has been my most ambitious participatory project to date...it has provided an opportunity to connect with new community groups and organisations, and to get to know Bishop Auckland through the eyes of its communities." [Artist] Outcomes included: Strengthened networks and partnerships, Increased creative practitioner and community confidence Increased participation in the arts 7 further artist commissions secured and 4 new groups established Next Project Read the full report on Cultivate Commissions here Cultivate Commissions is part of "Into the Light" , a transformative programme of creative, collaborative projects across County Durham. We Need Your Support Today! Donate

A project exploring how social prescribing and the Arts can work together to improve the health and wellbeing of our communities. Funded by the National Academy for Social Prescribing. Landscape and Environment Back to projects Budding Botanists Creatively Connected Cuthbert's Moor We Need Your Support Today! Donate

stories and memories from ukraine Back to projects We’re delighted to be hosting ‘Stories and Memories from Ukraine’ on our website. OLEK DEV, based in Kyiv when war broke out back in February 2022, has spent his time recording memories and traditional stories from some of the older generation who have remained in the city throughout the Russian invasion. The project provides a way for Ukrainians here in UK and across the globe to listen to some lovely authentic Ukrainian voices – and for those surviving the turbulence in their own country to share stories from happier times. Here's the link to hear the authentic voices: Memories of Ukraine Here are the verbatim tranlations by Olek: Lyudmila Hryhorivna Galena Fairy Tale Ivasyk Telesyk Elena Vladimirovna Zinaida Pavlovna We Need Your Support Today! Donate

A project funded by DEFRA through the Farming in Protected Landscapes scheme using arts and creativity to engage Teesdale primary school children with the landscape in Upper Teesdale and the rare and special flora to be found there. BUDDING BOTANISTS Back to Landscape and Environment We engaged 2 photographers and a sound artist to work with primary school children, their families and the Teesdale Special Flora Trust. The project explored the rare and unique flora of Upper Teesdale – The Teesdale Assemblage – to understand the environmental factors and challenges affecting its existence. Artists: Louise Taylor , Nat Wilkins , David de la Haye Next Project Over 80 school children across 4 Teesdale Primary Schools took part in site visits to Cow Green reservoir, photography and sound workshops The project culminated in ‘Fabulous Flora!’, an exhibition of students’ creative responses, at The Witham, Barnard Castle. Artwork included photography, sound compositions, cyanotype prints and zines making (small magazines) Thank you to our generous Funders: We Need Your Support Today! Donate

Find out about opportunities to work with us and volunteer with us. Opportunities Volunteer Volunteer with us We are always on the look out for willing volunteers to help support our work. We are especially keen to find volunteer drivers to help us with taking participants to and from our health and wellbeing project "Take Part in Teesdale". Volunteers will drive a minibus provided by TCR Hub . More information is available here: Volunteer Drivers for Take Part in Teesdale If you'd be interested in volunteering for us, send an email to info@northernheartlands.org and we will be in touch! Call outs are often shared via our mailing list so make you subscribe using the form at the bottom of this page. Work with us Work with us We have no open opportunities to work with us just now. Keeping checking this space and follow us on our socials to hear about any upcoming opportunities. As a Registered Charity, we currently have a small but very effective team of Trustees, but we’re on the lookout for more! We would be very interested in hearing from you if you share our values, believe in our vision and mission, and you have expertise in finance and fundraising, and/or if you’re from one of the communities in our area of benefit in County Durham. Click on the button below for our Trustee Recruitment Pack. If you are an Artist, click below to go to our current opportunities. Go to Artist Call Outs Trustee Recruitment Pack We Need Your Support Today! Donate

Find out about work and training opportunities as well as connect with the County Durham Artists Network. Artists' Space Click on one of the options below to see resources and opportunities for Artists! Training Opportunities Artist Call Outs Resources See creations from previous workshops in the gallery below! 1/15 We Need Your Support Today! Donate