Creswell Crags and OPUS Music are new beneficiaries as Arts Council England invests £43.5million in Derbyshire

Creswell Crags and OPUS Music, which is based in Blackwell, are newcomers to be supported by the award which boosts spending in areas where cultural investment and opportunity are too low.

Creswell Heritage Trust, the charity that manages and maintains Creswell Crags, has been awarded a total of £1,075,125 in funding which will be rolled out over three years from April 2023. The trust looks after the caves, collections and museum at the site on the Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire border.

Visitors can expect to see new installations at Creswell Crags, including a new Ice Age settlement. This settlement will enable visitors to explore human adaptation and the evolution of tools and technology, as well as getting the opportunity to learn the skills and technologies of Ice Age hunters. Activities will be delivered in person and through new digital content.

OPUS Music has been awarded £145,000 a year for the next three years to build on its music-making opportunities for people across the East Midlands. This includes music-making to benefit the wellbeing of patients in healthcare settings, from premature babies to elderly care home residents.

Both Creswell Crags and OPUS Music come under the remit of Bolsover and North East Derbyshire which are in Arts Council England’s Levelling Up for Culture Places in Derbyshire.

Paul Baker, director of Creswell Heritage Trust said: “Achieving National Portfolio Status has been a long-term ambition for Creswell Crags. This funding will enable us to work with our community in exciting new ways. Our story is deeply rooted in the stories of human behaviour and survival which translate to contemporary issues such as climate change, migration and species extinction, and our plan is to work with visitors in creative ways to explore these themes.. This funding provides crucial investment into Creswell Crags for the next three years and offers essential support for our team to keep delivering the brilliant work they do, as well as enabling them to work with our visitors in new ways. This is an exciting time in the history of Creswell Crags, and we can’t wait to get started.”

Arts Council England has increased its financial support for Chesterfield based Junction Arts, which will be allocated £252,431 for each of the three years. The funding will enable a new Children’s Festival and an expanded programme of work in Bolsover, Chesterfield and North-East Derbyshire.

Arts, culture and creativity throughout Derbyshire will be boosted to the tune of £43.5million over the next three years under Arts Council England’s latest round of funding.

Peter Knott, area director, Arts Council England said: “We’re delighted to unveil our ambitious new portfolio reaching more people in more places across Derbyshire than ever before. Derbyshire already boasts a vibrant cultural scene with an international reputation for excellence and we look forward to supporting more opportunities for even more communities across the region to experience creativity on their doorsteps.”