February 2017

Wirksworth Heritage Centre are seeking new Trustees

Wirksworth Heritage Centre is an independent heritage charity, based in Wirksworth, a town with a strong sense of community and an important history.
 
We are looking for 3 new Trustees to help take the centre into an exciting future over the next five years.
 
We are developing a new heritage centre building for Wirksworth, with a confirmed grant of £1.3Million from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to help us tell the story of Wirksworth through excellent visitor and community facilities, education programmes, events and exhibitions.
 

Arts Award Access Fund (England)

The next deadline for applications to the Arts Award Access Fund is the 3rd March 2017. Grants of £100 to £1500 are available to Arts Award centres in England that are working with young people for whom access and inclusion is an issue. This can include:

  • Young people with a disability
  • Learning difficulties
  • Special educational needs; etc.

The aim of the grants is to enable Arts Award Centres to pilot, embed or develop their Arts Award work with these groups. The funding can be used for a range of activities, including:

Coalfields Regeneration Trust Community Investment Programme opens for applications (England)

The Coalfields Regeneration Trust has announced that the Coalfields Community Investment Programme is now open for applications. This is £500,000 created to support activities that tackle some of the key challenges that still remain in coalfield communities. The Coalfields Community Investment Programme make grants of up to £10,000 (£2,000 for capital costs) to community groups that address one or more of the following themes:

An Opportunity from Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce Derby is looking for one day community projects for teams of various sizes to undertake around Derby/Derbyshire.  Maybe your charity or local community group has just the right opportunity for their employees?  

Historically they have undertaken a good deal of conservation work but the teams are keen to explore any ideas you might have.

Rolls-Royce teams usually range from ten to forty people and can sometimes offer a budget to pay for materials and resources to help deliver the project.

Event Highlights Importance of English and Maths in the Workplace

A wide range of local businesses joined an event organised by Derby College to reiterate to students the importance of English and maths in the workplace.

Employers ranging from hairdressing to construction organised practical activities at the event at the Roundhouse to highlight how their staff use English and maths in their jobs.

Prince’s Trust Team In Line For National Award

Staff from Derby College and a group of local young people have reached the finals of the Prince’s Trust annual Celebrate Success awards which will be presented at the London Palladium on March 15 and hosted by television presenters Ant and Dec.

Paralympic Star Prepares For Ironman Challenge With HUUB Events

Paralympic, World and European swimming medallist Tim Reddish CBE, who is chair of the British Paralympic Association, has signed up for three local events organised by Derby-based HUUB Events in preparation for his bid to compete in his first Ironman competition.

Mr Reddish was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa at the age of 31 and lost all useful sight seven years later.  He regained some artificial vision in 2013 when he underwent pioneering surgery to have an artificial retina inserted into his eye.

Searching for a star Dog

Does your pet dog have what it takes to be an opera star? Has your dog got star quality?

If your pet pooch is the canine equivalent of Brad Pitt or Scarlett Johansson, then they could win a place in the spotlight in the beautiful and romantic opera La bohème, coming to Buxton Opera House on 26 March 2017.

Get Creative Weekend - get involved

What is it?

This April, arts and culture organisations, community groups, societies and artists are coming together to give everyone a chance to get creative.

Get Creative is a weekend of free activities - from music to dance, photography to creative writing, painting to crafting and everything arty in between.

How do I get involved?

Midlands Dancer Returns to Region in Breathtaking Show: Africarmen

For one date only, on Thursday 16 March, Tavaziva perform their breath taking interpretation of the Carmen story at Déda, Derby’s Creative Centre for Dance, Contemporary Circus and Outdoor Work.  

Africarmen is an interpretation of the renowned Carmen story; played out through the entanglement of desire, deceit and corruption in an African township where military corruption is rife, Carmen dangerously and defiantly ignores all warnings in the perusal of a better life but finally succumbs to a tragic end.

Timms Solicitors Expands Dementia Friends Support

Timms Solicitors is hoping to develop Derby Cathedral Quarter into a dementia friendly community by raising awareness of the condition amongst its fellow businesses.

Timms, which celebrates its 125th anniversary this year, is based in St Michael’s, Queen Street; Burton on Trent, Ashby de la Zouch and in Swadlincote where it has already piloted the Dementia Friends programme.

Cathedral Quarter GBHS Scores Revealed

Derby Cathedral Quarter has now had the full feedback as to the reasons why it was crowned the best city location in the prestigious Great British High Street Awards.

 The Cathedral Quarter received a total of 13,052 votes from members of the public and businesses making it the overall winner of the public vote.

In the judges’ vote, following a visit in November, the Business Improvement District (BID) scored 27 out of a possible 30 with full marks for its collaborations with key stakeholders and partnership working. 

Derby College Celebrates Higher Education Successes

Higher Education students at Derby College came under the spotlight at an awards ceremony at the Roundhouse to celebrate their success.

The keynote speaker was Peter Dawber, Dean of Nottingham Trent University’s School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment who talked about his career and stressed the importance of lifelong learning.

Dronfield Heritage Trust Seeks Festival Manager

Dronfield Heritage Trust is looking for a dynamic individual with experience in the arts and event management sector, to plan and deliver an Arts Festival across Dronfield and District in May 2018.
 
Next year, the Trust will hold the very first Dronfield Arts Festival, with events, exhibitions and activities across the arts including fine art, theatre, quality crafts and textiles, as well as music and dance. 
 

All Dance Creative Producer

Derbyshire County Council, on behalf of Arts Derbyshire, is looking for a creative producer to design and manage All Dance, a two year project celebrating the dance work of disabled people.

Please email ann.wright@derbyshire.gov.uk if you would like to receive the quotation documents.

The deadline for receipt of proposals is 11am on 6th March 2017.

New Mills Festival 2017 - Join The Programme of Events

Festival Programme 2017 - Got an event for us? Work has begun on the cultural extravaganza that will be New Mills Festival 2017.  This year's theme is "Around The World".

If you've hosted or run an event before and don't need any help the links to submit the details for your New Mills Festival 2017 event are below. This year to help you choose the best date and time for your event you can also preview all event bookings by visiting our online calendar.

BBC Get Creative at Erewash Museum in April

On Saturday 8th April, 11 – 3, the Erewash Museum and Arts Development team are holding a BBC Get Creative ‘Make Your Own Victorian Dolls House’ event. 

Visitors of all ages will be able to construct a FREE, Victorian inspired cardboard dolls house using templates. Once constructed visitors will move around the Museum and grounds to different activity stations to add in a kitchen, parlour etc finding out facts about Dalby House as they go.

Storyteller Patrick Ashcroft will be joining us throughout the day telling Rumer Godden’s tale The Dolls House.

Déda Associate Artists Clinch R&D Support

Two artists supported by Derby-based regional dance house Déda as part of its innovative Associate Artist Programme have been awarded a national grant to carry out research into contemporary dance and circus performance.

Internationally-renowned dance, acrobatic and physical theatre artists Nikki & JD have teamed up with fellow Déda Associate Artist - choreographer Ben Duke as well as contemporary dancer Ellis Saul on the research project with much of the work carried out at Déda’s studios in Chapel Street, Cathedral Quarter.

Cathedral Quarter Showcases Events

Derby’s Cathedral Quarter, which was crowned as the top city centre location in the Great British High Street awards last December, has published a programme of events, street entertainment and performances to showcase the diverse offer available in the leisure and cultural heart of the city centre.

The ‘Events and Activities in Derby’s Cathedral Quarter’ leaflet is available at Cathedral Quarter businesses, in Art Boxes across the county as well as online at www.derbycathedralquarter.co.uk

Musical Giants Take Centre Stage At Twilights Concert

Dutch conductor Frank Zielhorst will make his concert debut with East Midlands’ orchestra Sinfonia Viva at Derby Cathedral on Friday March 3.

The concert, entitled ‘A Little Symphony in F’ is the latest stage of the popular Twilights series of late afternoon and early evening performances at the Cathedral.

Twilights is a partnership between Sinfonia Viva and Derby Cathedral and has been a key element in the Cathedral’s two-year cultural audience development programme supported with a £80,000 Arts Council England grant. 

Game On For Derby Business Community

Local companies and organisations are being invited to recapture their childhoods and compete in a series of fun sporting challenges based on the traditional school sports day.

The first-ever Derby Business Games event will be held at the University of Derby Sports Centre in Kedleston Road on Thursday July 6 between 4pm and 6pm.

Fantastic Response for Great Northern Running Event Sunday March 5 2017

The fourth annual Great Northern running event in Mickleover on Sunday March 5 has already sold out of places for the 10k and half marathon distances.  There are plenty of spaces left for the 2k family fun run and people can still sign up online or enter on the day.

The GNR event has been organised again by Mickleover Cricket Club and Derby-based HUUB Events. It is named after and takes part along part of the disused Great Northern railway line in Mickleover.

New Premier Steak House to open at The Old Bell Hotel

An area of the Bell Hotel which has not been open to the Public for over thirty years is set to reopen on February 9th. The Belfry Bar which was once the haunt of Derby County footballers and up and coming millionaires referred to as "tuppence ha'penny millionaires" has been restored and will reopen as The Belfry Steak House serving a huge selection of aged steaks.