Bucks Culture welcomes the Arts Council England review from Baroness Margaret Hodge. We are delighted that the suggestion we made in response to the consultation, to devolve funds to local and regional decision making boards, has been put forward. We believe this will ensure that investment in Buckinghamshire is effectively distributed to artists and cultural organisations across the county. We also support the recommendation that Councils should produce a Cultural Plan and note that Buckinghamshire has one which Bucks Culture is engaged in delivering.
As Arts Council England and DCMS share their responses to the review (end March 26), we have read each with interest. We welcome their commitment to the Arts and hope that it means effective local organisations like Bucks Culture are more involved in curating the local arts and culture environment. We are pleased to be actively engaged in discussions with DCMS about future models
We are inviting organisations and creatives across Buckinghamshire to join an online meeting to explore our proposal for Stories 2, an innovative developmental partnership that explores co-creation as a way to share local stories through creativity. Building on the success of Together We Buildbut continuing to explore creative approaches to stories and storytelling, this model will see heritage and cultural organisations paired with artists and creative practitioners to explore and share local stories in fresh and engaging ways. This project does not yet have funding, but Bucks Culture is proposing to lead a partnership application for funding.
This project will support innovative collaborations that bring personal stories and community memories to life. Oral histories are a rich source of information and inspiration, and we want to put them at the heart of this project. The Stories 2 project will enable organisations to connect with, and amplify, hidden stories and under-engaged audiences through creative approaches to storytelling, participation, and interpretation. Projects may explore existing oral history collections or generate new recordings, co-creating outputs with communities that could include exhibitions, installations, performances, digital works, workshops, or public events.
Programme Aims
Reveal and celebrate diverse voices and lived experiences within our county through inclusive creative practice.
Engage under-represented or under-engaged audiences in shaping, interpreting, and sharing heritage.
Test creative methods for working with oral histories and community memory.
Foster meaningful collaboration between heritage organisations, artists and communities.
Build skills and confidence in cross-sector partnership working.
Who Can Apply
We are beginning this process by inviting anyone interested to attend an introductory meeting, where you can learn more and explore the idea with us. A formal application process will follow. We welcome applications from arts, heritage, and culture organisations that want to explore stories and oral histories. Each application must outline a collaboration for a heritage partner and a creative/artistic partner working together. Eligible applicants include formally constituted organisations and community-led heritage groups. To apply, groups must have:
A governing document (e.g., constitution)
A committee or Board
A bank account in the organisation’s name with two signatories
Applicants may apply either:
With a creative or heritage partner already confirmed, or
Without a partner, in which case the project team can help broker a suitable collaboration.
All collaborations must work with at least one under-engaged audience group—people who currently have limited access to or participation in heritage activities due to factors such as geography, age, ethnicity, disability, socio-economic background, or cultural relevance.
Support Available
Assuming our funding application is successful, each selected partnership will receive:
Project grant: £2,000-£10,000 tbc (to cover artist fees, materials, production costs, engagement activities, and evaluation) for a 6-12 month delivery period
Overarching Project Co-ordinator to keep everyone on track and assist with troubleshooting and engagement
Training and professional support for both heritage and creative partners – likely to cover co-creation, inclusive practice, oral histories, ethics
Access to a learning network of participating organisations and artists
Opportunities for showcasing and shared dissemination at regional and national level.
What We’re Looking For
Successful proposals will demonstrate:
A clear oral history focus, whether based on existing collections or new recordings.
A compelling idea for creative collaboration with an artist or collective that empowers communities and creates vibrant local storytelling.
Identification of a specific under-engaged audience and a thoughtful plan for reaching and involving them in co-creation.
Evidence of commitment to inclusion, ethical practice, and community voice.
Organisational capacity to host and support the project.
Projects can be of any scale appropriate to your organisation and community and should be achievable within the available budget and timeframe.
Indicative Project Timeline
Information/Exploration Meeting – 9th February 2026
Call-out opens – Spring 2026
Expression of Interest deadline – Late Spring 2026
Empowering Leaders in Buckinghamshire’s Creative & Cultural Sector
Creative Catalyst – Empowering Creative Leaders in Bucks We’re delighted to launch Creative Catalyst, a new mentoring programme for Buckinghamshire’s creative and cultural sector. The programme is designed to give emerging, established and aspiring leaders the space, tools and support they need to develop their skills, explore challenges, and build confidence in leading projects that make a real difference in local communities.
Over a period of 6–12 months, each participant will be paired with a mentor who can provide tailored, one-to-one guidance. This support will be aligned to a project or challenge the participant is facing, ensuring the mentoring is practical, relevant and directly useful. Alongside this, the programme will provide opportunities to take part in training sessions, networking events and peer support activities, helping participants to grow their professional connections and broaden their perspectives.
Creative Catalyst is open to those at all stages of leadership:
Emerging leaders keen to develop new skills and take on greater responsibility.
Existing leaders looking for fresh perspectives, guidance and support.
Aspiring leaders who may not yet identify as leaders but are motivated to grow and contribute to the sector.
The programme aims to strengthen leadership across Buckinghamshire’s arts, culture and heritage sector, with a focus on building capacity for inclusive, community-led practice. By fostering new connections and providing targeted support, it will empower participants to deliver projects that are accessible, impactful and forward-looking.
With the generous support of the Rothschild Foundation and Heart of Bucks, the costs of mentors, training and networking will be covered, with some additional travel support available.
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 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.
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.
The Together We Build exhibition and events programme kicks off on 9th September and runs until 4th November at cultural venues across Bucks. 12 venues that have chosen to take part, will celebrate our County’s Paralympic heritage by displaying objects chosen by disabled Community Curators, and running events inspired by the Paralympic story.
Our project celebrates the 10-year anniversary of the London 2012 Paralympics, honouring the work of Dr Guttmann and the heritage and stories linked to this amazing event. We are extremely proud to be working with a group of passionate Community Curators, who are bringing their voices to the project and sharing their stories too.
This is a chance to see a selection of Paralympic objects that have not been on display before, including: the Tokyo 2020 Torch, a Paralympic Athlete’s shirt designed by Stella McCartney for 2012, the Swaypole Dress and Gravity Corset from the 2012 Paralympic Opening Ceremony, lion and futuristic mascots and Chris Hallam’s Racing Wheelchair, among others. These items will be on display at venues across the County and via our virtual gallery.
In October (date tbc) we are hosting an online Panel Discussion exploring the legacy since 2012. This event will also begin to shape our thinking about an Access Manifesto for cultural venues in Bucks.
Waddesdon Manor are leading on a schools programme for this project and will create a schools resource inspired by the objects chosen by our Community Curators, as well as hosting a schools event on site in September 2022.
Buckinghamshire Culture is leading this project. Project partners include those who hold Paralympic collections: Buckinghamshire Archives, Discover Bucks Museum, National Paralympic Heritage Trust and Waddesdon. And those who will host objects, displays and events for our exhibition: Amersham Museum, Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Bekonscot, Chiltern Open Air Museum, Discover Bucks Museum, The Elgiva, Marlow Library, Milton’s Cottage, Queens Park Arts Centre and Waddesdon Manor.
Together We Build is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players. Support has also been provided by Buckinghamshire Council.
Buckinghamshire Culture has teamed up with two local organisations to develop two co-commission opportunities:
Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust
We are working with Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust to appoint an artist/creative/collective to work with patients and staff on site at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Buckinghamshire, in order to create a new 2D or 3D art installation for the site. We are seeking an artist with experience of creative arts supporting wellbeing and working with people in a healthcare setting. We are looking for someone capable of inspiring people and encouraging them to get involved and create and shape new work together or individually. We want to see a final piece that shows pride in Buckinghamshire and the BHT community.
We are opening an expression of interest process, from which we will select 3 artists to receive £350 in order to visit the BHT site and explore the available spaces for their work before submitting a more detailed proposal.
A budget of £7,640 inclusive of any VAT to be charged is available to the final selected candidate for the community engagement, development, fabrication and install of the artwork.
Delivery period: September-November 2022
Deadline for expressions of interest: 9am, 10th August 2022.
For more information please download the full artist’s brief.
Wycombe Homeless Connection and Aylesbury Homeless Action Group
We are working with Wycombe Homeless Connection and Aylesbury Homeless Action Group (WHC/AHAG) to appoint an artist/creative/collective to work with homeless, or previously homeless clients and WHC/AHAG staff in High Wycombe and Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in order to share stories of homelessness through art/cultural means (this might include visual arts, photography, poetry, performance, sharing/displaying objects). We are seeking an artist with experience of working with people with disordered lives and who is able to flex ideas and approaches according to need. We are looking for someone capable of inspiring people and encouraging this cohort to get involved and create and shape new work together or individually. We want to see a final piece/performance/installation that shares experiences of homelessness in interesting ways.
We are opening an expression of interest process, from which we will select 3 artists to receive £350 in order to visit the BHT site and explore the available spaces for their work before submitting a more detailed proposal.
A budget of £7,640 inclusive of any VAT to be charged is available to the final selected candidate for the community engagement, development, fabrication and install of the artwork.
Delivery period: September-November 2022
Deadline for expressions of interest: 9am, 10th August 2022.
For more information please download the full artist’s brief.
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