COMMUNITY ARTS

RESEARCH PROJECT

The Community Arts Research Project is all about communities having time and space to develop genuine relationships with artists in order to co-create amazing artwork.

This opportunity will work with local people to deliver projects that are driven, developed and decided by them throughout the entire process.

Initially we did a call out for community / voluntary groups across Sunderland who wanted to be part of this project. Through a community decision making panel 5 projects were selected to explore a research question specific to them and their local community.

There have been some fantastic outcomes from this pilot project and genuine co-creation has taken place. 

APPLY FOR THE NEXT YEAR OF COMMUNITY ARTS RESEARCH PROJECTS

The Cultural Spring is seeking to work with community, voluntary groups and social enterprise organisations on our next opportunity for our Community Arts Research project.

We want to work with you to explore the questions and challenges you and communities are passionate about. You will be paired with an artist/s in any artform to develop a process of co-creation between you and your community.

Download the brief and EOI form here.

Deadline for submissions of Expressions of Interest is 10am, Monday 16th June.

The Projects

ICOS

‘An exploration of personal stories through creativity of Eastern European women’s journey of migration to Sunderland, and what are the barriers they have experienced along the way? How can a peer-to-peer support network help them to overcome these barriers?’

ICOS have been working with artist and academic Sabina Sallis. They've continued to meet regularly and as a group went on a Go and See visit to Mother Shipton's Cave in Yorkshire. They’ve been hosting sessions at Sunderland College’s Park Lane site, Betsy Jenny Counselling Café in the City Centre and St. Michael's Community Centre in Grangetown. Sabina, a Polish artist has been able to work closely with the Eastern European women’s community, and all involved see this as the foundation for long-term collaboration. 

Headlight

“Arts and crafts are well documented to contribute to positive mental health and aid recovery, as is outdoors in a garden environment. How can we combine these two things together to produce a mental health wellbeing garden at our organisation?”

Headlight have been working with the artist Rachel Brook on phase two of their project to develop their outdoor space as a wellbeing area and developing the skills of the staff and participants there. The participants involved in the 'Garden Collective' have learned new skills and took part in a Go and See visit to eco organisation - Williby Rocs. The visit enabled a positive connection to be made, that will likely be revisited in the future. 

WWIN

“How can Art impact on the emotional wellbeing and recovery of women and children who have experienced domestic abuse?”

WWIN will be working with artist Cloe Sparrow on weekly co-creation sessions 2025/26. 

Houghton Le Spring

The Old Rectory, Space 4, and Houghton le Spring Residents CIC are working together for the first time on a partnership project linked to Houghton Rectory Park, to ask local people;

‘What does the Park mean to you?’

The Houghton Le Spring collective are working with artist Sally Anderson to explore this question. Sally has met a range of people through groups hosted by the partners. She has also created a survey which was emailed to people interested in responding to the consultation about what Rectory Park means to them. Phase two will be explored during 2025/2026.

Stockton Road United Reformed Church

“Would the guests of the Ashbrooke community lunch (a partnership with the Church and FoodCycle) like a cultural, arts, crafts social space to be developed after the lunch? If so, what would that social space look like?”

Stockton Road URC have worked with a variety of artists who have delivered a range of taster sessions, which has led to a craft pack project led by artist Kate Hunter Parker. Kate supplied 5 sets of packs between January – March 2025, attending the Food Cycle lunch and offering demonstrations of how to use the pack, as well as sharing examples of what participants could make. The packs were then taken away by the guests attending the lunch to complete in their own time. Demand for the packs has increased, from 15 to 25 packs.

What do we mean by co-creation? 

  • A process whereby artists/creative practitioners actively engage, listen to and collaborate with people from communities to create an artwork, project or activity together (including devising, planning negotiating, disseminating, evaluating).

  • Co-creation is about bringing diverse groups of people with different experiences, skills and knowledge together, united around a common aim/issue/challenge, to work in collective and non-hierarchical ways.

  • Co-creation is any artistic process in which creative responsibility, authority and agency are shared.

  • Co-creation is working together for the same purpose, aims and outputs ensuring that a project can achieve a strong legacy and have a positive impact on people’s lives.