The Sky Foundation launches new bursary programme to support the future of UK dance. Applications are now open and close on 9 September 2026. For more information and to apply, visit https://juliarausingskyartsbursaries.com.

A ten week course offering adults an opportunity to explore mosaic making begins 10am on Wednesday 16 September 2026 at Hurworth Grange, near Darlington, subject to enough people enrolling. Booking required and further information available from the artist and tutor, Julie Hand.

Tracks Darlington’s brilliant all day Last Train Home festival is approaching on Saturday 5 September 2026 and is expected to amuse, delight, enthrall and ticket holders in its host venues, Darlington Hippodrome, The Forum Music Studios and The Hullabaloo, dance, smile and think, if my experience of their previous festivals is anything to go by. Details of a fantastic programme are available on the Tracks Darlington website and tickets are on sale there now priced £25 + booking fee in advance or £30 on the door.

Tracks Darlington’s mission is to champion and support emerging artists in the North East and so the festival hosts a selection of performers they think you need to see right now, along with those chosen by their programming partners NARC. Magazine, BBC Introducing, and Hilarity Bites. With the day long festival programming fantastic talent across several stages in Darlington the full festival shouldn’t be missed.

You can also join Tracks Darlington for a special and memorable night of live music featuring GEORGE BOOMSMA, with support from BEFORE CLOSE and THE MIST CALLS at their Last Train Home Express event at Hopetown Darlington on the evening of Thursday 3 September at Hopetown Darlington, doors open 7pm, with tickets priced £10 plus booking fee on sale now to.

We’re very grateful to all who visit Darlington Library Art Gallery and share their comments on the exhibitions on display. Eleven different exhibitions opened in the gallery between April 2025 and March 2026 and from April 2026 to March 2027 we expect another ten exhibitions to open in total, so there’s a high turnover of exhibitions, including those by single artists and those by groups.

Our latest exhibition shares over 80 works in total by artist James Lindsey Bird (1903 – 1972), some of which were kindly loaned for exhibition and others from Darlington Borough Art Collection. This artist lived in Darlington and worked at the Boys Grammar School as head of art for several decades, and the exhibition contains work in many different media, including body colour (gouache), drawings, oils, pastels, pen and ink and watercolour.

When we were putting this exhibition together we hoped it would come to the attention of some people who knew the artist during his lifetime, including some of his former pupils in Darlington and possibly some of the visitors to Gallery 2, an art gallery he helped set up and run in Darlington town centre. We also hoped the exhibition would bring his work to the attention of people who may have been unfamiliar with his work, and its great to see comments made by visitors to date, a selection of which is shown below. There’s more information on the artist and exhibition here and we hope you enjoy your visit to Darlington Library Art Gallery, which is open Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm and Saturdays 9am – 3pm, closed Sundays, if you get the chance to visit.

• Wonderful to see this collection of works by J.L. Bird. Thankyou.
• My old art master!!! An honour and a privilege to have known and loved this show – I owe him a huge debt of gratitude. A FINE exhibition of some lovely work.
• It is so energizing to see the artwork here in this space. Thank you Darlington Library.
• Wonderful exhibition. No matter the medium used JL Bird excels. Thank you for the opportunity to view his work.
• A fantastic exhibition. Remember meeting him at ‘Gallery 2’.
• Fabulous exhibition – will be coming multiple times. Great to see such amazing art in Darlington.
• Ditto! Excellent work. Really like the exhibition and I will have to return.
• An impressive collection – very evocative paintings of Darlington I know well. Beautiful abundant work.

Tees Valley Artists of the Year is open for applications! This time round the year will run from October 2026 to September 2027. The deadline for applications is 31^st July 2026.

The Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority have announced the third year of their Artists of the Year programme, supporting Tees Valley artists and collectives who live or work in the region and showcase a strong connection and dedication to it. This year’s programme will support artists who are exceptional in their field, working in any creative artform, with a body of original creative work that is ready for audiences or consumers.

For application guidance and to apply visit Tees Valley Artists of the Year 2026 Application – Business.

James Lindsey Bird was born in Crook, County Durham in 1903, the son of a composer and brought up in the strict Methodist tradition.  He attended Middlesbrough High School and later studied Fine Art at Armstrong College, Newcastle.  In 1921 he left the north of England for London, attending the Royal College of Art, where for the first year he studied Painting and Architecture, changing his second subject to Engraving, at which he excelled. In 1946 he was appointed Head of Art at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Darlington.  Here his interest in landscapes developed remarkably, with many of his works at this time set in the North Yorkshire Moors; the Esk Valley becoming a particular favourite.

The exhibition contains over 80 works which the artist produced over different decades of his practice, and towards the end of the exhibition we will swap a small number of these round to ensure that works loaned for exhibition which we have not had space to display so far, can be seen.

During his time teaching at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Darlington he became increasingly interested in portraiture, depicting family, friends, colleagues, and 1963 saw the visit of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother to the 400^th Anniversary of the Grammar School.  The following year Lindsey Bird was granted the honour of a portrait sitting with the Queen Mother in the drawing room at Clarence House.  The subsequent portrait in oils hung in the school for many years and is now part of Darlington Borough Art Collection. .

After twenty years as Head of the Art Department, Lindsey retired to devote more time to his own work and to the running of Gallery 2, an art gallery in Darlington Town Centre.  The artist worked prolifically, and thanks to the generosity of those who have loaned works from their collections for this exhibition, visitors can explore many different areas of his practice including works in pencil, pen and ink, engraving, watercolour, pastel and oil painting, including the portrait of his father a section of which is shown below, that he completed when aged just sixteen years old.

The artist lived for many years on Stanhope Road in Darlington, offering space to work in a studio there, and some of the pictures within this exhibition are informed by aspects of domestic life, while some depict places which have changed.

The artist found inspiration in many different subjects, including food repurposed as a still life which spent four days in their studio, which may have left it somewhat compromised.

We hope the exhibition will offer some insight into aspects of the artist’s practice, as it contains sketches of subjects which interested them in pencil and pen and ink (some of which contain colour notes), pastel sketches, studies to inform the composition of final works, and the final works themselves.

Whilst working as a teacher James Lindsey Bird regularly supported the development of school productions through set design, both in Darlington and community events, and he also applied his resourceful and careful approach to building the bird table, pictured above, from parts of a redundant wardrobe, which is one of several pictures containing depictions of animals and birds within the exhibition.

Following a stroke the artist moved to Scorton in North Yorkshire, which had a revitalizing effect. Following frustration at the impact of the stroke on his ability to draw and paint he enjoyed the new stimulus of village life, and produced a variety of work including illustrated articles for ‘The Dalesman’, working constantly until his sudden death in 1972.

Many of the works in this exhibition depict scenes which have changed, some of us of a certain age may remember the giant flower tubs on High Row, or seeing Locomotion No. 1 at Darlington Station, and http://www.aboutdarlington.co.uk/james-lindsey-bird/ offers more insight into Bird’s life and shares multiple examples of his work.

We hope this exhibition provides some of those who may have been taught by, or known the artist whilst alive, an opportunity to enjoy some of the works he made, and also that people unfamiliar with the artist will find his practice stimulating.

As part of the Arts Council England funded Run Your Numbers programme Counterculture is hosting a free to attend Introduction to Investment event  to boost confidence and increase awareness and knowledge of private/social investment. We have a great line up, with Rachel Green from Figurative, Nick Donaghy from Creative UK and Anna Byrne.  Booking here and an overview of the event below.

Overview

A Practical Introduction for Creative & Cultural Businesses and Organisations.

If you’re thinking about your business or organisation’s future funding, this is a valuable conversation to be part of.

For many creative and cultural businesses, freelancers, charities, and CICs private investment can feel like a world with its own language and rules and something that’s hard to access and even harder to understand.

At the same time, the wider funding landscape is evolving. Grant funding is becoming more competitive, and many business and organisations are starting to explore a broader mix of income sources to support their work and ambitions.

This practical, welcoming session is designed to help you navigate that shift with confidence.

Delivered as part of the Tees Valley Combined Authority Run Your Numbers Financial Literacy Pilot (funded by Arts Council England and led by Counterculture), this event will introduce you to how investment works and where it might fit within your business or organisation’s future plans.

You’ll gain a clear, accessible understanding of:

• How investment works in practice
• What different types of investors are looking for
• The differences between venture capital, angel investment, and social investment
• Whether investment could be a useful option for you

You’ll also hear from people who have successfully raised private finance, as well as insights from investors themselves – with time to ask your own questions.

With leading experts including…

Rachel Green, CFA, Senior Advisor at Figurative – delivering an £18 million social impact investment fund for socially driven arts, culture and heritage organisations registered and operating in the UK.

Nick Donaghy, Investment Manager at Creative UK – supporting creative businesses that may struggle to secure traditional lending, guiding them from initial conversations through to investment and beyond.

Anna Byrne, Executive Director of Creative Factory Middlesbrough and Co-Founder of The Auxiliary – sharing her journey of successfully raising private social investment through The Key Fund for The Auxiliary.

Andrew Evans and Illy Jaffar, Partners & Directors Counterculture – Counterculture are consultants, accountants, solicitors, curators, project managers and fundraisers (and also musicians, artists, historians, writers).

This session is a must attend opportunity to build your confidence, broaden your understanding, and explore new funding possibilities in a supportive environment.

More about the speakers/contributors

Rachel Green – Figurative

After a decade managing institutional investments for blue chip City institutions, Rachel has spent the past 15 years working with a variety of cultural enterprises, helping them to finance their businesses and balance creative, social and commercial priorities. She has a huge breadth of experience across the cultural sector, from independent films to music venues and from museums to dance companies and many others. Throughout this period, Rachel has been focused on innovation, finding new ways for cultural enterprises to strengthen their financial resilience and access sources of capital. She helped to establish one of the first music copyright funds, managed the groundbreaking Arts & Culture Impact Fund, combining investments in the cultural space with social impact expertise, and as Chief Investment Officer was instrumental in the creation of Figurative, an independent charity focused on driving impact, investment and innovation in the cultural and creative sectors. Whilst continuing to work with Figurative, Rachel has now broadened her activities to support individual cultural enterprises with their growth and financing needs. Rachel has a degree in History from Cambridge University, gained an MA in Cultural Leadership from the Royal Academy of Arts/University of Maastricht in 2022 and is a Trustee of the Cambridge Union Society where she chairs the Finance & Operations Committee.

Anna Byrne – Creative Factory / The Auxiliary

Anna Byrne is the Executive Director of Creative Factory Middlesbrough, working in property development and creative regeneration. The organisation has just launched a cluster of artist houses in Middlesbrough – a first for the region. She is the co-founder of The Auxiliary Project Space and Middlesbrough Art Week festival, the largest annual contemporary arts festival in the Northeast. Originally from Ireland, she now lives in Hartlepool.

Nick Donaghy – Creative UK

Nick Donaghy is an Investment Manager at Creative UK, working within the Creative Growth Finance fund to support ambitious creative businesses across the UK. He joined the organisation in 2024, bringing a background in corporate banking and SME lending gained at institutions such as NatWest, Santander and FW Capital. His career has focused on assessing businesses, understanding strategic goals and financial performance, and deploying capital to support growth. In his role, Nick works closely with founders and leadership teams to help them access funding and navigate the challenges of scaling in a fast-moving, talent-led industry. He is particularly focused on understanding the story behind the numbers, combining financial insight with a genuine appreciation for creative processes. Through Creative Growth Finance, he supports businesses that may struggle to secure traditional lending, guiding them from initial conversations through to investment and beyond, and helping them adapt and grow in an evolving market.

Andrew Evans – Partner Director Counterculture Wales

Andrew’s work includes fundraising, business development, strategy, and governance, former Director of Development at National Museums Liverpool.

Illy Jaffar – Partner, Vice Chair and Director, Counterculture Creative

Illy is an award-winning, highly entrepreneurial and commercially astute marketing, communications and experience leader with 30+ years’ global experience spanning culture, music, supermarket retail, corporate, entertainment, hospitality, lifestyle and luxury, delivering across the full marketing mix in both B2B and B2C environments. Illy has started various businesses and has successfully raised for his start ups and start ups in his advisory capacity.

Who is it for? Any creative or cultural sector business, freelancer, artist, charity, CIC based in the Tees Valley.

Creative Darlington is delighted to be supporting some of the venue costs for the above programme of Connected Communities activity in Darlington borough.

Please see the call out here https://shorturl.at/UOxz7

If you have any questions regarding the AiR programme or application form, please email: info@deaddoggallery.co.uk

We Make Sound have recently taken on the role of Tees Valley Lead for the F-List Youth Industry Network and are delighted to share that applications are now open for the second year of the Youth Industry Network, their 12-month music career development programme, delivered in partnership with Youth Music and supported by the People’s Postcode Lottery. 

The programme supports young women and gender-diverse creatives aged 16–25 (or up to 30 if disabled) based in or around East and South London, the East Midlands, and Tees Valley to build sustainable careers in music. Participants receive:

• £300 funding for career support
• Monthly in-person mentoring from industry professionals
• Expert online training sessions and workshops
• Strategic goal-planning and career development sessions
• A peer network of local artists

We Make Music are looking for applicants who are not studying music at higher education level, are not yet earning a sustainable income from music, and who identify as a woman or gender-diverse person. They have advised the deadline for applications is 19 June 2026.

Applications and further information: https://tinyurl.com/3rm99yzn