Meet the Northern Heartlands team and our dedicated board who are passionate about the work we do. The Team Katy Milne Creative Director Lyndsey Middleton Creative Communities Coordinator Northern Heartlands was founded in 2017, with Jill Cole as our first director. Her leadership rooted the organisation in its commitment to artists working deeply in communities over time - a foundation we continue to build from. 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 Chris Jones Trustee We Need Your Support Today! Donate

A Paul Hamlyn Foundation funded project challenging power structures and enouraging community members to collaborate and work together. Here you can find out all about our current projects. Turning the Hourglass Back to Past Projects “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. 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

Originally run by Northern Heartlands as The Four Clocks Project and now called Bishop Busy Hands, this 2 year+ project supports adults in Bishop Auckland to feel more connected and have improved mental health and wellbeing through arts and creative activity. creative health in bishop auckland Back to Health and Wellbeing Next Project Originally led by Northern Heartlands, The Four Clocks Project, now called Bishop Busy Hands, was a 2 year+ project supporting adults in Bishop Auckland to feel more connected and have improved mental health and wellbeing through arts and creative activity. Northern Heartlands worked in partnership with local Housing Associations, Social Prescribing Link Workers, Artists and Health providers to make this project happen. In 2024 we supported participants to become a constituted self-led group and move to its current location at Bishop Auckland Town Hall where it continues to thrive. Evaluation through Believe Housing’s HACT tool showed that the social return on investment for this project costing £9,400 was valued at £122,386 (a return of 1:14). To find out more about Bishop Busy Hands or to take part in sessions, please visit their Facebook page here: Facebook or contact bishopbusyhands@gmail.com As part of our weekly social prescribing programme at Four Clocks, professional animator, Sheryl Jenkins, helped the group to produce a short film using characters and drawings created by them to articulate how much the sessions had come to mean to them. 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

Find out about opportunities to work with us and volunteer with us. External Evaluator Hidden Heritage and Wellbeing We are delighted to have been awarded funding from National Lottery Heritage Fund for a new project, “Hidden Heritage & Wellbeing”, and we are now seeking an independent evaluator for this project. The project will run from January 2022 to July 2023 and a final monitoring and evaluation report will need to be submitted by August 2023. The project will take place in Willington, County Durham. Key requirements of the role are: An understanding of community heritage and experience of evaluating heritage projects some evidence of understanding health and wellbeing outcomes The fee available for this work is £9,300 (inclusive of VAT and expenses) Deadline for applications is 12.00pm, Monday 14th February 2022 Full details are available here including background information and how to apply. More information 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

A project funded by the Green Recovery Challenge Fund to engage local people in the special flora of Teesdale in County Durham and educate about how we can protect it. Creativity in Crisis Back to past projects BLURB Project Gallery Green Man Project Green Man Project Willington Open Door Church6 Green Man Project 1/16 Thank you to our generous Funders: 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

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

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:

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