"Chesterfield has got talent in spades" Community invited to see achievements of project awarded £80,000 by Arts Council
Creativity is thriving in community centres, venues and hubs in and around Chesterfield. However, many people are unaware of the artistic skills that exist outside the immediate area where they live.
Professional artist Lucie Maycock said: "Chesterfield has got talent in spades - we just need to be more visible and make the arts feel more tangible for people. Once you find these pockets of creativity and culture, and you meet the right people and you continue to uncover more.”
Lucie is on the steering group of a democratic collaboration named Creative Revolution Chesterfield which brings together cultural, educational and community partners to enhance everyday access to arts and culture. She said: “Our mission is to make sure that everybody has an opportunity to engage in culture and creativity in Chesterfield.”
The partnership was awarded £80,000 by the Arts Council in 2025, following a successful application which was drawn up by Lucie.
This financial backing enabled the recruitment of coordinator Kate Burns, marketing officer Lisa Price and assistant Charlie Hotchkiss to support the roll out of a project.
Lisa said: "The project is for the people of Chesterfield. It's about getting involved, coming along and having a go at something creative or sharing something creative. It's for everybody."
Working with young people is a key element of the project which was launched in spring 2025. Lisa said: "We form partnerships with local schools with paid opportunities for artists to go in and work with schools on a creative programme, everything from poetry to puppetry, willowcraft and visual art. Hundreds of children have been able to participate in these workshops."
Pupils in nine primary and infant schools in Chesterfield, Brimington, Tupton, Staveley and Barrow Hill and students at Chesterfield College have taken part or will be taking part in the workshops during the project.
A monthly artists jam at new creative venue Open Hus at 81A Saltergate supports anyone in a creative role, such as painters, dancers, writers and poets, and attracts upwards of 15 participants each month. Lucie said: "We've had college leavers and people who have retired but are practising their own art forms professionally or in a personal capacity."
The project also backs a youth voice group called YouSpeak Creatives which meets on the third Monday of the month at Monkey Park community hub, Brampton. Young people, aged 13 to 25, share their views about creativity in Chesterfield and explore different career options. Lucie said: "That same group was instrumental in coming up with the name Creative Revolution. They were also involved in the branding which was co-developed and co-designed by Kelly Sheldon of 13 Bends Design."
Project assistant Charlie, a 23-year-old guitarist, has a key role in the team. Lucie said: "With Charlie, we wanted to make sure the voice of young people was represented which is why we started the youth group and recruited a young person for the assistant role. One of our values is making sure the younger generations are coming through and being supported and heard." Charlie said: "Joining the project, it felt very obvious that my opinion is valued."
The achievements of young people involved in the project will be showcased in four events which draw all the strands together.
Lisa said: "We're inviting the community to come together, be part of the partnership and celebrate creativity in Chesterfield."
Chesterfield College will host the first of these pop-up events in their Heart Space on March 14. There will be contributions from schools, college students, community groups and artists. Creative workshops will also be a feature of the day.
Similar celebrations will be held in Barrow Hill on April 8, The Rectory in Chesterfield on May 27 and in Staveley on June 20.
All four pop-up events will run from 11am until 2pm.
Ann Formukong-Boden, an electronic engineer and member of the steering group, said: "I think we're the only cultural education partnership in the UK that are grassroots led. We all work directly with our community, either our local community geographic or community of interest. There are other cultural education partnerships nationally who are hosted or embedded within a large cultural organisation.
"With the amount of creativity that is going on within Chesterfield, it feels like the decision makers at the council are now starting to recognise creativity and how important it actually is to the community with some of the projects they've done. It feels like we're at the start of something pretty big and special."
Ann is a director of Kakou CIC which runs workshops focusing on science, technology, engineering, mathematics and creative arts. She said: "Being part of Creative Revolution and being part of the steering group is an extension of something that we're doing with Kakou already."
Natalie Peace and Donna Booth of Community Growth CIC, the former lead organisation of the partnership, and Simon Redding of Barrow Hill Community Trust and Monkey Park CIC are among the steering group's core partners.
The project will run until October 2026, with Creative Revolution’s drive continuing beyond that date. Lucie said: “We’re hoping to use the momentum that we’ve gathered over the last year to look at the partnership widening as a whole with lots of different partners and potentially looking at a larger pot of funding in the future to sustain that. The dream would be to have core members of staff on the payroll for the partnership as well as the specific project.”