OUTSIDE awards 33 Creative Community Commissions in Staffordshire Moorlands
- Apr 14
- 3 min read
Arts programme OUTSIDE has awarded 33 Creative Community Commissions to artists, community groups and organisations across the Staffordshire Moorlands. The successful funding applications, totalling £26,200, were selected by OUTSIDE’s advisory group and youth advisory group made up of local residents, and will support a wide range of arts activity to take place over the next year in the district’s towns, villages and rural areas.
Funded projects span all kinds of art forms from heritage crafts to dance, and a variety of formats from workshops to festivals. These include the creation of a unique village flag by the people of Flash, a project exploring Staffordshire Moorlands folklore through photography and cyanotype printing, and capturing the stories and memories of residents in Draycott in the Moors.
OUTSIDE’s creative director Sarah Bird said: “The quantity and quality of applications received for the Creative Community Commissions this year was exceptional. It was wonderful to see how many proposals had the local community and residents at the heart of activity.
“Huge thanks to our advisory group and youth advisory group for their involvement in the process. They put in a lot of effort to design the call out, and to deliberate and select the successful applications. They didn’t take the task lightly and gave all the applications their deserved time and attention.
“The Creative Community Commissions are a big part of OUTSIDE’s ambition to support high quality creative arts activity across the whole of the Moorlands. The selected proposals ensure a wide range of residents will benefit from these projects.”
The successful 2025 Creative Community Commissions are:
Ale Bravo – The Day of the Dead Celebration, Staffordshire Moorlands
Amy Ford – Mum’s the Word creative sessions, Leek
Art UK – Tagger workshops, Leek
Bev Reardon – Collecting memories, Draycott in the Moors
Biddulph Methodists – Creative workshops
Biddulph Moor Community Association – Biddulph Moor Well Dressing Tableau
Biddulph Youth and Community Zone – Young women’s photo project
Bolton Gate Arts – Schools & community group arts workshops
Borderland Voices – The Blackpool of the Potteries workshops & exhibition, Rudyard Lake
Brown Edge Parish Council – Brown Edge Well Dressing
Cheadle Arts – Cheadle Arts Festival
Cheadle Cog – magazine printing
Cheddleton Flint Mill Industrial Heritage Trust – Flint Garretaw: Music At The Mill
Creative Cheadle Staffs – Outdoor creative messy sessions
Draycott in the Moors Parish Council – Bus stop mini art galleries
EqualBase Cheadle – Lion sculpture for The Wizard of Oz wellbeing garden
Flash Village Hall – Community Flag
Greenwood Growth – Bat trail, Leek
Karen Hare – Leek Yarn Bombers
Kate Dawes – Pen Drawing for Wellbeing Workshops, Blythe Bridge & Werrington
Leek Open Studios – Participatory workshops
Leek Town Council War Memorial Committee – Wool for poppies display
Louie Young – Pugin After Dark festival, Alton
Many Strands Textile Group – Scarves exhibition, Leek
Moorlands Climate Action – Wassail event, Leek
Moorlands Climate Action Youth Action group – The Lost Words at Wild Week
Ruby Nixon – Mapping Myths, Staffordshire Moorlands
Stockton Brook Time & Space – Mini ‘en plein air’ art festival, Endon & Stanley
The Happy Makers – creative sessions for people with additional needs, Staffordshire Moorlands
The Rudyard Lake Trust – Volunteers’ art workshop
Teresa Pattison – Festival of Dance, Staffordshire Moorlands
Waterhouses Youth Project – The Water That Joins Us series of events
Woolly Wednesdays – Portable weaving loom, Staffordshire Moorlands
COGNEWS invites all grant recipients to share details of their events and their work during the coming year. Many congratulations to all recipients and our grateful thanks to Outside Arts for our own award.
OUTSIDE awards 33 Creative Community Commissions in Staffordshire Moorlands - created 14.4.25
