Peterlee’s Apollo celebrates own 50th anniversary ‘landing’

The temporary installation by artist Steve Messam, incorporated soft, rounded, 3D, colourful forms in contrast with the hard, angular structure of the concrete pavilion.  The playful, tactile colourful formed a temporary interactive installation for Peterlee. Visually exciting, bold, strong and interactive, this light up installation could be walked through to capture the full effect of these playful forms in a stimulating way of engaging with this iconic architecture. Durham County Council chose to mark five Read more…

Young Refugees Express Themselves Through Art

A group of resettled teenagers displayed their artwork at a showcase event in Peterlee on Thursday 5th September. The individuals are from families who are part of County Durham’s Humanitarian Aid programme and have been resettled in homes across East Durham. The Young People have been engaged in the East Durham Creates project which is funded by Arts Council England and hosted by local charity East Durham Trust. Originating from Syria and Iraq, the young Read more…

“I never thought I’d be old, alone and lonely”

        The Chare, Castle Dene Shopping Centre, Peterlee – Saturday 14 September 2019   On Saturday 14 September, Castle Dene Shopping Centre, Peterlee was transformed by Sharon Bailey’s Home Alone project. The atrium of the shopping centre was made into a photography exhibition and performance area, which saw over 500 people view Home Alone over the course of the day.  The performance focused on an older woman sitting in her living room, Read more…

On 7th August participants of If These Walls Could Talk came together to celebrate the project and reflect on the day that totally transformed their village

The showcase event reflected on the day in May that saw Horden Colliery host a series of major art installations in local bus shelters. A free celebration event was held on Wednesday 7th August at Horden Welfare Centre as a thank you to local people. The day included a screening of a professionally produced film by Maxy Bianco called Precious Things, which documented the lives of older people in East Durham. There was also a Read more…

‘Let’ Create’ applications and ‘A Community Tale’

We are still open for the next round of applications for our ‘Let’s Create’ Commissioning scheme. The closing date for the next round is Monday 17th June 2019. For more information and how to apply CLICK HERE. In the meantime, here are some photos from last week’s workshop sessions for the East Durham Creates funded project A Community Tale, which was developed and delivered by Popple’s Tales​, at Greenhills Centre, Wheatley Hill. ​’A Community Tale’ Read more…

Volunteer Week

Volunteer Week We are celebrating our Creative Champions as part of #VolunteersWeek. We’d like to send a huge thanks to our team of dedicated and talented volunteers. Our Creative Champions are local people who support the East Durham Creates team in various ways; representing us at events; helping us to deliver art activities and even spreading the word about our projects in their local community. Without our excellent team of volunteers we would not be Read more…

Apply for our third Artistic Commission 2019/2020

This Place We Call Home – Artistic Commission 2019/20   CLICK HERE to download the full Artistic Commission brief. CLICK HERE to download a map of East Durham.   ‘This Place We Call Home’ is a three-cycle commissioning process 2018-2020 that will further establish East Durham’s reputation as a place that creates relevant, exciting and inspiring art. Our approach will put collaborative working at its heart – bringing field-leading artists in to work with groups Read more…

Cultural Hubs are back for 2019 with two new venues joining the programme

We are excited to announce that our Cultural Hub programme is back for 2019, bringing you a wider range of art events, across even more venues! We are also excited to announce that Eastlea Community Centre and Dawdon Youth and Community Centre are joining the Cultural Hub programme. So along with our existing  Cultural Hubs (The Greenhill’s Centre, Horden Youth and Community Centre, Shotton Partnership 2000 LTD, Blackhall Community Centre and Trimdon Station Community Centre), Read more…