community – Buckinghamshire Culture

outdoor performance with fire and an audience

We are excited to invite organisations and creatives from across Buckinghamshire to share their ideas and express their interest in collaborating in an innovative developmental partnership that explores co-creation as a powerful way to bring local stories to life through creativity. Building on the success of Together We Build, this initiative will explore new creative approaches to storytelling. Heritage and cultural organisations will be paired with artists and creative practitioners to uncover and share important local stories in fresh, engaging, and imaginative ways.

This project does not yet have funding. The Expression of Interest (EOI) process will help shape the application that Bucks Culture submits to the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

We want to support innovative collaborations that bring locally significant community memories, cultural traditions, and heritage to life. By capturing and sharing these stories, the project aims to safeguard them for future generations, ensuring that lived experiences continue to inform, inspire, and strengthen our local communities.

Oral histories are a rich source of knowledge, insight, and creativity, and they will sit at the heart of the Stories 2 project. Through meaningful partnerships, the project will enable organisations to uncover, amplify, and celebrate hidden local stories and engage under-represented audiences using creative and inclusive approaches to storytelling, participation, and interpretation.

Projects may draw on existing oral history collections or generate new recordings. All activity should be rooted in co-creation with communities, ensuring that participants help shape both the process and the outcomes. Outputs could include exhibitions, installations, performances, digital works, workshops, or public events designed to engage diverse audiences and extend the reach and impact of these stories.

Programme Aims

To protect and celebrate Buckinghamshire’s community heritage by:

Uncovering and safeguarding oral histories that reflect and celebrate Buckinghamshire’s diverse communities, particularly community memories, cultural traditions and stories at risk of being lost.
Championing inclusive creative practice in working with oral histories and community memory, enabling under-represented or under-engaged audiences to shape, interpret, and share their heritage.
Fostering meaningful collaboration between heritage organisations, artists, and communities.
Building skills and confidence in cross-sector partnership working to strengthen sustainable, long-term relationships.

Who Can Apply

We welcome applications from arts, heritage, and culture organisations that want to explore stories and oral histories. 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. Please reach out for a conversation to Guy: Guy@buckinghamshirecuture.org

All collaborations must work with a specific 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.

What We’re Looking For

Successful proposals will:

Clearly explain which community memories, cultural traditions, and stories will be uncovered and why they matter locally. Priority will be given to stories at risk of being lost.
Focus on oral history, whether drawing on existing collections or generating new recordings.
Provide a compelling idea for creative collaboration with an artist or creative collective that empowers communities and brings local stories to life.
Identify a specific under-represented or under-engaged audience and a thoughtful plan for reaching and involving them in co-creation.
Evidence a commitment to inclusion, ethical practice, and community voice.
Demonstrate organisational capacity to host and support the project successfully.

Projects can be of any scale appropriate to your organisation and community and should be achievable within the available budget and timeframe.

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 oversee 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.

Indicative Project Timeline

Call-out opens 30^th March 2026

Expression of Interest deadline 30^th April 2026

Funding application submission date Summer 2026

Decision-making period 8 weeks

Project delivery period Autumn 2026-Summer 2028 tbc

Expression of Interest Form

Please find the Expression of Interest form here:

Stories 2 Expression of Interest Form Final Download

Completed Expression of Interest forms should be returned to Guy: Guy@buckinghamshireculture.org by 9am, 30^th April 2026.

Contact Details

If you have questions about this invitation, wish to discuss your project with a team member, or need help to find the right partner, please reach out to Guy: Guy@buckinghamshireculture.org

Please contact us if you require this information in alternative formats.

We are happy to accept applications through alternative formats suited to your needs including a film (no longer than 10 minutes) or an audio recording (no longer than 10 minutes).

news

Stories 2 – A New Collaborative Journey in Creative Storytelling

27th November 202510th February 2026 buckinghamshireculture

artists looking at objects from NDACA — Archive Stories workshop with NDACA

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 Build but 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

Funding application submission date – Summer 2026

Decision-making period – 8 weeks

Project delivery period – Autumn 2026-Summer 2028

Find Out More

Join us on 9th February, 11-12.30 on Teams to find out more, RSVP via this link: Stories 2 Discussion – Fill out form

Culture

Seeking a Project Manager

19th August 2025 buckinghamshireculture

We are seeking a highly organised, creative and collaborative Project Manager to lead the emerging High Wycombe Place Partnership Programme – a three-year initiative funded by Arts Council England, The Rothschild Foundation and Bucks Council. Running until March 2028, the programme aims to strengthen the local creative sector by building a more connected, inclusive and sustainable network that nurtures talent, supports creative leaders and increases opportunities for communities to engage with arts and culture in High Wycombe.

Bucks Culture will host this freelance opportunity, supporting the Place Partnership project in our role as project partner.

Deadline for applications: midnight, 17th September 2025.

For more information and details of how to apply, please see our full Job Description below.

Place Partnership PM JD Aug 25 Final Download

Culture

Explore creativity, stories and nature this August with Bucks Open Weekend

21st July 2025 buckinghamshireculture

Taking place 28th-31st August, Open Weekend is a celebration of creativity and an invitation to explore! Take a look at our What’s On to find out what exciting activities are happening across Bucks.

You are invited to enjoy creative projects, performances, workshops, exhibitions and much more taking place across the county over a long weekend. This year’s events are themed to ‘stories and nature’ and aim to inspire you, your family and friends with 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.

Over the four days of Open Weekend groups, organisations and creatives will hold over 50 events, so you can take part in activities from tree drawing workshops to dance exploring nature, wellbeing and personal stories, from photography to tell your story, to Opera combined with circus! From immersive music to growing and cooking, from woven stories using upcycled materials to snake stories and snake sculpture – there’s so much to discover. Events will take place across the county, some outside in nature and others inside.

If you have never been to Aylesbury Waterside Theatre you can take a tour to hear how its design is inspired by the Chiltern’s natural landscapes. Visit Discover Bucks Museum for a multi-sensory story time sharing how Bucks has changed from a watery world of undersea creatures to our modern landscape. Or take a trip to Wycombe Museum for a magical day of stories with a ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ story trail, book-making, storytelling, face painting, and character games. And many of our Libraries are hosting a range of storytelling events and creative workshops.

Julius Weinberg, Buckinghamshire Culture Co-Chair said: “This year’s theme of stories and nature has inspired many great events, we are really excited to see so many groups, organisations and artists come forward to nurture the creativity of our county in this way. Thank you to everyone that has chosen to take part in Open Weekend 2025!“

Peter Brazier, Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure, added: “We are delighted to give our support to Buckinghamshire Culture’s Open Weekend once again this year. It is a fantastic way for everyone to get their creativity flowing and enjoy the wide range of fun activities on offer. With events and activities taking place across the whole county, I’d encourage everyone to take a look at the programme of events and get involved.”

A child smiling while participating in a crafting activity, surrounded by adults, working with decorated sticks at a table. — Community Sculpture at Chiltern Open Air Museum

The idea behind Open Weekend is to showcase the range and breadth of creative opportunities available Buckinghamshire and to encourage as many people as possible to get involved, go somewhere new or try something new. Open Weekend is organised by Buckinghamshire Culture and supported by Buckinghamshire Council and the Rothschild Foundation.

Special thanks to our Communication Sponsors: Bucks Radio, Hiya Bucks, High Wycombe Life, My Wycombe.

Buckinghamshire Culture acts as an umbrella organisation for independently planned events by partner organisations. You can find out more and help spread the word by visiting: www.buckinghamshireculture.org, Instagram @bucks_culture and @BuckinghamshireCulture on Facebook – look for #BucksOpenWeekend and please like and re-share!

Culture

Strengthening Partnerships & Supporting Collaboration

27th March 202531st March 2025 buckinghamshireculture

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.

Culture, news

Bucks Spark Awards

27th March 2025 buckinghamshireculture

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.

Culture

Creative Collaboration Conference

27th March 2025 buckinghamshireculture

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.

Culture

Bucks Spark Awards Shortlist

31st October 202431st October 2024 buckinghamshireculture

Celebrating Bucks Arts, Heritage & Culture – first ever Bucks Spark Awards

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 7^th 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.

You can book tickets for the Conference and/or the Bucks Spark Awards here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/creative-collaboration-conference-bucks-spark-awards-tickets-1006666405317?aff=oddtdtcreator

Culture

You are invited… Village Stories

18th July 202418th July 2024 buckinghamshireculture

Hundreds of residents invited to take part in epic photo project this Summer – sharing our STORIES project

On the left a Breugel paining, on the right, a modern photo of people walking on a grey background

This July community meetings will take place in three ‘villages’ across Buckinghamshire, inviting local residents to be part of large-scale photographs. These meetings will be the start of our Village Stories strand, which aims to create new portraits of modern villages through photography and writing. Residents in Burnham, Brill and Fairford Leys (a village within Aylesbury) are invited to join in.

Photographer Camilla Greenwell and choreographer Theo Clinkard have devised this celebratory photo project inspired by the works of 16th-century Flemish artist, Pieter Bruegel the Elder. These famous and often humorous images are bustling with life and full of characters and incidents. They show people at work and leisure, individuals and groups, old and young. The project asks who lives in our villages now? And how can we capture the vibrant life of these communities? We are inviting 100+ local residents and those connected to these villages to take part in the project in each location. It will be simple and fun and take only a couple of hours, on one day in September. Participants will be given some easy ideas and tasks to create a gesture or action to capture the essence of the place they live in.

Photo of Burnham Village, a man and a woman stand in the foreground.

In addition to the photoshoots we are also offering writing workshops with authors, including Costa Novel Award winning novelist Claire Fuller.

If you, your family or group would like to take part in Village in one of the three locations across Bucks this Summer please use this link to sign up: https://buckinghamshireculture.org/village-stories/

Village Stories is just one strand of our multi-faceted STORIES programme in 2024. We are inviting residents across Bucks to take part in creative and cultural activities that explore what makes this county unique: its people, heritage, natural environment and histories. STORIES will grow and develop over the next years into a festival-like series of events and participation opportunities. From June to November 2024, we kick off with three pilot projects, stretching across the county from Buckingham in the north to the Chilterns in the South, with events in woodlands as well as village and town centres, from projects that see artists researching in local archives, to mass participation in local villages.

Alongside Village Stories, in 2024 we will deliver:

Archive Stories, which will see a new disabled artist collective led by poet Ellen Renton working with Arden Fitzroy, Guy Morris, Jess Starns and Noor-e-Sehar Ali, investigate the National Paralympic Heritage Trust archive and the National Disability Art Collection & Archive to inspire the creation of new artworks.

FiresideStories, which will bring three outdoor performances by circus and theatre artists Nikki & JD and Lost Dog Dance to local spaces and woodland settings, telling a story of monsters and what makes us afraid, in a family-friendly performances with real fire. In each location additional wrap-around events will make the evening special.

To find out more about the STORIES programme, visit our website: https://buckinghamshireculture.org/stories/

Theo Clinkard, Choreographer says:

“I can’t wait to tell new stories with local folk who are up for the challenge of making a huge artwork together, one that captures both the physical fact of this place and this moment in time, but also the collective imagination of the people that live here”

Eckhard Thiemann, STORIES Creative Associate said:

“Village is just such a brilliantly simple and creative idea: A rallying call to leave your home or work for a moment to congregate and create an action-filled snapshot of yourself, your community, your location and this moment in time. Let Buckinghamshire’s village life become as famous and loved as Breugel’s Flemish scenes from nearly 500 years ago.”

Clive Harriss, Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture & Leisure said:

“We are very pleased to be supporting the development of Buckinghamshire Culture’s STORIES project, we are excited to see what is produced and where it goes next! With so many villages making up our landscape in Bucks it feels appropriate to put village life in the spotlight!”

STORIES 2024 is made possible thanks to funding from Arts Council England, Rothschild Foundation, Buckinghamshire Council, National Paralympic Heritage Trust, National Lottery Heritage Fund and supported by a range of committed partners across the county.

news

Discover Something Extraordinary

1st July 20241st July 2024 buckinghamshireculture

Discover something extraordinary this July with Open Weekend

Everyone is invited to explore their creativity, and our varied county, during our jam-packed Open Weekend, 25th-28th July. With 34 contributors running 54 events across Bucks, there is plenty to enjoy. You can take part in free or low-cost activities and maybe try something new or go somewhere you have not been before!

Photograph shows four musicians dressed as superheroes and all carrying instruments — Vache Baroque, History of Sounds

Whether you are looking for something to do with little ones, a chance to try a new artform, time to learn, or time to chill out – there is plenty to choose from. This year’s fantastic programme includes opportunities to watch or join in with singing, dancing, music-making, crafting and much more. You might also visit an exhibition, listen to an author interview, enjoy live music, join a themed tour or explore local heritage. Events are taking place in person across the county, and online too.

See the Buckinghamshire Culture website for the full listing: www.buckinghamshireculture.org/open-weekend-whats-on and follow #BucksOpenWeekend and #TogetherWeCelebrate for social media updates.

This year organisations will be offering a wide range of activities on the theme of Together We Celebrate, inspired by the Paris Olympics and Paralympics 2024. Buckinghamshire has an extra special reason to celebrate as it is the proud birthplace of the Paralympic movement, and this year we have asked our event organisers to think about how they can honour this heritage. This year Open Weekend will be part of Buckinghamshire Council’s wider Together We Celebrate programme of activities and exhibitions themed around our shared advocacy of diversity, inclusivity and accessibility taking place throughout the summer.

A celebration of togetherness runs through all of the 2024 Open Weekend events, and some are offering particular activities to make your own medal (at Hughenden), design a Paralympic poster (at Aylesbury Library), or explore Paralympic artefacts and stories through a new Virtual Museum (online via the National Paralympic Heritage Trust). Please join us in celebrating the power of art and culture to bring people together and develop inclusion and understanding.

Photograph shows five participants from Missenden Walled Garden sitting on wooden benches and showing the vegetables they have picked — Missenden Walled Garden

Bill Morris, Buckinghamshire Culture’s Chair says: “We are so pleased and proud that once again organisations and individuals across Bucks have put together a programme of fantastic events. It is wonderful to see so many activities promoting inclusion and togetherness, and in a Games year, its extra special to celebrate our unique role in creating the Paralympic movement.”

Ruth Page, Buckinghamshire Council’s Head of Culture said: “Open Weekend is a brilliant way to celebrate the range of creative and cultural things you can do in Bucks. It is great to see so many activities taking place with the theme of ‘Together We Celebrate’ and showing how we can lead the way for access and inclusion.”

Open Weekend is made possible thanks to funding from the Rothschild Foundation and Buckinghamshire Council. It is co-ordinated by Buckinghamshire Culture and is delivered in partnership with organisations and creatives across the county.

Garden stepping stones containing mosaic and gem stones on a bed of bark chippings — Garden Stones created by Feedback Global

Further Information

Buckinghamshire Culture

Buckinghamshire Culture is the creative and cultural partnership for the county, developed to drive forward the Buckinghamshire Cultural Strategy. Building an inclusive, uplifting and supportive creative hub, we connect, build and nourish creative individuals and organisations. We share and celebrate the value of creativity and culture to everyone’s lives – embedding it across essential agendas. We harness the power of working together through collaboration and partnership, shaping joint projects that support happier and healthier lives for our residents. Together, we can better celebrate and share stories of our communities and county. More information on Buckinghamshire Culture: https://buckinghamshireculture.org/

Together We Celebrate programme coordinated by Buckinghamshire Council

To mark the upcoming Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games, we are once again asking Buckinghamshire’s communities to join us and our partners in celebrating the county’s unique and proud Paralympic heritage. Our collaborative approach aims to bring like-minded partners, organisations, and communities together to recognise Buckinghamshire as the birthplace of the Paralympic movement. A series of activities and exhibitions themed around our shared advocacy of diversity, inclusivity and accessibility will take place throughout the summer as Together We Celebrate. More information on Together We Celebrate: https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/events/together-we-celebrate-2024/