A range of new arts activities will take place across the Staffordshire Moorlands next year thanks to £26,200 of funding awarded to local artists, community groups and organisations.
Arts programme OUTSIDE has awarded 33 Creative Community Commissions to fund projects including heritage crafts, dance, workshops and festivals.
These include the creation of a unique village flag by the people of Flash, a project exploring Staffordshire Moorlands folklore through photography and cyanotype printing, and capturing the stories and memories of residents in Draycott in the Moors.
OUTSIDE’s Creative Director Sarah Bird said: “The quantity and quality of applications received for the Creative Community Commissions this year was exceptional. It was wonderful to see how many proposals had the local community and residents at the heart of activity.
“The Creative Community Commissions are a big part of OUTSIDE’s ambition to support high quality creative arts activity across the whole of the Moorlands. The selected proposals ensure a wide range of residents will benefit from these projects.”
The successful 2025 Creative Community Commissions are:
| Ale Bravo – The Day of the Dead Celebration, Staffordshire Moorlands. | Greenwood Growth – Bat trail, Leek. |
| Amy Ford – Mum’s the Word creative sessions, Leek. | Karen Hare – Leek Yarn Bombers. |
| Art UK – Tagger workshops, Leek. | Kate Dawes – Pen drawing for wellbeing workshops, Blythe Bridge and Werrington. |
| Bev Reardon – Collecting memories, Draycott in the Moors. | Leek Open Studios – Participatory workshops. |
| Biddulph Methodists – Creative workshops. | Leek Town Council War Memorial Committee – Wool for poppies display. |
| Biddulph Moor Community Association – Biddulph Moor Well Dressing Tableau. | Louie Young – Pugin After Dark Festival, Alton. |
| Biddulph Youth and Community Zone – Young women’s photo project. | Many Strands Textile Group – Scarves exhibition, Leek. |
| Bolton Gate Arts – Schools & community group arts workshops. | Moorlands Climate Action – Wassail event, Leek. |
| Borderland Voices – The Blackpool of the Potteries workshops and exhibition, Rudyard Lake. | Moorlands Climate Action Youth Action group – The Lost Words at Wild Week. |
| Brown Edge Parish Council – Brown Edge Well Dressing. | Ruby Nixon – Mapping Myths, Staffordshire Moorlands. |
| Cheadle Arts – Cheadle Arts Festival. | Stockton Brook Time and Space – Mini ‘en plein air’ art festival, Endon and Stanley. |
| Cheadle Cog – magazine printing. | The Happy Makers – creative sessions for people with additional needs, Staffordshire Moorlands. |
| Cheddleton Flint Mill Industrial Heritage Trust – Flint Garretaw: Music at the Mill. | The Rudyard Lake Trust – Volunteers’ art workshop. |
| Creative Cheadle Staffs – Outdoor creative messy sessions. | Teresa Pattison – Festival of Dance, Staffordshire Moorlands. |
| Draycott in the Moors Parish Council – Bus stop mini art galleries. | Waterhouses Youth Project – The Water That Joins Us series of events. |
| EqualBase Cheadle – Lion sculpture for The Wizard of Oz wellbeing garden. | Woolly Wednesdays – Portable weaving loom, Staffordshire Moorlands. |
| Flash Village Hall – Community flag. |
OUTSIDE is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
