Artist opportunities exploring the land of lead and silver

26 March 2024

The North Pennines National Landscape team’s new project, the Land of Lead and Silver, is offering artists the opportunity to develop community arts activities to engage people in the lead and silver mining heritage of the North Pennines.

The project has been awarded funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England and will run between January 2024 to December 2027, working with volunteers and local communities to unearth the stories of lead and silver mining in the North Pennines National Landscape and UNESCO Global Geopark.

The community arts programme will offer vibrant, inclusive, and accessible opportunities for people and artists to take a new and exciting look at the industrial heritage that shaped the North Pennines landscape and its people.

We are seeking applications from individual artists to an artist-in-residence programme, which will last for three months. Any artistic method will be considered, and artists will be able to develop their skills in their chosen medium. The successful applicant will create one or more pieces of art to celebrate the local lead and silver mining heritage, and also run public engagement events during the residency.

The timeline of the residency is flexible, but it must be completed by Friday 30 August 2024. The deadline for applications is midnight Sunday 21 April 2024.

We are also offering bursaries for individual artists, or groups of artists, who understand community engagement and are willing to deliver art activities and projects which engage our key audiences – families, young people, and groups with diverse age ranges, such as women’s institutes, farmers, naturalists, walking groups, local historians, people with artisan or heritage skills.

Artists working in any artistic medium will be considered and projects can explore the lead and silver mining heritage of the North Pennines in any way. Each project will need to be completed by Friday 9 August 2024. The deadline for applications is Sunday 21 April 2024 at 5pm.

The North Pennines was dominated by lead mining from the mid-1700s to the early 1900s. The landscape still has visible remnants from this industry, from the levels driven underground to exploit the lead veins, to the dressing floors and smelt mills which scattered the surface. As well as shaping the settlements, mining also created footpaths and tracks, to connect the miners with their places of work, which now form part of our rights of way network.

Land of Lead and Silver will offer extensive opportunities for people to get involved and discover unknown stories and features from the North Pennines’ history. The project will also consolidate eight mining sites across the North Pennines National Landscape and UNESCO Global Geopark, to preserve them for generations to come, and work to make other sites easier to access.

More information and application details are available at: northpennines.org.uk/community-arts-programme-opportunities-2/

ENDS

Notes for editors

Images of arts activities exploring the mining heritage of the North Pennines ©North Pennines National Landscape.

For more information, please contact the communications team at the North Pennines National Landscape- by email or call 01388 528801.

About The National Lottery Heritage Fund

As the largest dedicated funder of the UK’s heritage, The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033.

Over the next ten years, we aim to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to bring about benefits for people, places and the natural environment.

We help protect, transform and share the things from the past that people care about, from popular museums and historic places, our natural environment and fragile species, to the languages and cultural traditions that celebrate who we are.

We are passionate about heritage and committed to driving innovation and collaboration to make a positive difference to people’s lives today, while leaving a lasting legacy for future generations to enjoy.

Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLotteryHeritageFund www.heritagefund.org.uk

The North Pennines National Landscape is one of England’s most special places – a peaceful, unspoilt landscape with a rich history and vibrant natural beauty. It was designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1988. The purpose of this nationally recognised designation is the conservation and enhancement of the natural beauty of the area.

At almost 2,000 sq. kilometres the North Pennines is the second largest of the 46 National Landscapes (in England, Wales and Northern Ireland) and is one of the most peaceful and unspoilt places in England. Visit www.landscapesforlife.org.uk for information about the National Landscapes family.

The North Pennines lies between the National Parks of the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales, and Northumberland with the urban centres of County Durham away to the east. Parts of the National Landscape are within the boundaries of four local authorities; Cumberland Council, Durham County Council, Northumberland County Council, and Westmorland & Furness Council.

The North Pennines National Landscape Partnership is an alliance of public, statutory and voluntary sector bodies with an interest in the future of the North Pennines. The work of the Partnership is carried out by the National Landscape team which takes action to conserve and enhance the natural beauty of the area, to raise awareness of its special qualities and to improve the quality of life for local people.

UNESCO Global Geopark – As well as being a National Landscape, the North Pennines is a UNESCO Global Geopark. This puts the area’s Geopark status in the same UNESCO family as World Heritage Sites and Biosphere Reserves. UNESCO Global Geoparks are places with outstanding geology where special effort is made to make the most of geological heritage to support community and economy. Locally this includes producing geo-trails, developing projects with school and community groups, producing displays for visitor attractions, and holding geology festivals and events.