Local groups to receive Culture Grants

Wakefield Council has announced the latest recipients of this year’s Culture Grants, as part of Our Year – Wakefield District 2024.

The funding is available for Wakefield district creatives, cultural organisations and community groups. It supports creative and heritage projects and nurtures the thriving creative spirit of Wakefield district.

In the latest round of funding, 19 projects will explore local heritage and personal stories and celebrate community arts and collaborative creations. Free workshops and opportunities will be provided across the district. 

The supported projects will delve into the stories and experiences that shape our shared identity. From a collaborative music project led by Charlie Wells, who will create new songs inspired by the district's heritage. To a series of oral history workshops led by Our House Wakefield, that encourage participants to explore their personal stories and creative activities. These initiatives aim to uncover and celebrate the unique narratives within our community.

Across the 19 projects supported, there will be plenty of opportunities to develop skills in photography, typography, clay crafting, and even AI animation. These initiatives encourage Wakefield residents to explore new skills and creative techniques. Whether through art workshops for those living with cancer with Crafty Creatives CIC, or sessions focused on commemorating local history at the Kellingley Knottingley Miners' Welfare Centre. These projects will provide a supportive environment for everyone to create art, develop new skills, and connect with others through shared experiences. All are part of Our Year – Wakefield District 2024.

Culture Grants have two main grant strands - Made in Wakefield for the creative sector and Culture Everywhere for community groups.

Made in Wakefield grants offer support from £1,500 to £15,000 to support new creative work, and ambitious participatory projects.

Culture Everywhere grants support constituted community groups and charities, with up to £1,500 to run small arts and culture activities and events with their local communities. These grants are intended to support residents across the district to have the opportunity to experience culture in their communities during Our Year – Wakefield District 2024.

Applications for Made in Wakefield have now closed for 2024, but Culture Everywhere grants remain open until December 2024. 
Interested applicants can visit www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureGrants to find out more. Anyone requiring further information should email culturegrants@wakefield.gov.uk.

Culture Grants are a part of Our Year – Wakefield District 2024, an inclusive year-long celebration of Wakefield district and an invitation to enjoy 366 days of culture, creativity and connection for everyone, everywhere. To find out more about Our Year – Wakefield District 2024 visit www.ouryear2024.co.uk.

 

The 15 Made in Wakefield grants that we are delighted to announce today are:

•    Abigail Forster - Printing Wakefield’s over-looked gems – 8x workshops exploring Wakefield district's hidden gems, particularly around Ackworth and Pontefract. Workshops will use a range of printing media and final pieces will be exhibited.

•    Charlie Wells - We are from… - A collaborative music project working with a number of partners and community organisations. Creation of 3-5 new songs exploring Wakefield district's identity and heritage, with a final performance of music, soundscapes and movement.

•    Jen Watson - Strata - Creativity of the City – a new multimedia indoor mural artwork at Lightwaves Community Centre, created with communities, depicting the skyline of iconic Wakefield buildings.

•    Kellingley Knottingley Miners' Welfare Centre - Shine A Light - A series of 20x workshops with the local community involving talking and sharing, and gaining skills in photography and typography, forming artworks to commemorate 54 years of Kellingley Knottingley Miners' Welfare Social Centre.

•    Lo-Fi Alchemists - Finding My Place - Delivery of a series of 2x 6 session courses in Wakefield and Horbury, exploring participants' personal stories and local heritage through accessible lo-fi materials and creative activities. 

•    Michelle Duxbury - Nature: Sensory - 5x disabled artists based at The Art House will develop works exploring landscape through sensory interpretation, forming a public exhibition, led by Michelle Duxbury and Sam Metz.

•    Naomi Aderonke Crompton - Cistercian Ware and Wakefield Wild Clay - An R&D project involving research into Cistercian ware of Wrenthorpe and clay heritage sites around the district, working with a local geologist. Creation of clay vessels using collected clay, an exhibition of artworks and research, and a free clay workshop.

•    New College Pontefract - The Liquorice Story - Development of a new performance work focused on the heritage of Pontefract and its relationship with liquorice, created with support from Red Ladder Theatre. Performed at the John Godber Theatre and then a tour of 4x performances at local schools and care homes around Pontefract.

•    Our House Wakefield - We’ve Always Been Here - A project to document and celebrate c.10x stories of Wakefield LGBTQ+ community. Collection of oral histories, creative workshops and community events culminating in a mixed-media exhibition at The Art House throughout February 2025.

•    Seaglass Collective - Wakefield Engagement Programme – A series of creative workshops for adopted children and their families, with partners the YSP, CAPA College, and The Art House. Activities include print and sculpture making, musical theatre, puppetry, and silversmithing. A final 4-week exhibition at The Art House in early 2025. 

•    Second Chance Headway Centre CIC - Before and after… all the same difference - A series of weekly arts sessions including painting, sculpting, mosaic and decoupage, along with use of Adobe AI animation software to create talking heads for interviews. An exhibition of the final artworks and videos in their site during Artwalk. Also, development of their archive with final deposit to go to the West Yorkshire Archive Service.

•    Story Trails - Hello, Can You Hear Me? - 10x local legend and heritage audio stories played via an old-fashioned landline telephone, with a 'phone book' to find the numbers for each story. A tour of the immersive piece to 12 libraries, plus a performance in each library to activate the immersive work.

•    The Crafty Creatives CIC – Our story Canvas of Hope: Sharing Cancer Stories Through Art - A series of 16x bi-weekly art workshops over 8 weeks, with people who are living with cancer or in remission. A final exhibition, possibly at Parkside Methodist church in Outwood.

•    Yew Tree Arts - Humanising Mental Health - A youth-led heritage project exploring mental health and the lives of residents at Stanley Royd Hospital. Working with SPARK Youth Arts Ambassadors (10x aged 14-25) to develop a final performance or exhibition.

•    Wakefield Hospice - Creative Outreach – Engaging Minority Communities (delivered in Stanley and Outwood East,  Wakefield North, Wakefield South, Wakefield East,  Wakefield West,  Crofton, Ryhill and Walton) - Partnership with The Art House to deliver 30x cultural sessions across the district with local communities. Sessions will include henna, woodworking, yoga, life story work and more.

 

The four Culture Everywhere grants that we are delighted to announce today are:

•    Crigglestone Parish Council - Crigglestone Past, Present and Future. A collage – A multi-generational project, working with an artist to deliver 2 days of workshops in collage creation for the local community. Final works to be brought together for a public display and celebration in September. 

•    Currock Press - Summer Readings: Poetry - 6x meetings to read poetry aloud for enhancing self-esteem, together in a group that will meet in Agbrigg.

•    Friends of Castleford Library - A Pin Hole Shot of Castleford – An exhibition in November at Castleford Library with pictures taken using a pinhole camera by 6 community photographers. 

•    Progressive Talent CIC – Cultural Event to Celebrate Black History Month - A one-day cultural heritage event showcasing cultural experience from African and Caribbean communities who live and work in Wakefield district. Including craft and jewellery stalls, music and dance, fashion show, and celebratory foods.