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Extraordinary things happen in Crook, the market town where a carnival spirit needs little excuse to burst forth. Through creative projects, Jack Drum Arts has helped to lift people’s spirits while offering experiences and opportunities which wouldn’t otherwise be available to them.
Sam Slatcher is a musician, singer-songwriter and community arts facilitator living in County Durham who is passionate about engaging different communities in the process of storytelling through song writing.
Parades have returned to parts of County Durham that have suffered some hard knocks over the years. Just before Christmas hundreds of people turned out in Dene Valley to see a parade of lanterns made by local schoolchildren and others.
The name is ambiguous but the mission statement is crystal clear: “TIN Arts are passionate about dance, the performing arts and the difference these make to people’s lives.
The Auckland Project has the regeneration of Bishop Auckland and its community at its heart. This means that social regeneration is valued just as deeply as economic. The work is ultimately about people - trying to help people in a genuine and reciprocal relationship.
Locomotion, to be found down an apparent road to nowhere called Spout Lane in Shildon, is one of County Durham’s great delights – and a bit of a surprise to many people, you’d imagine. You can’t exactly stumble on the place but who would expect to find a national museum here, off that beaten track whose name (spout meaning ‘seam’ in these parts) reflects the town’s debt to coal?
A county’s cultural wellbeing can’t be gauged only by its flashy visitor attractions. Here, executive director Tony Harrington and creative producer Bev Briggs of The Forge talk about their work with schools and communities to inspire young people to become successful, confident individuals capable of reaching their full potential through contemporary participatory arts projects.
