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

Northern Heartlands was originally one of 16 Great Place Schemes – funded jointly by Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund – which came out of the landmark 2016 Culture White Paper.  Our Great Place Scheme in Co Durham focussed on the more rural areas of the county as well as some of the towns and villages of the former Durham coalfield area.  Great Place Scheme 2017 - 2020 Back to Past Projects Northern Heartlands was originally one of 16 Great Place Schemes – funded jointly by Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund – which came out of the landmark 2016 Culture White Paper. Our Great Place Scheme in Co Durham focussed on the more rural areas of the county as well as some of the towns and villages of the former Durham coalfield area. We worked with hundreds of local people - listening to their stories, building confidence, valuing their hopes and dreams, increasing their sense of pride in their place and its heritage - and providing some innovative and exciting events and creative activities along the way. We also worked with a range of different partners at a strategic level, with an overall aim of building confidence and enabling the voices of our communities to be heard by those who make decisions on their behalf. The work included a series of Speaker & Discussion Events: creative conference sessions involving community representatives, decision-makers, artists, thinkers and the business community who were all invited to come together to share ideas on issues ranging from Neighbourhood Planning to Hill Farming and from Tourism to Placemaking. Our external evaluator described our Great Place Scheme as 'unique and ambitious'. Read the report here Project Gallery 1/29 Thank you to our generous Funders: We Need Your Support Today! Donate

Setting the Scene is part of the Creative Catalysts project taking part in Witton Park and Coundon between June and September 2024. Setting The Scene Back to Connected Communities Setting The Scene, aimed to encourage participation, the expression of ideas and ignite curiosity. Artists Ronan Devlin and Dominic Smith worked in collaboration within the community to creatively test ideas and explore how local networks can support and define the present and future identities of these communities. By co-creating a programme featuring audio material, newspaper spreads, walks and local events, the project highlighted and helped connect the unique qualities and creativity of the people of Coundon and Witton Park. Click the book to read the final report for Setting the Scene Click the book to add your details to the Northern Heartlands Creative Directory 10 workshops, walks and eventswere delivered to engage communities, 2 final events at local community centres engaged local musicians and children to play, providing space for celebration and community interaction The project culminated in distributing approximately 4000 newspapers throughout Coundon and Witton Park, containing images from community workshops, QR codes linked to audio stories, and reflections from community members Click the headphones to listen to the audio pieces that were created for each page of the newspaper Click the image to see some of the creative activity that took place in Setting the Scene Click the image to read Setting the Scene newspaper Thank you to our generous funders: 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

Find out about the diverse range of projects we are currently working on throughout South West County Durham! Health and Wellbeing Landscape and Environment Connected Communities Past Projects Projects We Need Your Support Today! Donate

Northern Heartlands’ Landscape & Environment strand celebrates the rich natural heritage of south-west County Durham, connecting communities with their surroundings through creative collaboration 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

Find out about the difference we make to communities in South West County Durham, what the Arts can offer and why our work is important. The Difference We Make "I felt like I was really part of something very special." FOR INDIVIDUALS We know that taking part in creative activities can improve people's confidence and wellbeing. Evaluation of our 2021-2 Thriving Communities wellbeing programme found statistically significant improvements in participants' life satisfaction and sense of doing worthwhile activities. Read the full evaluation report (2022). Participants in our projects often tell us they feel more confident and happier. People with chronic mental and physical health conditions tell us the activities can help to improve their quality of life. "The group is more family than friends. I feel more confident and fulfilled, and have something to take my mind to a happy safe place. Something I want to get out of bed for." Creativity in Crisis participant feedback (2020). IN COMMUNITIES Our staff and board are all local to this area and care about it passionately. We listen to people and work with them to create the culture they feel is important, which has been everything from a Christmas tree to an opera about regeneration. As well as performances, events and installations, our projects have supported people to start their own choirs, gardening projects and community groups. We also support the local economy by employing local artists, businesses, community groups and venues. Watch a film about our work in Dene Valley (2021) People tell us the creative activities make them feel differently about where they live: "It was lovely seeing the community engaging in a positive way. It was also evident that the local people share a real passion for the area." More Than Viable participant feedback (2019) FOR ARTISTS Participatory and community-led creative practice requires skill, technique and experience. We value the amazing artists and creatives we work with, and aim to support emerging artists, giving people opportunities so they can make a living in this rural area. We work with local artists as much as possible, we pay Artists' Union recommended rates, and we provide training and networking opportunities to help build careers. Watch a conversation between participatory artists about so-called 'hard to reach' communities (2020) "[The training] helped clarify my thoughts about my work and express myself more clearly. It introduced new ideas about how to price applications and who I could apply to." Artists' Training & Development Network, participant feedback (2021) WORKING FOR CHANGE We know that change doesn't just happen from the grassroots, and that many of the issues people face are due to policy decisions made far away. This is why we work to improve connections between the arts and non-arts sectors, and share our learning about working with communities. We sit on regional groups and networks, our performances and films have been shown to policy makers and funders, and whenever possible we bring people face-to-face, so that those who make decisions can speak directly with those are affected by them. Watch the film of a project that brought together farmers and conservationists (2021) Our partners and stakeholders have included the Town and Country Planning Association, Durham County Council, Failte Ireland, North Pennines AONB, Natural England, Durham Dales Health Network, Tees Esk and Wear Valley NHS Trust, Durham University, Newcastle University, Believe Housing and Visit County Durham. We Need Your Support Today! Donate

Connected Communities harnesses the power of arts and social prescribing to enhance health, wellbeing, and community resilience across County Durham. Connected Communities Back to projects Cultivate Commissions PlaceLab Pride in Teesdale Setting the Scene 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. Cuthbert's moor Back to Landscape and Environment Cuthbert’s Moor is an area of peatland, heath and grassland habitats that support birds including lapwing, snipe, redshank, curlew and golden plover, short-eared owl and black grouse, all species which are declining nationally due to changes in land use. This site in Teesdale, County Durham lies within the North Pennines National Landscape boundary and is a Site of Specific Scientific Interest (SSSI). Working in partnership with Durham Wildlife Trust, we engaged an artist to work with a community group and secondary school students to explore environmental challenges and the critical role of peatlands in the UK's ecosystem. 6 Felting sessions with UTASS, Middleton-in-Teesdale and with students from Teesdale School took place with artist Claire Priestley Over 40 Participants explored ideas about the importance of the peat and environmental factors 2 collaborative artworks were created in response by participants using wet felting techniques and needle felt. Artwork was exhibited at Teesdale School in 2024 and at Bowlees Visitor Centre in 2025. 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:

Our mission is for flourishing places, where people use creativity to gain confidence, explore what matters, express their views and contribute to society.  Our Mission... ... is to engage and support local people and communities by using creativity to develop agency, build social capital and foster individual potential. Communities and the artists we work with are at the heart of what we do. We know that people are the real experts in where they live, the issues they face and what needs to change, so we always start by listening. We trust in the skills and knowledge of creative practitioners because we have seen the incredible results, both artistically and for the lives of people who take part. We are committed to supporting the careers of artists in our region. The principles that guide us are set out below, with creativity at the heart of what we do. Our process is a circle because we know that change takes time and trust is hard to earn – so we are in it for the long term with the people, places and artists we work with. We are experimental, we are always trying to learn from successes and failures, and we share that learning. We want to extend understanding between people and across sectors. Our Vision OUR VISION is for strong, connected, and healthy communities, where people are actively involved in shaping their lives and their environment. We strive to achieve our Vision and Mission by: Recognising that each place we work in, and each community we work with, is unique Working with creative practitioners in everything we do Ensuring we always work collaboratively with communities Always reviewing, learning from, and adapting our approach and sharing our learning with others Supporting artists and creative practitioners to reach their full potential Working in partnership Our Way of Working Our Values WE WILL BE: COMMITTED to what we do, to each other and to those we work with TRUSTED by each other and by those we work with DIGNIFIED in our own actions and by respecting the dignity of everyone we work with AMBITIOUS for ourselves, for our organisation and the places, the communities, and the individuals we work with AUTHENTIC in all of our actions HUMBLE in respecting and valuing the opinions and beliefs of others Our Way of Working We Need Your Support Today! Donate