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Articles and Blogs

THE CULTURE NORTHUMBERLAND BLOG

Why Culture Northumberland?

by Claire Venus and Jason Thompson

27th April 2020

 

At the start of 2020, two creatives in two separate Northumberland places were developing an idea separately without realising.  

 

Claire, an engagement manager and creative producer based in Shilbottle (a village just outside Alnwick) and Jason a digital media professional based in the picturesque seaside town of Newbiggin by the Sea.  

 

By February 2020, they had both spoken with passion to Cultural Development Manager at Northumberland County Council Wendy Scott about their idea.

 

The enthusiasm for the idea was tangible and galvanised into action by our world being turned upside down by COVID-19 in April 2020.  

 

Culture Northumberland celebrates, showcases and connects people, places and ideas born in Northumberland, UK on a shared public platform for the first very time. 

 

Claire says;

 

"My idea for a more joined up space to connect in Northumberland creatives came from a deep love of the place I live and have built a career from.  

 

It also came from feeling lonely!  Working without colleagues for fifteen years, I often felt like I was outside of the party looking in through a foggy window.  

 

When I became a mother in 2014, the opportunities to make space for evening events and networking passed me by as I adjusted to family life.  With the way media has moved on in the last year or so, I’ve felt more connected than ever.  I wanted to create a space where EVERYONE’s welcome and a diverse set of art forms, heritage and culture is celebrated in one place.   Where people find out news, celebrate each other’s wins and join up to create projects, apply for funding and share practise.  

 

I am hugely excited to be working with Jason and making space and mechanisms for people to share their creative voice, past projects and how they are finding ways to work in these challenging new times.” 

 

Jason says;

 

“We live in a unique county, and although I may be biased, having lived here for 50 years, I think it’s the the place with most amazing creativity, culture and heritage. 

 

Its a big place, with lots going on, and part of the problem his that it can be hard to stay in touch with each other and share the good news stories, examples of best practice, and feel part of the whole cultural community. So one way to help join up the dots and connect people is with our new brand Culture Northumberland.

 

What we are aiming to do is take the lead from those already engaged in the organisations, events, places and spaces, and bring together as many of the strands as we can so that we can share it all. There are already great websites, social media pages, blogs, digital content and online resources. We want to help people get to it all. And part of that is listening to what you want from us - we don’t know it all!

 

So the new website, as well as rebranded social media such as the former Northumberland Arts News, now Culture Northumberland, will be a place for sharing not just the Arts news, opportunities, stories and links, but those for the wider cultural and heritage sectors too. It’s very early days and the start of something that we know can grow organically into an incredible resource for us all.”

Thank you for being here and sharing time and space with us on this journey and a huge thanks to Wendy Scott for believing in our ideas!

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PUBLICATIONS

NARC. magazine https://narcmagazine.com/

The Crack magazine https://www.thecrackmagazine.com/

SELECTED BLOGS AND ARTICLES

Review of the British Dyslexia Association’s FREE Webinar for Parents: Broadcast 30th April 2020 - Creating without language by Qona Rankin, Dyslexic Co-ordinator, Royal College of Art

https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/events/free-webinar-for-parents-creating-without-language-why-the-arts-are-so-important-to-our-dyslexic-community

Read the Review written by Gail Van Schalkwyk, 2/05/20

Arts & Heritage - Blue Sky Museums, An Arts&Heritage project seeking artists to respond to our Meeting Point museums Introduction Arts&Heritage is an agency based in Northumberland, working nationally to forge creative collaborations between artists and museums/heritage organisations to present history in different and imaginative ways. Read article

How to Salvage a Disastrous Day in Your Covid-19 House Arrest

Aisha S. Ahmad, Chronicle Vitae

https://chroniclevitae.com/news/2339-how-to-salvage-a-disastrous-day-in-your-covid-19-house-arrest?fbclid=IwAR1H_Mr1fW3T7xFyEBEsvCyj-RGDlJwQjSXcMW_fl5CzvuK9DQt_vtRTxKY

ResiliArt: Artists and Creativity beyond Crisis (UNESCO) 11 April 2020

Now, more than ever, we need culture. Culture makes us resilient and gives us hope. It reminds us that we are not alone. We need a concerted and global effort to support artists and ensure access to culture for all...

https://en.unesco.org/creativity/news/resiliart-artists-creativity-beyond-crisis

Creative Dundee:  On (Not) Being Creative During the Lockdown
Steph Liddle is a Ceramics Designer/Maker based in Dundee who creates contemporary, graphic ceramic jewellery and homewares.
 https://creativedundee.com/2020/04/blog-not-being-creative-during-lockdown/

 

100 Art Blogs to follow in 2020 https://blog.feedspot.com/art_blogs/

“The most vulnerable people get left behind when you’re locked down”: How the Greater Manchester Combined Authority is bringing people together through creativity
Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance - Conversation between Hayley Youell and Julie McCarthy, Great Place Manager for Greater Manchester Combined Authority, 16 April 2020

https://www.culturehealthandwellbeing.org.uk/news/blog/most-vulnerable-people-get-left-behind-when-youre-locked-down-how-greater-manchester

COVID-19: What challenges are primary schools facing and how can the arts help?

​Julia Lawrence, Paul Hamlyn Foundation April 2020

https://www.phf.org.uk/blog/covid-19-what-challenges-are-primary-schools-facing-and-how-can-the-arts-help/

“Time to change” - A long read by David Jubb

I’m stuck in bed with a knackered shoulder. I’ve been experiencing a series of pitiful lockdown injuries. The first was a black-eye when one of my kids head-butted me. The second was a back injury after emptying a potty...

https://davidjubb.blog/2020/04/25/time-to-change/?fbclid=IwAR3sVlRHidbo8Fn9YKnAYsVRDgsTNIvkk9NOHUD_JO5a92C0dGnaoJXYHsw

SEND US YOUR IDEAS
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The Culture Northumberland website is a starting point for visiting the places, pages and information you need to know about if you're part of the Northumberland Arts, Culture and Heritage community. Send us the links, content and ideas that will make this a better and more useful resource. We'll add it to this site and help it grow into a comprehensive resource for everyone.

Email us at hello@culturenorthumberland.co.uk

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