Culture

Strengthening Partnerships & Supporting Collaboration 

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: 

  1. 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.
  1. 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

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

Bucks Spark Awards Shortlist

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 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.

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

news

Discover Something Extraordinary

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/