Open Weekend is back for 2025 – we want as many businesses, groups and organisations as possible to take part. Join in the fifth year of our vibrant, Bucks-wide event full of creative activities to try out and have a go! This year we will hold Open Weekend at the end of August – 28th-31st August 2025.
Are you a creative business, cultural organisation or artist looking to reach new audiences, test fresh ideas, and connect with like-minded organisations? Open Weekend is your opportunity to showcase your work, engage with communities, and grow your presence across Buckinghamshire.
With stories and nature as this year’s theme, you can inspire audiences with unique experiences that bring creativity to life. From ancient folklore and myth to personal reflections and artistic expressions, stories shape the way we experience nature—and nature, in turn, fuels our imagination and creativity. For creative businesses, this is more than an event—it’s an opportunity.
Taking part in Open Weekend is a great way to celebrate creativity, encourage people to try something new and be part of a county-wide showcase. How will you tell your story? Join us and make your mark on Open Weekend 2025.
Buckinghamshire Culture is pleased to be able to give out a limited amount of micro grants to support Open Weekend activities and to help make them accessible to all – find out more on our website.
Buckinghamshire Culture acts as an umbrella organisation for independently planned events presented by partner organisations. Getting involved and registering an event brings advantages for the organisers, including: a central ‘What’s On’ page, hosted by Bucks Culture, umbrella marketing, being part of a county-wide event. knowledge exchange and networking with other organisers.
This programme is supported through funding from Buckinghamshire Council and Rothschild Foundation and is delivered with support from Buckinghamshire Council.
Our pool of connected creative and cultural organisations, creatives and freelancers has grown considerably since Bucks Culture began in 2019. In light of this we have been reviewing the best way to work together and support collaboration within the county.
Bucks Culture is excited to propose a refreshed partnership structure aimed at fostering deeper collaboration and amplifying the impact of the cultural sector in Buckinghamshire. This strategic evolution provides a dynamic framework to convene cultural leaders, organisations, and creatives, enabling a robust and thriving cultural landscape.
Introducing: the Bucks Cultural Consortium
At the heart of this renewed approach is the Bucks Cultural Consortium, a think-tank designed to provide strategic sector input, leadership, and support for creative delivery. This consortium brings together leading cultural organisations, venues, health partners, educational institutions, local councils, and independent creatives.
The Consortium aims to:
Enable cross-sector collaboration and strengthen existing networks.
Elevate the profile of Buckinghamshire’s cultural sector, attracting funding and investment.
Support talent development from grassroots to established professionals.
Develop funding relationships and explore new opportunities
Foster creative partnerships that drive innovation nurturing access and inclusion.
In time we aim to establish two dedicated working groups focussed on:
Strategic Development & Best Practice – Showcasing cultural excellence, identifying thematic conference content and advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) initiatives. Linking to Access and Inclusion Manifesto, Stories and our regular Conference.
Funding, Outreach & Commercialisation – Exploring fundraising strategies, creative collaborative projects and embedding work in community settings.
Introducing: the Creative Culture Network
Recognising the unique challenges faced by small-scale arts organisations, micro-businesses, and independent creatives, Bucks Culture’s Creative and Cultural Network provides structured opportunities to build capacity, develop income streams, and enhance digital presence.
The network will operate through a number of open Sector Networking events each year, alongside two dedicated, peer-development workstreams:
Marketing & Digital Strategy – Helping participants craft compelling pitches, navigate digital tools, and optimise online presence. Linking to Sector Development Sessions.
Fundraising & Commercialisation – Equipping creatives with the skills to secure funding and develop new revenue streams.
Session dates are released over the year, blending online and in-person formats to maximise accessibility and engagement.
This evolution and formalisation of our network and partnership model does not preclude ad hoc meetings, forming project or issues-based groups or meetings, or other ways of working. We hope it will make communications more relevant and ensure that we are offering different services and opportunities relevant to need and capacity.
Let us know what you think...
Bucks Culture invites strategic partners, cultural leaders, and creatives to commit to these initiatives, attend working groups, and actively shape the cultural landscape of Buckinghamshire. By working together, we can increase sector impact, attract investment, and build a sustainable future for culture in the county.
To express interest or suggest topics for upcoming sessions, please get in touch. We look forward to collaborating with you to create a vibrant and inclusive cultural ecosystem in Bucks.
In November 2024, at our Cultural Collaboration Conference, Bucks Culture ran the first ever Bucks Spark Awards designed to showcase the great work that is taking place in our cultural sector. The judges where impressed by the quality of the submissions received and struggled to choose the winners. The submissions we received spanned the breadth of cultural delivery in our county:
From grass roots delivery to Paralympic heritage, blind-folded baroque experiences to street murals. Heritage-meets-astronomy, to a chair festival, open studios and diverse stories. Revealing hidden artists and a smatter of Shakespeare, music for care, dance for youth, writing from Marlow, and exploring Bucks landscape through a fine art lens…
We welcomed award-winning author, Claire Fuller to make the awards and Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire, Lady Howe to present the Judges’ Discretionary Award.
The Awards were made as follows:
Best collaboration
This award recognizes the best project, event or activity that has been delivered collaboratively (by at least two entities) to promote Buckinghamshire’s culture.
Winner – Vache Baroque and Milton’s Cottage
Runner up – Bucks Youth Dance Co and Wycombe Youth Action
Best exhibition
This award recognises excellence in exhibitions or displays related to an aspect of Buckinghamshire’s culture. It could include a new permanent exhibition or a temporary exhibition.
Winner – Fractured Land Collective
Runner up – Amersham Museum
Best Event
This award recognises excellence in a one-off event that has promoted Buckinghamshire’s culture. The event could have taken place digitally, within its own site, or at another location.
Winner – Unbound
Runner up – Astronomy UK
Judges discretionary award for ‘Contribution to Culture in Bucks’
This award was made at the Judges’ discretion and in respect of the scale and longevity of this particular Bucks event, celebrating its 40th year in 2025.
Winner – Bucks Art Weeks
We would like to thank every one who took the time to prepare and submit an application to the first ever Bucks Spark Awards, as well as our panel of Judges, and Claire Fuller and Lady Howe for presenting the awards.
The categories and shortlist for this first year of Bucks Spark Awards were:
Best cultural event:
UK Astronomy’s Planetarium at Stowe
Unbound Theatre’s Buckinghamshire Shakespeare Festival
Visual Images Group’s Bucks Art Weeks
Best cultural exhibition:
Amersham Museum’s Marie-Louise in Amersham exhibition
Fractured Land Collective’s Fractured Land exhibition
Marlow Museum’s Writers of Marlow exhibition
National Paralympic Heritage Trust’s The Story of the Games display
South Asian Artists’ Community’s Kaleidoscope exhibition
Best cultural collaboration:
Buckinghamshire Council’s Local Heritage List
Bucks Youth Dance Company and Wycombe Youth Action’s Express Yourself project
Chiltern Music Therapy and English Sinfonia’s Safe in Sound project
Decreate and Hughenden’s Easter Family Art Trail
National Paralympic Heritage Trust’s Global Virtual Museum
Milton’s Cottage and Vache Baroque’s Visionaries: a multi-sensory experience
Wycombe Museum and Chalk, Cherries and Chair’s Chiltern Chairs Festival.
All of the submissions we received were of an extremely high quality and judging has been very hard. Our judging panel consists of:
Professor Sri-Kartini Leet, Head of School of Art and Performing Arts at Buckinghamshire New University
Daniel Williams, County and Diocesan Archivist at Buckinghamshire Archives
Pablo Colella, Director and Lead Consultant at Disconnected Bodies
Julius Weinberg, Co-Chair at Buckinghamshire Culture.
Pablo Colella said: “I was blown away by the calibre of the submissions for Bucks Spark Awards this year, I am so impressed by the range of events and activities that are taking place in the county. I feel really lucky to have been selected as the community panel member for the Awards judging.”
The Bucks Culture Creative Collaboration Conference took place in November 2024. The Conference successfully brought together professionals, creatives, and community leaders to explore the power of collaboration in the arts. Held at the newly opened Garsington Studios, the event provided an inspiring setting for insightful discussions, creative exploration, and networking opportunities. The conference aimed to facilitate meaningful conversations on the challenges and joys of creative collaboration while fostering new partnerships to enhance cultural engagement across Buckinghamshire.
The venue provided a beautiful backdrop to a cultural event that invited audiences to share insight into practice and disseminate learning to support future collaboration whilst providing opportunity for creative exploration.
The event was well attended and allowed Bucks Culture to work closely with new partners. The event supported sector-wide conversations surrounding the challenges and joys of creative collaboration both within the sector and beyond, and examined what it means to co-create with communities. The conference was established with the intention to connect, collaborate and co-create, an outcome we continue to pursue in the delivery of Buckinghamshire’s Cultural Strategy. Our 2024 event incorporated the inaugural Bucks Spark Award Ceremony, now set to be a regular feature of the cultural calendar.
We are proposing that future conferences be developed by a small group of key strategic partners working together to shape the format and programme the conference read more about the conference and feel free to send us your suggestions.
Process
Our partners, the board, the creative sector and the internal team were invited to make suggestions for the programme during board meetings, lead-in sector development sessions, and via the newsletter with a call for contributions surveyed online.
In addition to the open invitation for contributions the development of the programme was informed by feedback and evaluation from 2023, aiming to capture suggestions and implement changes to build a model better suited to the needs of audiences.
Three Words Analysis
This is what Chat GPT thought of responses to our ‘what 3 words describe your experience’ question.
The responses to the “three words” question reflect overwhelmingly positive experiences, with key themes emerging:
1. Inspiration & Engagement
Many attendees described the event as inspiring, engaging, thought-provoking, and enlightening. This suggests that the conference successfully delivered fresh perspectives and meaningful discussions, resonating with participants on both an intellectual and emotional level.
2. Networking & Connection
Words like welcoming, friendly, vibrant, connection, and collaborative indicate that the event fostered an inclusive and supportive environment for attendees to interact, share ideas, and build relationships.
3. Learning & Insight
Terms such as informative, insightful, educational, and paradigm-shifting reinforce the idea that the event provided valuable knowledge and challenged conventional ways of thinking.
4. Energy & Atmosphere
Words like dynamic, lively, fun, happy, and exciting suggest a positive and high-energy atmosphere, making the experience enjoyable beyond just the formal content.
5. Areas for Improvement
A few words, such as inaccessible, poorly attended, and tiring, indicate that some participants experienced challenges, possibly around accessibility, turnout, or event pacing. These could be key areas to address in future iterations.
Overall Takeaway
The conference was largely seen as an engaging and enriching experience, successfully fostering inspiration, connection, and learning.
Championing the work of women from the cultural sector and identifying how our work can support women from all walks of life as we work towards a more equitable society for all.
On the 6th of March Bucks Culture hosted the inaugural Women of Culture Event in celebration of International Women’s Day. The event, hosted at the Elgiva Theatre in Chesham, saw women and allies from across the sector come together to explore issues faced by women and champion the work of women in the cultural sector.
Audiences were treated to an interactive workshop led by Rosie Axon, Founder and Director at Chiltern Music Therapy and Betty Makharinsky Founder and CEO at Vache Baroque. This musical session explored the role of female voice in music, from the exclusion of female artists in the Baroque era to how the song, Bread and Roses, became the slogan of a political movement calling for safety, shelter and better living standards for all. Delegates were in full voice and the Forum at the Elgiva was filled with not only sunshine but the beautiful sound of an entirely female choir.
‘Love our new girl band’ gleefully expressed post workshop by an attendee, testament to the joy of participation. This could be the start of something new for Bucks.
We were delighted to hear from Vicky Hope-Walker, CEO at National Paralympic Heritage Trust (NPHT) and valued Board Member at Bucks Culture. Vicky spoke of her creative journey to CEO at NPHT. From training in creative arts to implementing socially inspired programmes as a freelancer leading to the eventual establishment of NPHT. Vicky’s presentation took us on a journey through time celebrating the great work and discoveries of female leaders from across Bucks and beyond.
From one inspirational leader to another, our very own, Lallie Davis, Director at Bucks Culture, shared howWomen of Cultureprovided opportunity to celebrate and champion women around the world alongside the cultural sector in Bucks, with a lens to the past, a moment in the present, and an eye to the future. The event provided time for networking and opportunity to come together to discuss the wider issues faced by women and the communities we work with.
Bucks Culture’s first International Women’s Day event is something Lallie has been intending to convene for a long time. International Women’s Day has been taking place annually on the 8th March since 1911. The day is dedicated to the advancement of women worldwide and belongs to all who care about women’s equality.
Sadly, in a rapidly changing World, women are often most affected by some of our most pressing issues: migration, poverty and climate change.
In the cultural sector we are in the amazing position to be working in an impactful way to implement change for the communities we work with. Our work in community settings serves to uncover inequalities, raise the profile of challenges, and bring people together armed with art and creativity as a tool for engagement and a catalyst for change.
Stories, music, visual arts, poetry, crafts and events, all play a role in reaching people and bringing them together. In difficult times, this role is of more importance than ever.
Notes on Accelerating Action from Lallie Davis, Director at Buckinghamshire Culture
This year’s International Women’s Day theme, accelerate action, is about how we can collectively Accelerate Action for women everywhere by addressing systemic barriers and biases women face in both personal and professional spheres.
Despite everything,
the World Economic Forum says full gender parity is still five generations away[i].
87% of men in paid work are full-time workers, whereas only 59% of women are in paid full-time work[ii].
Women are now 47% of those in employment but are still the majority of those in part-time employment[iii].
Employment rates of Bangladeshi and Pakistani women still lag behind that of other groups[iv].
The Gender pay gap has increased to 8.9% since 2018, while overall pay gap has decreased to 17.3%[v].
Women account for 69% of low earners, a proportion that has barely changed since 2018(70%) and that has remained constant since 2011[vi] (69%)
Women continue to encounter numerous challenges, including:
Health Inequities: Studies show that women’s pain is often dismissed, leading to delayed diagnoses and inadequate treatment. The Sun
Mental Health Struggles: Research indicates that young women experience higher levels of mental distress compared to their male counterparts, influenced by societal pressures and gender-based discrimination. The Australian
What steps can you take today to challenge gender biases?
How can you support the women in your community more effectively?
In what ways can your workplace promote a culture of inclusivity and equality?[vii]
Tree of Insight and Intentions
Attendees shared thoughts and plans, writing a tag for our Tree of Insight and Intention sharing how to accommodate female audiences and pledges for the future to accelerate action!
As shared below
I pledge to actively praise and elevate my team of women, recognising their strengths, input and skill sets. I could not do my job without them.
I pledge to make space for more women to devise and lead on projects! + being aware of added barriers to intersectionality.
I do and will celebrate the women who came before us, paved the way for us to help and inspire the women who will follow us.
My intention is to promote fiction and non fiction written by women (esp from Bucks)when possible. Look at heritage of Bucks born writers e.g. Enid Blyton
I pledge to create more spaces for women to come together to be creative.
Seek out ways to make links with the local British Asian Community of Women.
Write and create more female characters to explore and present female perspectives. Continuing to connect with and champion female causes.
I pledge to promote and embrace female artists.
Continuing my recent exhibition work concerning, Childhood Lost, by sponsoring a young female street child in Kolkata.
I pledge to learn more about women’s businesses locally that I can promote.
Providing community, supportive inclusive and fun activities.
We are delighted to connect with and hear from women working across Buckinghamshire, working in collaboration to reach communities, support each other’s endeavours and ensure that women’s issues are included in our work and programmes.
Please do get in touch with ideas for future programmes, recommend speakers and to keep us up to date with your work.
We are looking for an Administrator to join our small team. This is a role for someone with good organisational skills and who enjoys helping to make events and projects happen. It would be a good role for some one just starting out in the cultural sector, someone returning to work, or someone looking to be a vital part of a small creative team.
The Administrator will support essential elements of Bucks Culture’s business, including operations, finance, data collection and impact measurement, sector support and projects delivery. We support flexible working and are open to how the hours are delivered but will require some time at the beginning of each week to be spent at our office within Buckinghamshire New University’s High Wycombe campus.
As well as assisting with the day to day running of the charity, this role will champion Bucks Culture, ensuring excellent communication with partners and potential partners, raising the charity’s profile and reach.
To apply, please start by reading through the Administrator Job Description:
A covering statement sharing what you would bring to the role and how your skills and experience would benefit Buckinghamshire Culture
Your CV
You may apply in writing (covering statement to be no more than 2 A4 sides) or by sharing a video (no longer than 10 minutes) or audio recording (no longer than 10 minutes) covering all of these points.
Interviews will take place 28th and 29th April.
Please feel free to contact the Director (Lallie@buckinghamshireculture.org) if you would like to discuss this opportunity before applying.
Bucks Culture is proud to present Women of Culture, a networking and celebratory event in honor of International Women’s Day, bringing together women from Buckinghamshire’s cultural sector. This gathering offers a space to connect, exchange ideas, and champion women’s contributions in arts, heritage, and creative industries.
Join us on the 6th of March, in a space for Connection, Reflection, and Inspiration
More than just networking, Women of Culture is a space for reflection, discussion, and collaboration. Through engaging activities and thought-provoking conversations, we’ll explore women’s leadership, representation, and creative expression. While designed with women in mind, men are welcome as allies in fostering an inclusive, supportive sector.
Meet the Inspirational Women Leading the Conversation
At the heart of Women of Cultureare the inspiring voices of three incredible female leaders in Buckinghamshire’s cultural sector, each bringing a unique perspective on leadership, creativity, and advocacy for inclusion.
Rosie Axon, Founder of Chiltern Music Therapy, an advocate for music’s power in transforming lives. Betty Makharinsky, Founder of Vache Baroque, making Baroque music and drama more accessible. Vicky Hope-Walker, CEO of National Paralympic Heritage Trust, championing inclusion in arts and heritage.
Exploring Women’s Leadership, Voice & Expression
Rosie, Betty, and Vicky will lead a dynamic, interactive session that blends storytelling, music, and discussion, offering valuable insight into what it means to be a leader in the cultural sector.
Through artist-led activities and participatory sessions, the event will explore the significance of the female voice in music, movement, and leadership. Attendees will gain inspiration from the Female Founder Journey, where Rosie and Betty will share their experiences in building and sustaining cultural organisations, while Vicky will offer a deeper perspective on leading inclusion-focused initiatives and advocating for greater representation in the sector.
A Collective Commitment to Change
A key moment in the event will be The Tree of Insight & Intentions, where participants will have the opportunity to share how they have adapted their work to better support women in their fields and make a pledge for future action.
The event will close with informal networking over tea and coffee, providing a space to continue conversations, forge new connections, and build a stronger, more collaborative creative community in Buckinghamshire.
We are currently exploring the idea of a new programme to celebrate and promote the creative and cultural industries across Bucks, with the working title, Made in Bucks. This new piece of R&D, inspired by our Co-Chair Julius Weinberg’s vision to “make Buckinghamshire sticky,” will reflect and celebrate the unique cultural identity of Bucks.
We are keen to hear your thoughts about how we could better celebrate and harness the creative industries across the county – in terms of profile, career pathways and vibrancy. Please see the ‘Made in Bucks One Pager’ below for more details and review the attached project outline. We’d love your feedback—share your thoughts through our brief questionnaire by Monday, 9th of December by scanning the QR code at the bottom of the page or click here.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to our consultant, Jacqui Gellman, at jacqui.gellman@gmail.com.
Bucks Culture is excited to present the first ever Bucks Spark Awards created to showcase and celebrate arts, heritage and cultural achievements delivered by fantastic, hard-working organisations and voluntary groups within the county. Submissions for work taking place in the last year were invited across three categories and we are now able to share the inspiring shortlist.
The categories and shortlist for this first year of Bucks Spark Awards are:
Best cultural event:
UK Astronomy’s Planetarium at Stowe
Unbound Theatre’s Buckinghamshire Shakespeare Festival
Visual Images Group’s Bucks Art Weeks
Best cultural exhibition:
Amersham Museum’s Marie-Louise in Amersham exhibition
Fractured Land Collective’s Fractured Land exhibition
Marlow Museum’s Writers of Marlow exhibition
National Paralympic Heritage Trust’s The Story of the Games display
South Asian Artists’ Community’s Kaleidoscope exhibition
Best cultural collaboration:
Buckinghamshire Council’s Local Heritage List
Bucks Youth Dance Company and Wycombe Youth Action’s Express Yourself project
Chiltern Music Therapy and English Sinfonia’s Safe in Sound project
Decreate and Hughenden’s Easter Family Art Trail
National Paralympic Heritage Trust’s Global Virtual Museum
Milton’s Cottage and Vache Baroque’s Visionaries: a multi-sensory experience
Wycombe Museum and Chalk, Cherries and Chair’s Chiltern Chairs Festival.
All of the submissions we received were of an extremely high quality and judging has been very hard. Our judging panel consists of:
Professor Sri-Kartini Leet, Head of School of Art and Performing Arts at Buckinghamshire New University
Daniel Williams, County and Diocesan Archivist at Buckinghamshire Archives
Pablo Colella, Director and Lead Consultant at Disconnected Bodies
Julius Weinberg, Co-Chair at Buckinghamshire Culture.
Pablo Colella said: “I was blown away by the calibre of the submissions for Bucks Spark Awards this year, I am so impressed by the range of events and activities that are taking place in the county. I feel really lucky to have been selected as the community panel member for the Awards judging.”
The winners and runners-up will be announced at Bucks Culture’s Conference on 7th November, with awards presented by award winning author Claire Fuller and Lord-Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire, Countess Howe.
We are so excited to share these cultural moments and achievements with partners, colleagues and friends in the sector. We aim to build a supportive creative community to celebrate these successes and the value that the cultural sector brings to our county and its residents.
Do you have the passion, expertise and collaborative approach to help steer our charity into it’s next phase?
Bucks Culture is seeking a new Co-Chair to serve alongside Julius Weinberg, leading our Board of Trustees. We have a model of two Chair-persons serving together, each bringing different knowledge and experience to the role. Bill Morris joined Bucks Culture in 2019 and has been a fantastic support, a knowledgeable guide and a great person to work with – we will miss him! However, Bill’s other commitments require more and more of his time and he is keen to handover his role as Co-Chair around the end of 2024.
We are seeking a collaborative person that can be a champion and guide for Bucks Culture as it evolves from a fledgling charity into its next phase.
If you think you might be interested in this role, please take a look at the Role Description below. We are requesting expressions of interest by: 9am, 16th September 2024.
If you would like to speak to Lallie, our Director or Julius, our ongoing Co-Chair about the role, please email Lallie: Lallie@buckinghamshireculture.org to arrange a conversation.
Elgiva Theatre, St Mary’s Way, Chesham HP5 1HR
Booking Link: 
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