Cultural Spring launches new community arts research project

The project will bring organisations and artists together to explore specific research questions and co-deliver an agreed project.

This new call-out follows a successful pilot project which has been delivered with five Sunderland community organisations.

Emma Horsman, Project Director at The Cultural Spring, said: “Our Community Arts Research Project encourages community groups to identify a specific question or challenge, then links them with a creative to work through a co-created process and explore solutions.

“We were delighted with the results of our pilot programme, delivering projects with ICOS, Sunderland Headlight, WWIN, a brilliant Houghton-le-Spring collective and Stockton Road United Reformed Church.

“Projects delivered ranged from creating a mental health wellbeing garden at Headlight, exploring how art can aid the recovery of women and children who have suffered domestic abuse with WWIN and exploring what Houghton Rectory Park means to local residents.

“The five organisations worked really well with their chosen artists and we’ve had some fantastic outcomes. Now we’re looking for Sunderland community, voluntary groups and social enterprise organisations for our next Community Arts Research project.

“The project is all about communities having time and space to develop genuine relationships with artists in order to co-create amazing opportunities. The projects are driven, developed and decided by the partnerships throughout the entire process.

“We want to work with organisations to explore the questions and challenges they and their communities are passionate about. They will be paired with an artist/s to develop a process of co-creation between them and their community.”

The projects are expected to be delivered between July 2025 and February 2026.

The project brief and expressions of interest form can be downloaded here. The deadline for submissions of expressions of interest is 10am, Monday, June 16.

Shortlisted organisations will be invited to a Pitch and Pizza session with a Community Decision Making Panel where they will be able to share the organisation’s community arts research question.

Emma added: “This opportunity is not about creating an end product, it’s more about the process of building genuine relationships with communities and artists – ensuring the community’s voice is at the heart of the process. We’re not looking for groups who already have a set project/outcome in mind or to bring an artist in to run a one-off session or a specific workshop programme.”

The Cultural Spring is funded by Arts Council England’s Creative People and Places programme and works to increase the number of people participating in arts and culture in Sunderland. The Community Arts Research Project is part funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.