Northern Heartlands

27/10/2026

We’re backing the Creative Call from Into the Light County Durham 💛

As part of our ongoing work, we support creative practice and champion artists and creative practitioners. Through Cultivate Commissions, part of the Into the Light Programme, Northern Heartlands is supporting creative practitioners to explore ideas, develop their practice and build relationships with communities.

Having time to listen and work together means people can help shape the creative activity happening where they live.

“For us Into the Light is about trust.” Katy Milne, Creative Director.

“As an Into the Light partner, we’re committed to more equitable access to creative opportunities. That includes sharing information, reaching people through our local networks and supporting communities to have a say in their creative futures.”

Read the Creative Call and add your support:

https://www.intothelightdurham.co.uk/creative-call-from-county-durham

27/10/2026

Fantastic to see the Cultivate Commissions Cohort mentioned by Durham Magazine earlier this month. 👏

Huge news for County Durham! 🎨

20 local creatives have been awarded a share of £78,000 through the Cultivate Commissions by Into the Light and Northern Heartlands.

From storytelling in Peterlee to underwater dance in Newton Aycliffe, these projects celebrate local pride and heritage.

Into the Light
Northern Heartlands

22/10/2026

CommuniTea..

Lovely couple of hours this morning chatting over a brew at We love Sunniside Sunniside Community Centre. Featured favourite cups ranged from Ly's great grandmas set from the 1800's to Gl's 3 year old go to cup 😀. We chatted widely about tablecloths crocheted by nuns to old aunts reading tea leaves...

Thursday 22nd we will be at Tow Law Community Centre 10:30-12:30

21/10/2026

Northern Heartlands is delighted to announce our new project Our Town, Our Past, Our Future is being funded by Historic England’s History in the Making programme.💚

Building on creative work we've been leading with young people in Shildon as part of Into the Light - Durham's Place Partnership Programme, this project will celebrate local heritage, inspire futures and champion young people’s voices.

We're one of 35 organisations across the country to receive funding to support young people to discover, engage and connect with their local stories, so that the history that matters to them is celebrated.

With thanks Historic England and the UK Government for their support.

20/10/2026

Applications are now open for the Creative Community Mentoring Programme!

The Skills Hub is now recruiting a cohort of mentors and mentees as part of the Into The Light project, which Beamish Museum is a partner in.

Running from November 2026 to March 2027, this programme will bring together mentors and mentees to share knowledge and best practice, explore challenges within the creative sector, and support professional development through meaningful mentoring relationships.

Deadline to apply: Wednesday, 28th October

Find out more in the Get Involved section of our website.

10/10/2026

Today is World Mental Health Day, and this year’s theme is “Lived experiences heard.” 💚
Listening to people and their experiences is central to what we do. Through our methodology, we create opportunities for people to take part, make and create, and connect in ways that can support wellbeing.
One participant of a Creative Health group we support told us they had been given a boost to “keep going” after attending.
It makes us wonder, what is it about making, creating and taking part in the arts that can make a difference to how we feel? 🤔
A review published earlier this year in Nature Reviews Psychology identified 50 interconnected ways that arts engagement can influence mental health, from helping us manage emotions and stress to building connection and a sense of belonging.
It’s a useful reminder that the value of creativity isn’t always in the finished thing. It can be held in the invisible things that sit behind the art workshop or dance class. That’s why we believe creating the conditions for people to participate, connect and feel well is worth investing in.
You can read the full review here:
https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10224406/1/Fancourt_Final%20accepted.pdf
Professor Daisy Fancourt

07/10/2026

Northern Heartlands has been nominated for North East Culture Awards 2026 in the Best Event or Exhibition category for Creatively Connected 💚

A huge thank you to North Pennines National Landscape and Yorkshire Dales National Park for putting us forward.

The Creatively Connected event and exhibition brought artists Azadeh Fatehrad, Laura Harrington, Matt Denham, John Coburn and Tim Shaw together with farmers, conservationists and communities across Teesdale and Swaledale to explore nature recovery, farming and our relationship with the landscape through creativity.

We’re really pleased to see this collaborative work recognised with a nomination. 💚

06/10/2026

A couple of weeks ago, some of our team joined the Tees-Swale: Naturally Connected celebration event at Raby Castle, Park and Gardens led by North Pennines National Landscape and Yorkshire Dales National Park .

The event brought people together to reflect on years of landscape recovery work and its impact across Teesdale and Swaledale, from peatland, woodland, grassland and wetland restoration to the relationships that have grown between people and place.

It was an opportunity to celebrate what has been achieved through collaboration between farmers, landowners, ecologists, volunteers, communities and conservation organisations, all contributing to nature recovery across the dales.

Northern Heartlands were delighted to lead the Creatively Connected strand of the programme, working alongside creative practitioners Azadeh Fatehrad, Laura Harrington, Matt Denham, John Coburn and Tim Shaw, the project opened up ways for people to connect, listen and share perspectives on the landscape and its future.

At Northern Heartlands, we believe creativity can help build trust, strengthen relationships and create space for different voices, all of which are essential for long-term nature recovery. It was encouraging to see the impact of the wider Tees Swale work taking root not only in the landscape, but also in the connections between people and their shared commitment to these places. 🌱

Thank you to North Pennines National Landscape and Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority for bringing people together through this important programme. The programme was Funded thanks to Lottery Players by The National Lottery Heritage Fund , Tees-Swale: Naturally Connected.

06/10/2026

We were proud to contribute to Tees-Swale: Naturally Connected through Creatively Connected, exploring how creative practice can open up different ways of listening to and understanding a changing landscape.

Working alongside farmers, landowners, ecologists and communities, we commissioned five creative practitioners to create space for different perspectives and conversations.

For us, it was a reminder that nature recovery is not only about what changes in the landscape, but about the relationships, trust and shared understanding that help make that change possible!

Find out more about this unique collaboration below.

North Pennines National Landscape Yorkshire Dales National Park The National Lottery Heritage Fund 🌱

05/10/2026

This is a wonderfully heartwarming project. Louise Taylor is honouring her dad in such a special way and we know that this will be a beautiful piece of work when it's complete. It would be great to see the campaign reach it's target by 10th October. Here's the link to contribute:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/louisetaylor/archiving-dad?ref=section-arts-projectcollection-5-staff-picks-popular&category_id=Q2F0ZWdvcnktMjgw

Photographer Louise Taylor documents her late father's life by recording his collection of "treasures".