Community arts projects to receive investment thanks to University-Council project

Seven innovative arts projects designed to build pride in place and provide opportunities for community participation are to receive funding from a joint university-local government programme.

The commissions will receive a share of £40,000 from Creative Arc following an open call to creative organisations, artists and local communities.

Among those who’ve been chosen include a new community choir, who will have the chance to perform live at the Northcott Theatre; workshops and engagement activities for members of the special education needs and disabilities (SEND) community; and an initiative that will place ten young people as ‘writers in residence’ at local businesses.

Creative Arc is jointly funded by the University of Exeter and through a percentage of Exeter City Council’s allocation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Each of the projects had to demonstrate it could deliver tangible outcomes for community and place; support local business; and offer opportunities for engagement and skills development.

“I am delighted to see the range of projects that Creative Arc is supporting,” said Dom Jinks, Manager for the Creative Industries and Economy, in the Exeter Innovation department at the University. “In bringing together communities, creative practitioners and academics, these projects have an opportunity to make a tangible difference to people’s lives and to improve social cohesion and mobility. Our hope too is that these commissions will leave enduring legacies for future generations.”

The seven projects to be commissioned are:

• Exeter Northcott Theatre and The Commotion Choir. A community choir that will involve up to 50 local adults and will have a chance to work alongside professionals in the production of a brand-new play by South-West writer Sarah Dickenson called The Commotion Time. The play is based around the Prayerbook Rebellions in the mid-1500s when the Devonian and Cornish people marched on Exeter in protest at changes to their faith and way of life. It will be performed at Northcott Theatre in October.
• Art Work Exeter – River Radio. The hidden stories and histories of the communities around the River Exe and the Quayside in the St David’s ward will be the focus of this community radio project. Sound artists, radio professionals, University researchers and members of the public will work together to create and broadcast 60 hours of radio content non-stop from Exeter Custom House between 8am on Friday 13th September and 8pm on Sunday 15th. 
• Natalie McGrath - Pink Plates & Shipwrecks. Writer Natalie McGrath will work with a group of up to eight LGBTQ+ people from across Exeter who are impacted by cancer. Through skills workshops and working with guest writers, the participants will be encouraged to write creatively, share stories and be part of a community around their experiences of living with and caring for someone with cancer. Natalie is in conversation with the cancer charity Force to look at how they might offer the project support, with potentially some of the workshops happening in their space, as a shared learning space in how to support LGBTQIA+ people impacted by cancer in the future.
• Hattie Collins/Almanac Theatre - ‘The Fallout’. Exeter-based based playwright Hattie Collins will research and develop a new science fiction play at Wonford Community Centre, dramatising the fallout of space travel on the planet. Exeter Seed Bank will host seed collecting workshops, and a seed library will be set up at the community centre. Exeter artists Josh Elvey and Steve McCracken will also run street art workshops on the themes of ‘cultivate, nurture, grow’ culminating in a community led mural for the residents of Wonford.
• Bookbag – Fore Street Stories. A hyperlocal project that supports the next generation of emerging authors and storytellers from under-represented communities in Exeter. It will connect 10 young people with 10 businesses partners as Writers in Residence, and will involve development and creative writing mentoring with lead practitioner and author Davina Quinlivan.
• Positive Light Projects – The Pelican Press. Working with The Pelican Project (a collective of learning-disabled members, families, teachers and partner organisations) and other local SEND communities, PLP will collaboratively design, build and create artwork with a fully accessible and portable wheelchair printing press. Following the creation of the press, PLP will deliver a wide range of workshops and engagement activity with The Pelicans and to the broader SEND community, culminating in an exhibition of all the work made and an open day to celebrate the contributions of all involved.
• Hannah Mumby and Hannah Hayes - Flood Risk in Topsham.  Focused on flood risk in the Topsham Ward, this project will bring together residents, community leaders, and experts to produce personalised creative knowledge maps that will be shared through a community event and online. The project will explore the lived experiences of flooding and how floods are managed, and the potential impact of climate change on this local area. 

Cllr Bob Foale, Lead Councillor for Arts, Culture & Tourism, said: "We're very proud at the City Council to be backing this initiative and supporting local arts organisations and practitioners throughout Exeter.

"Not only does this bring communities together but it helps to enrich the lives of so many people in this great city of ours."

This is the second round of funding for Creative Arc, following on from the selection of two commissions in April: Scratchworks Theatre Company, a female-led theatre company who specialise in telling women’s stories; and Lightbear Lane, a non-profit organisation focusing on delivering cultural activity in nature, community and heritage spaces.

For more information about Creative Arc, visit the website at https://www.creativearc.co.uk/.