East Durham Trust

LATEST NEWS

Great Exhibition of the North is a big hit with East Durham Residents!

On the 30th August, 41 East Durham residents jumped on a coach to go and see the Great Exhibition of the North in Newcastle and Gateshead- a city wide celebration of Northern art and culture this summer. The 'Go and See' was part of our East Durham Creates project, aiming to increase levels of arts participation in East Durham. The day began at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, where the group were given a guided tour of the Idea of the North exhibition, themed around Northern Identity. They then got the chance to watch a film screening at the Sage of the animation Bridges, which followed characters on their journey down the River Tyne, interacting with the bridges on the way through a musical accompaniment written and performed by Northern Sinphonia. This was followed by a sneak peek at the concert spaces in the Sage and a guided tour explaining the history of the building. For the final activities of the day the group split in two, with half visiting the Side Gallery to see the photographic exhibition About the North: Imagined Dialogues. The Curator of the exhibition shared insights about what’s involved in putting on a photography exhibition like this. The other half of the group experienced Aeons a sound walk along the Newcastle quayside in which music and spoken word was triggered by passing locations on the walk- many found the experience incredibly moving! Comments from participants about how the day made them feel included; 'Less Depressed' and 'made me feel more confident'.

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East Durham Trust launches Lets Create commissioning scheme

At East Durham Trust Membership meeting today we launched our latest Let's Create Commissioning scheme. The scheme will fund up to £2,000 for local community Groups or Individual Artists. The project which is part of East Durham Creates aims to increase new people involvement in the arts. Application and Guidance can be downloaded here:

Application Form
Guidance Notes

If you would like to discuss a proposal or require additional information please contact Colin at East Durham Trust on 0191 5693511 or email colin.jackson@eastdurhamtrust.org.uk

East Durham Trust Membership Meeting

East Durham Trust will be holding our next membership meeting on Monday 30th July 2018 at 10:00am at Seaton Holme, Hall Walks, Easington Village, SR8 3BS. As well as a range of interesting business opportunities for Community groups and a section on ‘Community Giveaways’ we will be taking the opportunity to formally launch the Arts engagement project ‘Let’s Create’ for 2018-19.

We hope to see you there.

Couch to 5K runners complete gruelling Castle Eden Dene Run for Run East Durham Project

Hundreds of people took part in a grueling 5k trail run through Peterlee's Castle Eden Dene on the 20th June.

The event was part of the Run East Durham project, which is attempting to increase levels of physical activity in the area. The project is funded by County Durham Community Foundation and many of the runners have been working up to the 5k challenge with training sessions held in communities across East Durham, as part of our 'Couch to 5K' programme.

The runners did amazingly well, with everyone making it to the top of the infamous 'heart attack hill'. There were lots of great stories from the runners, many of whom had never done anything like this before. For example it was Margaret's 70th birthday as well as her first 5k run! Even the East Durham Trust staff got involved and have been training together and motivating each other in the office. It seems that the run has inspired many to keep up their training and in some cases join running clubs or become run leaders for the next phase of the project.

Runners were also asked to bring donations to our food bank as part of their entry to the race. We were staggered by the amount of donations we received and are truly grateful for everyone's support.

Trust Launches Exciting New Social Inclusion Project

East Durham Trust today launched the “Walk Together” programme that will see over 40 walks staged across the district with over 300 people taking part. The project is funded by County Durham Community Foundation as part of their “Enriching Later Life” initiative and is aimed at promoting physical activity and tackling social isolation.

Chief Executive Malcolm Fallow explained, “Research shows that as people approach later life their social networks and contact with others reduces. Ultimately this can lead to issues around loneliness and affect mental wellbeing- this project is looking to simply give people the opportunity to mix whilst getting a degree of physical exercise at the same time”.

The walks will be aimed at people aged over 50 and will start and finish at local community venues- always ending with a cup of tea!

Margaret Vaughan from the County Durham Community Foundation explained “As most people are aware County Durham has an aging population and it is great to be in a position to support an initiative that seeks to provide a vital social connection for people”.

Anyone interested in finding out more about the project should contact the Project Co-ordinator Alison Pattison on 0191 5693511.

Young People Watch Birdsong at Gala Theatre

A group of 10 young people went to watch an incredible performance of Sebastian Faulks's Birdsong at the Gala Theatre in Durham, as part of the launch of our 'No More Nowt Happens' project, aiming to get young people more involved in staging arts events in East Durham. The group had a fantastic time and were incredibly moved by the performance. They were also treated to a backstage tour of the sets after the performance and an opportunity to talk to people from the Gala Theatre about different career paths and the process of putting on a show. They learnt about sound, lighting, props and other aspects of the theatre. The group left feeling very inspired!

Go and See - Hull: UK City of Culture 2018

Delegation from East Durham Experiences The Impact!

Almost 40 residents from East Durham took part in a fact-finding visit to Hull which is the UK City of Culture for 2018. The delegation was part of our East Durham Creates 'Go and See' Programme and included people from all walks of life in our community...