Community Organisations

Case studies

Lake and Gorge image

Creswell Crags

Creswell Crags is a limestone gorge honeycombed with caves, including Britain's only known Ice Age rock art. The gorge is part of the Creswell Heritage Landscape Area and incorporates a Museum and Education Centre. Since 2005, Creswell Crags has been delivering a pilot project to provide young people at risk of exclusion from school with an alternative environment in which to learn. read more

Big Draw Bend in the River image

Bend in the River

Bend in the River is an organisation that exhibits contemporary British painting from a Georgian warehouse adjacent to the River Trent. It hosts five shows a year, four of which are solo. It is also the driving force behind an ambitious project at the redundant church of St John the Divine, Gainsborough, called Slumgothic. At the church it provides a vast arts project space plus community rooms for mixed use. read more

Village Stone from Sites of Meaning

Sites of meaning

Sites of meaning is a millennium project of Middleton and Smerrill in the Derbyshire Peak. It marks the seventeen entrances to its parish with boundary stones each inscribed with a text chosen by members of the parish. read more

see all case studies

Recent news

Burns Owens Partnership logo

Rural Creative Industries Research District Reports

As well as completing important regional research into the creative industries, Burns Owens Partnership completed 29 separate reports on rural and partly rural districts in the region. You can download each individual report and find out about your district here. read more

PROGRESS: Development Programme for Small or Emerging Arts Organisations

PROGRESS is the new development programme managed by Cultivate, the development agency for cultural audiences and organisations in the East Midlands. It operates in partnership with Creative Launchpad, Creative Leicestershire and Derbyshire Arts Development Group, and is funded by Arts Council England. read more

EMARAN artist commission

East Midlands Arts in Rural Areas Network commissioned Jo Fairfax to respond to the issues, conversations and atmosphere at their conference in May 2008. Read on to see the result of their first artists commission. read more

Resources from EMARAN May 2008 event

EMARAN's May 2008 event aimed to support individual practitioners to thrive in their businesses. There were workshops and presentations that inspired attendees to up their game and find new solutions to the difficulties of working in a rural area. You can read notes from the workshops and download resources here. read more

Cultivate Seminars and Teatime Talks

The first season of training from Cultivate in autumn 2008. 13 different courses on a range of topics that will help in organisational development and planning for cultural organisations. read more

Derby and Derbyshire Creative Industries Strategy

Derby and Derbyshire have a fast growing creative industry sector. They have used recent research and local input to put together a strategy for encouraging the development of their creative industries. read more

archived news items

Useful links