As part of the Arts Council England funded Your Library Story project, Darlington based author Lisette Auton is offering four free drop-in sessions where she’ll be writing in Darlington Library this summer, open to all ages, although children must be accompanied by an adult. No booking required, just drop-in and spend as long as you like anytime between 11am and 3pm on the dates below:

Monday 29th July in the Art Gallery at Darlington Library

Monday 5th August in the Art Gallery at Darlington Library

Monday 12th August in The Study at Darlington Library

Monday 19th August in the Art Gallery at Darlington Library

All sessions open between 11am and 3pm

So come and meet Lisette in the Library! During the summer holidays she’ll be writing in the library and would love you to drop in to join her. She’ll have pens and paper and prompts galore for anyone new to writing, or bring along your notebook and your work in progress to focus on. It’s an opportunity to have a chat about all things words related with a professional full-time writer who is a published author and playwright. Suitable for anyone of any age, though children must be accompanied by an adult.

About Lisette Auton 

Lisette Auton is the author of three children’s books published by Puffin (Penguin Random House UK) with a fourth publishing in 2025. She is an award-winning poet, a Tees Valley Combined Authority Artist of the Year 2024-2025, and writes plays for children and adults. 

Lisette is passionate about telling the stories she struggled to find – those that reflect her northern, working class, 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, activist, creative practitioner, filmmaker and performer. The focus of all her work is on place, process, and creative access and we hope you’ll enjoy catching up with her if you drop-in to Darlington Library this summer.  

01 Andrew Murie Houses Acrylic on board

02 Charlotte Kerr Winter Lion Acrylic on paper

03 Cheryl Cordier Journey Through the Valley of Beauty Fineline pen on paper

04 Fiona Goodlad Flower Fields Pen and Watercolour

The Art Gallery at Darlington Library is normally open to the public free of charge during standard Darlington Library opening hours (Monday & Tuesday 9am – 6pm, Wednesday 9am – 5pm, Thursday 10am – 6pm, Friday 9am – 5pm and Saturday 9am – 4pm, closed Sunday.

Forthcoming exhibitions in the Art Gallery at Darlington Library

• Group Exhibition, the Community Arts Project , 23^rd  July – 6^th August 2024

• and and and also, Sophie Seita, 9^th August – 14^th August 2024

• Places In Time, The Art of Kenneth Steel, 17^th August – 26^th September 2024

• Birchallreality, Roger Birchall Retrospective Exhibition, 28^th September – 7^th November 2024

• Recycled, Reused, Revealed, Helen Winthorpe-Kendrick, 9^th November – 19^th December 2024

• Group Exhibition, Darlington Society of Arts, 21^st December 2024 – 7^th February 2025    

Our next exhibition will share work from the artists whose images are shared above, alongside other members of the Community Arts Project (CAP). We’re delighted to welcome CAP back to the Art Gallery, at Darlington Library. Their previous exhibitions have always proven popular with visitors, and their new exhibition, whilst short, will share a fantastic variety of original work, from their artists.

More about The Community Arts Project

The Community Art Project is part of Darlington Borough Council’s Day Opportunities within the Adult Learning Disability Service. It provides an opportunity for people with learning disabilities to try out and pursue various visual arts activities with guidance and encouragement from a professional artist.

People normally attend one day each week and its open to anyone who has an interest in trying out arts activities, even if they have never done so before. It’s geared towards each person’s needs and interests and aims to encourage people to make their own choices and decisions, to work at their own pace and the best of their abilities. Service users are encouraged to develop and expand their work and level of ambition as their confidence grows. The sorts of activities that Cap involves are; oil, acrylic and watercolour painting, drawing, sculpting, pottery, printing, lino-cut and mono-printing, photography and digital art but it aims to facilitate as far as possible, whatever ideas people generate and express.

CAP regularly stage exhibitions which provide genuine motivation and momentum to the project. Seeing their work presented in a professional manner gives people a real sense of achievement and participation in a wider world along with a visible presence in the community. CAP service users have had their work exhibited locally, nationally and internationally, in locations including Billingham, Bishop Auckland, Brighton, Darlington, Glasgow, London, Middlesbrough, Munich, Newcastle, Newton Aycliffe, New York, Stockton, and Woking ……. so far. CAP are always interested in hearing about and discussing new opportunities to display their work in different settings and formats, see contact details below

CAP artists won first and second prizes in the 2019 Outside In National Open Exhibition – judged by Grayson Perry amongst others and five artists formed part of the Earth Vision project that toured various venues in Germany, Austria and Italy. CAP artwork has also been included in numerous online exhibitions and galleries and publications including ‘Outside In; Exploring the Margins of Art’ by Marc Steene. CAP artist Victoria Bowman has recently been nominated and shortlisted for the Paul Hamlyn Artists Awards.

Following relocation from The Bridge Centre for Visual Arts in March 2024, The Community Art Project is now based at:

• Links, Brinkburn Road, Darlington, DL3 6DY

and

• Foundations, Salters Lane, Darlington, DL1 3DT

Contact and further information for The Community Arts Project

Telephone 01325 468877

Email Laurence.ward@darlington.gov.uk

Visit the website www.darlington.gov.uk/communityart

TEES VALLEY LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME | Summer & Autumn 2024

Leadership Skills Days

Booking is now open for the next round of leadership skills days taking place September – November 2024. These stand-alone training days are packed full of useful tips and takeaways that you can apply to your work and leadership, no matter what the context.

If you work in the Tees Valley cultural sector for an organisation, independently or as a freelancer, skills days can help you to enhance your skills, build confidence and expand your network.

They are led by an inspiring range of Clore Leadership contributors who all have their own unique expertise to share with you.

• Working Effectively with Groups | Emma Haughton

17 Sep 2024, 10-4pm | The BIS, Hartlepool

• Re-up! | Gaylene Gould and David Kam

17 Oct 2024, 10-4pm | ARC, Stockton

• Communicating with confidence | Sarah Cartwright

12 Nov 2024, 10-4pm | Hippodrome, Darlington

Head over to the Tees Valley leadership Programme page to find out more about each Skills Day and how to book your place!

Tickets per skills day are available on a flexible pay what you decide basis with a recommended rate of £10 + VAT for individuals; £25 + VAT for organisations. Clore are pleased to continue offering freelancer bursaries towards loss of earnings incurred due to attendance at a Tees Valley Leadership Programme training event.

Mentoring

Clore are offering the opportunity for a further six creative professionals in the Tees Valley region to access mentoring. You will be matched with a mentor who can act as a sounding board to help you build confidence, navigate a current professional challenge or to plan next steps within your career.

There will be a half-day online briefing on 9 October 2024 for all mentees followed by 3 x one-hour online or in-person sessions with your mentor.

If you would like to be matched with a mentor, just complete the brief application form telling Clore more about yourself and what you hope to gain from the experience.

Deadline for applications is Monday 2 September 2024.

Do you think you could be a Mentor?

Do you have skills and expertise that you would like to share with creative and cultural professionals in the Tees Valley region?

Are you:

• A good communicator
• A good listener
• Open to sharing learning and insights from your own professional experience
• Able to see the bigger strategic picture
• A creative problem solver
• Committed and reliable

Clore are inviting expressions of interest from leaders who are interested in being a mentor. Please get in touch with Clore by Monday 2 September 2024 if you’re able to offer your expertise and time.

Elaine Vizor recently held her solo exhibition, How Do You Like Your Photography?(With or Without Rules) in the Art Gallery at Darlington Library and we’re delighted to share news of an exhibition she and artist June Wainwright currently have on display currently at Bowlees Visitor Centre below.

BETWEEN THE SHOWERS

Bowlees Visitor Centre Gallery, Upper Teesdale, County Durham, 1 – 31 July 2024

A Duo Exhibition by Photographer ELAINE VIZOR & Artist JUNE WAINWRIGHT

A collaborative exhibition of photography and art taking inspiration from the North Pennines National Landscape. Friends, Elaine Vizor and June Wainwright have, since the Covid lockdowns when they were allowed to meet outside only, developed a practice called ‘Art Outside’ when they would meet outdoors to draw, paint and photograph what they saw. Sometimes Elaine’s photography inspired June to paint and similarly June’s paintings inspired Elaine to photograph differently.

Being together encouraged both artists to look, explore and enjoy their own crafts alongside each other. Some of the works in the exhibition are examples of this mutually supportive and complementary art and photography.

Elaine said, “My work includes examples of cameraless cyanotype botanical prints; some straight camera photography and some digitalart pieces inspired originally by working with the Barnard Castle and Teesdale Art Society. I started to apply digitalart to my own original images as a metaphoric bridge between art and photography.”

Working as a freelance photographer Elaine, delivers workshops in basic digital photography; cyanotype printing with flowers, foliage and found objects; mindful seasonal photography walks which involve photographing ‘on our doorsteps’ throughout the seasons, looking for beauty even in the bleakest of conditions.

June said, “Having grown up in Tyneside I moved to Upper Teesdale thirty-five years ago. I live and work immersed in the rural community, its fells, becks, forces, plants, birds, farmers, gamekeepers and its many sheep and cattle.  I use art to express my emotions to connect with the environment. Many of my works are in acrylics on canvas completed in the studio following opportunities to sketch in pencil or watercolour in situ and I also use photography to support the process especially during poor weather. Like many local artists I also enjoy using dry needle felting to create landscapes.”

June’s work reflects the shifting realities of the landscape – the heavy cloud, reflections in water and the changing seasons marked with the Swaledale Tup Sale at Middleton.

Elaine said, “With June I hope visitors will enjoy the collaborative and complementary combination of art and photography. It’s not a competition. Art and Photography, like the Artist and Photographer, can be good friends, work together, support, appreciate and inspire each other.”

Simon Wilson, Programme Manager at the North Pennines National Landscape team,  said: “We are always pleased to have opportunities to showcase local artists, such as Elaine and June, who are inspired by what they see around them in the North Pennines. Hopefully our visitors will enjoy seeing the way both have interpreted familiar views and the changing colours and textures of nature through this exhibition.”

Between the showers, is on show at Bowlees Visitor Centre, in the gallery accessed via stairs, until 31 July, open daily from 10am to 5pm. There is a lovely café too and great views, walks and waterfalls all around.

If you visit Darlington Library, open Monday to Saturday, up to Thursday 18th July 2024, we hope you’ll pop into the Art Gallery there to view and listen to the newly installed exhibition by artist Matt Denham, ‘Hot Contents’, which explores the relationships between the past and present industrial heritage of the North East and the climate emergency.

Matt Denham is a visual artist based in Newcastle. Starting with intimate stories of people and place, his video installation artworks reveal and connect global issues. He has worked alongside various environmental campaigners to create this exhibition, which imagines a near future where unsustainable growth and over-production has dramatically changed our landscape.

Taking the form of brightly coloured video installations, sound maps and living sculptures, the work in this exhibition explores possible futures through local sites of transition, spaces of resistance, and climate action that aims to shape a positive future.

Matt proposes that the society we live in has been built on the foundations of industry. and that in the North East, the industrial culture and landscape, from coal mining to steel working, textile production to large-scale engineering, is a significant part of our regional identity. Industry has played an important part in shaping our cities, towns and communities, and ‘Hot Contents’ considers aspects of the environmental legacy of this period in our history.

‘Hot Contents’ is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and information on the exhibition can be accessed in large print, braille, in Bengali, Polish and Romanian. Two works from Darlington Borough Art Collection informed by the North Eastern industry are on display alongside ‘Hot Contents’ and we hope you find the exhibition interesting if you come along.

‘‘Hot Contents’ is a visual arts exhibition exploring the relationships between the past and present industrial heritage of the North East and the climate emergency. This exhibition will be on display in the Art Gallery at Darlington Library from Thursday 20 June 2024 – Thursday 18 July 2024 during standard Darlington Library opening times (Monday to Saturday). Matt Denham is a visual artist based in Newcastle and his research-led practice explores shared experiences of our physical, virtual and psychological environments in a changing society. Starting with intimate stories of people and place, his video installation artworks reveal and connect global issues. ‘Hot Contents’ is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and Creative Darlington.

Business Durham are kindly hosting Changing Relations’ next Demystifying Domestic Abuse Workplace Training taster day at Salvus House in Durham and they’d love to see you there.

WHEN – 9.30-4.30, Thursday 27th June

JUST 10 PLACES LEFT SO BOOK NOW – https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/domestic-abuse-workplace-training-tickets-736459990657

RECEIVE – lunch courtesy of Business Durham, as well as 2 of Changing Relations beautiful informational resource books to take away!

 WHY?

As business leaders and managers, there are always so many issues to prioritise.

If you have not received disclosures of staff affected by domestic abuse, it’s tempting to think it isn’t happening to those in your teams.

The likelihood, however, is that, as domestic abuse has been treated as a private matter for so long, until your business proactively brings domestic abuse into the open, your staff won’t feel confident enough to mention it.

But, if 1 in 3 women and 1 in 7 men are affected by domestic abuse in their lifetime, this issue will be impacting your workplace in a range of ways, from:

• Days of work missed
• Productivity affected
• Stalking and surveillance of employees whilst they are at your workplace
• Employees leaving the workplace altogether and all the costs of recruitment, induction, teams being short-staffed this incurs

Could you get more from your staff by creating a more open and supportive workplace environment?

Past training participants have said:

“Gave me more confidence to have those conversations.”

“Broadened the context in which I understand domestic abuse”

“Films were very powerful, backed up by quality resources”

“I found the interactive session very engaging. Can’t wait to share my experience and new knowledge.”

“Changing Relations training format is very different to what you might be used to – they use arts and media as a conduit for deep and meaningful reflections without invading anyone’s privacy.”

If you would prefer to receive an invoice rather than sign up via Eventbrite, just email lisa@changingrelations.co.uk and let them know how many places you would like to book.

Further information on Changing Relations Training is available on Linked In – https://www.linkedin.com/posts/lisa-charlotte-davis-32a11b33_domestic-abuse-workplace-training-activity-7202287938754203649-V7vh?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

Darlington Orchestra’s next concert is on Saturday 6 July at 7.30pm in the Dolphin Centre’s Central Hall. This accessible concert is suitable for people of all ages – from regular concertgoers to anyone who is new to hearing live classical music. The orchestra will perform a selection of popular classics from across three centuries, including music by Handel, Brahms, Rimsky-Korsakov and a medley from the musical Les Misérables. In addition, special guests Rhapsody Community Choir will perform two 10-minute sets.

A printed programme is included in the ticket price, providing brief details about the music and composers. Plus, there’ll be a version available for children aged 5–11 years.

When: Saturday 6 July 2024 at 7.30pm (doors open 7pm)

Where: Central Hall at the Dolphin Centre, Horsemarket, Darlington DL1 5RP

Call: 01325 406000

Tickets: £7 (£5 concessions) from the venue

Please note: cash sales only at the concert for tickets (subject to availability)

For further updates, follow the orchestra on Facebook.com/darlingtonorchestra, Instagram.com/darlington_orchestra and Twitter.com/DarloOrchestra

The talented artists to receive unique support and funding from a major new initiative driving forward the arts in Tees Valley have been revealed.  Tees Valley Artists of the Year 2024 is a new scheme run by Tees Valley Combined Authority supporting five leading local artists, who will receive a career-changing £30,000 investment. 

The project is a bold new approach to develop the next generation of musicians, film-makers and writers and could provide a groundbreaking model for other areas. The successful artists were unveiled at The Globe Theatre, in Stockton, on Monday (20 May).    Each will receive a £30,000 package of support over a year, which includes a real-living wage bursary and a professional development budget.  All five will also receive industry mentoring and tailored business support to take their creative career to the next level.   Tees Valley Artists of the Year supports an ambition to develop the region as an engine room for creative artists and the successful artists were selected after competitive process involving panellists from the region’s leading cultural organisations, Arts Council England, and TVCA.  

The five artists showed outstanding strength and quality in their field with the selection panel judging they were each at right point in their careers where the programme could make a tangible and sustainable difference.  They are Darlington based author, Lisette Auton; Stockton-based visual artist Claire A Baker; Stockton based film-maker Andy Berriman: Middlesbrough based singer-songwriter Amelia Coburn and theatre-maker Scott Turnbull.

Lisette Auton 

Lisette Auton is a disabled, neurodivergent Tees Valley multidisciplinary artist working in literature as a novelist, dramatist, activist, filmmaker and performer.  

Based in Darlington, Lisette is the author of three novels published by Puffin/Penguin Random House The Secret of Haven Point, The Stickleback Catchers, and Lights Up which have been shortlisted for five major awards. 

Claire A Baker 

Claire A Baker is a Stockton-based visual artist working with textiles and mixed media. Her work has been exhibited in the UK, Ukraine, Russia, USA, Belgium, Germany and Portugal and she has been a finalist in several national visual arts awards and was Contextile Winner in 2012. 

Andy Berriman 

Andy Berriman is an experienced filmmaker, writer and director from Stockton. His film Mortal won the Northern Film prize in 2023 and has had award winning films commissioned by BFI and Creative England. He is also a well-established commercial filmmaker focusing on capturing the region’s festivals, events and cultural attractions. 

Ameila Coburn 

Ameila Coburn is a singer-songwriter from Middlesbrough who has just recorded and released her first debut album, produced by Bill Ryder-Jones (co-founder of The Coral). Her songs have garnered acclaim from broadcasters and publications including BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6Music. 

Scott Turnbull 

Scott Turnbull is a theatre-maker, actor and illustrator developing multi-platform work for theatre, television and online. His work has toured the UK and Europe. In 2023 has was awarded a bursary from BBC Comedy Creator Fund to develop his writing skills for TV. 

Click here to find out more about the Artists of the Year.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said:

“We’ve got a great wealth of talent in our region, and we can all do more to shout it from the rooftops.  

“We’re putting the building blocks in place by working alongside the BBC, North East Screen and The Northern Studios, in Hartlepool – plus our investment in our Development Corporations in Hartlepool and Middlesbrough.  

“We want to help our brightest talents thrive and build their careers here – and this award is one part of that plan.”  

Charlie Kemp, Head of Creative Place at the Tees Valley Combined Authority, said:

“We were utterly blown away the quality, mass and diversity of the applications we received – and it goes to show the incredible depth of creative talent we have in the Tees Valley.

“It’s great to be working alongside the North team at Arts Council England and leaders in the arts in bringing this project to life. The Combined Authority, Tees Valley Business Board and the wider Tees Valley culture sector have a shared ambition to establish our region as one of the country’s engine rooms for creative production, and we’re striving to make it a fantastic and well-supported place to work.  

“We hope this funding can provide these great artists with the help and expertise they need to thrive, secure their futures, and take their careers to the next level.” 

The funding provided through the Artist of the Year comes via the UK Government and its UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). 

Alison Gwynn, Creative Economy Lead for the Tees Valley Business Board and North East Screen Chief Executive, said:

“A supported arts and culture scene is essential for nurturing local talent and creating vibrant careers. By investing in our creative industries, we ensure our region becomes a destination for talent, rivalling Manchester and London.” 

The award is part of a wider £20.5m programme of investment by the Combined Authority to grow the region’s creative and cultural industries and visitor economies. 

Jane Tarr, Director North, Arts Council England, said

“We want the North to be a place where everyone can establish and sustain a creative career so it’s great to see the Tees Valley Combined Authority supporting artists at a key moment in their careers and helping with their business and professional development.  

“We were pleased to be involved in the panels for the five Artists of the Year and looking forward to seeing how the opportunity takes their creative journeys forward.”

Tees Women Poets are now accepting applications for the 2024 Spoken Word Boot Camp, a unique opportunity for women and gender non-conforming poets in Teesside to attend free masterclass training in performing their poetry. Poets must be 18+, but there’s no upper age limit.

“If you’re looking to start your spoken poetry journey – this course is incredible. Not only are the sessions incredibly fun and engaging but the network of women you will be surrounded with is incredible. I have made huge progress over the weeks and did my first open mic before the course ended- something that really terrified me previously. I’ve learned to believe in my words and just have fun with poetry!”

Graduates of their 2023 Boot Camp have gone on to take up multiple paid performance opportunities with the Tees Women Poets – you can read about their experiences here. The closing date for applications is Monday 3rd June 2024. To apply simply email Tees Women Poets three poems and a bit about yourself to teeswomenpoets@gmail.com