People and Perspectives, Alan Clements new exhibition at Darlington Library, shares photographs taken in Arizona, California, Death Valley, Hong Kong, the Humber Estuary, Iceland, Kyoto, Leipzig, Miajima Island, New York, Oregon, Utah, Venice, Washington State and Whitby. Just pop into the Art Gallery at Darlington Library during standard Library opening times and explore what caught Alan’s eye, and if you come on Saturday 8th March 2025 between 11.30am and 3pm there’s a chance to meet the photographer and find out more about these images and their practice.

Creative Darlington has received the information below from Maria Lannon at Enterprise Made Simple who runs the ETCH programme. Please contact Maria directly at maria.lannon@enterprisemadesimple.co.uk if you have any questions about their offer or applying for a place on the forthcoming Creative Catapult programme.

Have you heard about the Creative Catapult Programme that is taking creatives to new heights?

This course is specifically designed for creatives to help with starting and running a successful business.  It is worth £3000 but fully funded for Tees Valley residents! Plus, you will receive a £200 grant upon the full completion of the course!

It covers:

• Pricing & Negotiation
• Contracts & Invoicing
• Intellectual Property
• Additional Income Streams
• Writing Funding Applications
• Effective Business Planning
• Overseas Selling
• Design Thinking
• Bookkeeping
• Confidence Building

…………..and much more!!!

The dates are:

12 & 13 Feb
19 & 20  Feb
5 & 6 March
12 & 13 March

8 days in total ( 9am – 4.30am)
 

It is delivered at our HQ office:

4 Eggleston Court
Riverside Park,
Middlesbrough,
TS21RU

I only have a few spaces left!  So grab your golden ticket now and get in touch today!!! 

Jonathan Edward Hodgkin (1875–1953) founded The Darlington Society of Arts in 1922 to stimulate an interest in the creation and appreciation of Art and Craft within the community of Darlington and the surrounding areas, and became an associate of the Royal Society of British Artists in 1926 and a member in 1928. He was an engineer and Darlington based artist, working in watercolour, and grew up in the mansion of Elm Ridge, which John Pease, eldest son of Edward Pease, the pioneer of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, had built in 1867. There are a number of his paintings in Darlington Borough Art Collection, four of which are shown below, with others accessible through the Art UK website by clicking here.

We’re also delighted to share the winning entry by a nine year old from a recent art competition co-ordinated by St. Mark’s Church on North Road in Darlington, fantastic to see creative work spanning the generations (centuries and millennia for that matter.)

With Darlington Society of Arts still meeting regularly we hope that Jonathan Edward Hodgkin would be delighted with his legacy. Their current exhibition includes 50+ works from some of its current members, in different media including drawings, digital prints, acrylic, oil and watercolour paintings, miniatures and textiles, and in a variety of styles.

The exhibition is open Monday to Saturday during standard Darlington Library opening hours until Thursday 20th February 2025, and a selection of visitor comments on this exhibition so far includes:

• Obviously some talented artists in our midst!
• Great work! Particularly liked ‘Staithes’, ‘Dark Peak’ + ‘Surrender Bridge’, as all familiar to me.
• So wonderful to see Derek Moses painting of my parents from the travelling community, thank you.
• Lovely to look at so much excellent work all done with LOVE.
• Great local talent. Very much appreciated, especially Gina’s (Gina Morton) miniatures.

More on Darlington Society of Arts, a friendly group who welcome new members, can be found by clicking here, and further detail on this and the next exhibition, by Alan Clements, in the Art Gallery at Darlington Library by clicking here. We welcome your thoughts on the exhibitions if you get the chance to see them and hope you enjoy your visit to the Art Gallery in Darlington Library.

After teaching Computer Design for over 30 years, Alan now concentrates on his three passions: photography, travel and writing. In the last few years, he’s visited New York, Tokyo, Venice, Iceland, Death Valley and Berlin always combining exploration with photography.

Alan’s work is focused primarily on events, architecture and landscape; for example, the Venice Carnival, Whitby’s Goth Weekend, the beautiful wilderness of Utah, and the graffiti of New York and Berlin.

Alan has taken most of his aerial photographs while flying the aircraft. He is principally interested in images taken from above that seem abstract, like the colours of the salt-pans round the Great Salt Lake in Utah.

People and Perspectives covers four of Alan’s favourite themes:

• Aerial photography that turns real-world images into abstract designs such as the Humber River mudflats glinting in the sun.
• Carnival photography including Venice and Whitby featuring people in glorious costumes.
• Wilderness photography that captures the magnificence of nature such as Bryce Canyon.
• City photography that includes themes ranging from rainstorms to street art.

The Art Gallery at Darlington Library is open Monday to Saturday during standard Darlington Library opening hours, all ages are welcome, its free entry and visitors are welcome to pop in and have a look (some of the work in the exhibition will also be for sale from Alan Clements to). We hope you’ll enjoy exploring People and Perspectives if you visit Darlington Library between Saturday 22 February 2025 and Thursday 13 March 2025.

We’re delighted to host Pink Collar Gallery on these Saturdays and look forward to seeing you if you can come along to Darlington Library, or there are also lots of chances to get involved in the Working Lass project elsewhere in the North East.

Etch have advised that due to the success of their Creative Catapult Pilot they’ve been asked to offer another programme. Please contact maria.lannon@enterprisemadesimple.co.uk if you want to find out more or to book a place on this fully funded programme. ETCH advise the forthcoming 8 day course covers all the essential tools creatives need to operate a successful business including:

Business planning…contracts and invoicing….bookkeeping….confidence building….marketing….branding….selling overseas….intellectual property…pricing and negotiation…..strategy planning….design thinking…. writing funding applications…and much, much more!!!

Take your business to new heights!!!!

Eligibility:  You live in Tees Valley and are 19+…that is it!!!!

This programme is suitable for ALL stages whether you haven’t started yet or been trading for years!!!  You will be in a supportive environment and will make amazing new connections along the way!!

This is the new programme taking Tees Valley by storm and specifically tailored for creatives!!!

Here are the dates ( 8 days in total)
Thurs 28th and Fri 29th Nov
Thurs 5th and Fri 6th Dec
Thurs 9th and Fri 10th Jan
Thurs 16th and Fri 17th Jan

Thanks to the fantastic Tees Music Alliance for sharing the information below on a forthcoming Sonic Futures event in Darlington, see below.

Do you want to help Tees Music Alliance & Generator plan their upcoming Sonic Futures programmes? They’d love to hear your ideas about what should (and shouldn’t!) be included, so why not join them on Friday 15th November (11am-1pm) at The Forum Music Centre, Darlington

What is Sonic Futures?

Sonic Futures is a visionary, TVCA-funded programme dedicated to nurturing Tees Valley’s next generation of musical talent while strengthening the region’s musical infrastructure. By combining the expertise of Tees Music Alliance and Generator, Sonic Futures seeks to establish Tees Valley as a vibrant hub for music creativity. 

With a focus on professional, organic, and sustainable growth, this initiative aims to empower local artists and industry professionals, fostering long-term success and cementing Tees Valley’s role in shaping the future of music on both local and national stages.

Thanks to everyone who attended the opening event for Helen Winthorpe Kendrick’s latest exhibition, Recycled, Reused, Revealed, and to Helen for a fantastic insight into themes which have informed her latest exhibition. The exhibition will be on display in the Art Gallery at Darlington Library until Thursday 19th December 2024 during standard Library opening hours Monday to Saturday. It’s free to explore and we hope you’ll find it interesting if you pop in.

We’ve recently been advised of an exciting initiative that The Bowes Museum, NAS (National Arts Strategies) and Derby Museums have just launched called Durham Creative Community Fellows, centered around the inspiring arts and culture community of County Durham.

Applications are now open for a free, nine-month fellowship that begins in February 2025. The programme is open to artists, community organisers, administrators and creative entrepreneurs who are driving positive social and physical transformations in County Durham through their arts and culture projects. The cohort will form a community of practice, enabling a range of ages and professional experience levels to connect and collaborate as they learn and grow with their peers.

Anyone interested in the programme can learn more on the Museum’s DCCF webpage and must apply by 11^th November 2024.

An online information session will be held on Tuesday, 22 October at 3:00pm where Creative Community Fellows alumni from the UK programme will give an overview of the experience and application process, and there will be an opportunity to ask questions in a Q&A. People are able to register via the website here.

Lisette Auton, photograph Laura Tindall

Kate Fox

Rowan McCabe

As part of the Your Library Story project to creatively celebrate the reopening of Darlington Library in September 2023 post restoration, Darlo based writer Lisette Auton has coordinated monthly ‘Do Stuff With Words’ sessions for adults at Darlington Library, encouraging people who signed up or dropped in to create new work and explore their writing practice. Supported by Arts Council England through Project Funding, this writing programme will reach its finale with an evening Do Stuff With Words event at Darlington Library, on the evening of Wednesday 23rd October 2024, details below, for which tickets are on sale now priced £4. Click here to book yours now or find out more about this event. At an earlier March 2024 evening sharing this year, a number project participants, joined Lisette at Darlington Library to share readings of their work to date, no mean feat given there wasn’t a free seat in the Art Gallery. With months more writing in place for participants to share, alongside the brilliant Lisette Auton, Kate Fox and Rowan McCabe, we’re looking forward to a great evening and hope you’ll join us there!

Do Stuff With Words sharing event, March 2024

Darlo Does Stuff With Words with special guests Kate Fox and Rowan McCabe, hosted by Lisette Auton

Wednesday 23^rd October 2024

Doors open 6.30pm

Event starts 7.00pm (running time 2 hours with an interval)

Children’s Library at Darlington Library 

£4 per ticket – ticket price includes complimentary drink

Welcome to a celebration of writing with headline sets from the sensational and nationally renowned poets and performers Kate Fox and Rowan McCabe, featuring the work of talented local writers, and all glued together and hosted by Darlington author and performer, Lisette Auton.

Since the beginning of this year, Lisette Auton has been playing with words with a group of writers at Darlington’s Crown Street Library and as their time together draws to a close we invite you to come along and celebrate their writing.

Kate Fox and Rowan McCabe headline this event: Lisette wanted to bring a group of writers together to create community and support each other in their writing, so it’s perfect that two of her absolute favourite writers and performers, who were instrumental to her writing journey, are joining us this evening. Each artist will perform a set from across their widely encompassing catalogue of work – if you’ve seen these artists perform before, you know how much of a treat you’re in for, if you haven’t, prepare to be delighted. Kate and Rowan will have books to sell and sign for you during the interval and after the event.

With writing cutting across all genres and forms, expect the unexpected, high drama, belly laughs and pride at the talent our town holds. Held in our beautiful library, this is a chance to not only listen to writers of national acclaim, to remarkable new writing, but also to meet fellow creatives and word lovers, readers, and listeners.

Kate Fox:

Kate Fox is a stand-up poet, spoken word artist and broadcaster. 

Kate is a regular contributor to Radio 3’s spoken word cabaret “The Verb”, has made two comedy series for Radio 4, been Poet in Residence for the Glastonbury Festival and the Great North Run and completed a PhD in stand up comedy! 

She is the author of “Where There’s Muck There’s Bras: True Stories of the North of England’s Women” published by Harper North, and various poetry collections. She is also a neurodivergent advocate whose latest show “Bigger on the Inside” explores neurodiversity through the lens of Doctor Who. 

Rowan McCabe:
Rowan McCabe is a poet and a professional waffler from Newcastle upon Tyne. Aware that poetry isn’t a proper job, he decided to create his own and became the world’s first Door-to-Door Poet. Knocking on strangers’ doors, he asks what is important to them. He then goes away and writes a poem about this, free of charge, before bringing it back and performing it on their doorstep. It’s sort of like the Avon lady… but with rhymes.

Rowan has also written for Channel 4, Radio 3’s ‘The Verb’ and his work has been featured in the Guardian and on BBC Breakfast. He has performed on stages around the UK, including Glastonbury Festival and the Royal Albert Hall. In 2022, the National Trust published a collection of his work in honour of William Wordsworth’s 250th birthday.

“Ingenious” – BBC Radio Scotland

“Highly talented with verse” – Broadway Baby

“Absolutely riveting” – Attila the Stockbroker

Lisette Auton:

Lisette Auton is passionate about telling the stories she struggled to find – those that reflect her northern, disabled and neurodivergent experience – and making sure that everyone can see themselves in, or are authors of, the stories that are being told. She’s an award-winning multidisciplinary artist based in Darlington, who does stuff with words as an author, playwright, creative practitioner, film and theatre maker, and performer.

She is the author of three children’s books published by Puffin: THE SECRET OF HAVEN POINT; THE STICKLEBACK CATCHERS; LIGHTS UP; and a fourth publishing in 2025, and has multiple commissions writing plays for children and adults. Her film commissioned by New Writing North/Durham Book Festival WRITING THE MISSING – A RIVER CYCLE, the first part of THE WATER TRILOGY, won the Journal Culture Award 2021 for Performance of the Year. She is currently a TVCA Artist of the Year 2024-2025.

Basically, making things with words is the only thing she’s remotely good at, and she’s therefore very relieved that it’s her job.