Great Place Scheme 2017 - 2020 Back to 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

Policies Data Protection Policy Web.pdf Complaints Policy Web.pdf We Need Your Support Today! Donate

Artists' Network Back to past projects 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:

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

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

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

Here you can find out all about our current projects. Turning the Hourglass “Turning The Hourglass” is funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation ‘Arts Access & Participation Fund’. We’re working with communities in the parish of Dene Valley and the village of Witton Park, listening to what local residents would like to see happen in their village, supporting exciting events such as the Dene Valley Winter Light Parade and a Hallowe’en Walk and enabling people to have the confidence to start making things happen for themselves. ​ Both places are former 'Category D' locations: villages destined for demolition when the pits closed and deemed worthy of no further investment. We started working in Witton Park in 2021 and we've been working with the community in Dene Valley since 2018, building on work we began as a Great Place Scheme. Read about our approach to this work here in a report by artist/researcher Stephen Pritchard. ​ Read the final evaluation report for Turning the Hourglass here. Back to projects Project Gallery Witton Park: Halloween Story Walk Witton Park: Halloween Story Walk Dene Valley: One Winter's Night Witton Park: Halloween Story Walk 1/39 "Mayhem, Magic & Majesty" Dene Valley & Eldon Lane Festive Light Parade 2022 "One Winter's Night..." Dene Valley & Eldon Lane Festive Light Parade 2021 Thank you to our generous Funders: "One Winter's Night ..." finalist for North East Culture Awards 2022 "Best Event or Exhibition" We Need Your Support Today! Donate

Bishop Auckland heritage Back to projects Bishop Auckland Heritage Trail "On the Map" co-created by textile artist Gillian Arnold with local schools and members of the community BISHOP AUCKLAND HERITAGE TRAIL.pdf CLICK IMAGE FOR BISHOP AUCKLAND HERITAGE TRAIL AUDIO Scan this QR code to find out more about Bishop Auckland history and heritage We Need Your Support Today! Donate

social prescribing in bishop auckland Back to Social Prescribing Our social prescribing activity continues in Bishop Auckland, thanks to funding from Believe Housing Association and Bishop Auckland & Shildon Area Action Partnership ​ We’re currently running weekly sessions at The Four Clocks Centre , every Thursday from 1.00 pm to 3.00 pm. Each session is led by an experienced creative practitioner with the assistance of a dedicated support worker, offering stability and a safe environment for the participants to relax, be creative and enjoy some social time with each other. As part of our weekly social prescribing programme at Four Clocks Centre, Professional animator, Sheryl Jenkins, worked with the group on producing a short animated film using characters and drawings created by them which articulate what these weekly creative sessions have come to mean to them. Project Gallery Model House and scenery Using tools to make a model house Felted Christmas decorations Model House and scenery 1/15 Thank you to our generous Funders: We Need Your Support Today! Donate

Support Us Will you help us? As a small charity, anything you can give will make a difference. Your donation could help a vulnerable person attend a wellbeing session, or pay an artist to create something amazing with a community. See Our Projects Help us make a difference! Donate now Donate

thriving communities Back to Social Prescribing Between May 2021 and June 2022 we ran a social prescribing project called ‘NOW’ - a programme of activities helping to support those living with anxiety, depression, loneliness or mental health issues. It was funded by the National Academy for Social Prescribing and Arts Council England’s pioneering ‘Thriving Communities Fund' We worked with three delivery partners: Jack Drum Arts , TCR The Hub and UTASS. Over the course of the programme, our partners delivered more than 130 activity sessions including canoeing, nature walks, dancing, filmmaking, creative writing, arts, and crafts, helping with community events and sometimes just getting together for a cup of tea and chat. Read the full evaluation report here. What is Social Prescribing? Find out here Project Gallery UTASS UTASS Jack Drum Arts UTASS 1/21 Thank you to our generous Funders: We Need Your Support Today! Donate

SOCIAL PRESCRIBING Back to projects We have seen at first hand the very real benefits of creative social prescribing – working with professional creative practitioners to deliver supported free sessions for a whole range of people living with loneliness, anxiety, depression or other mental health issues. ​ Read here about our past and current projects that are using arts and artists to deliver some amazing health and wellbeing outcomes… Thriving Communities Bishop Auckland Project Gallery UTASS UTASS Jack Drum Arts UTASS 1/21 Thank you to our generous Funders: We Need Your Support Today! Donate