Autumn Programme & launch of Creative Village opportunities for young creatives

Creative Crawley launch The Creative Village; a brand new skills exchange, showcasing and cultural development programme for and with creative professionals in Crawley, West Sussex and Surrey. The programme sees Crawley-based Theatre Centre present new play Dizzy by Olivier award-nominated playwright Mohamed-Zain Dada at The Hawth this November.

• The Creative Village, in partnership with theatre company Theatre Centre and youth music company AudioActive offers a paid Skills Exchange Programme for ten locals aged 16 – 30
• The Skills Exchange Programme will offer insights into the creative industries, providing opportunities to showcase their work; develop hands-on skills; and invite world class professional creatives to collaborate and share valuable learning and practical information
• Beginning in October, monthly Woodzy & Friends gigs will showcase local talent and offer a space for Crawley creatives to come together
• Theatre Centre – now based in Crawley – bring their brand-new play Dizzy by Mohamed-Zain Dada to The Hawth in November, after its world premiere at Sheffield Theatres
• Creative Crawley have been commissioned by Crawley Borough Council to deliver a consultation on the Cultural Quarter with HemingwayDesign and Always Possible. The consultation survey launches on Thursday 19 September and is live until Thursday 31 October.

Creative Crawley are delighted to announce their Autumn programme of events and activity, which focuses on building Crawley’s creative talents, with a brand-new paid Skills Exchange Programme for ten locals as part of The Creative Village, as well as open workshops and events for local residents, in addition to continued creative opportunities including the Saturday Sessions and Come With Us strands to Creative Playground.

The Creative Village is Creative Crawley’s newest programme, aiming  to put Crawley onto the cultural map. Supporting local creatives at the beginning of their artistic careers and established practitioners with their professional development, the programme will create space for showcasing work and developing and sharing skills through open workshops and events. World class practitioners from around the UK are invited to Crawley to work closely with local creatives and share valuable insights and practical information into how to survive as a creative professional in today’s world. These include events from fundraising with Jamie Wyld to Telling Your Story with local entrepreneur Matt Turner, and the programme welcomes The Producer Gathering to Crawley for the first time, offering a session for those who are interested in putting on events and learning more about producing to come together with nationally renowned producers.

The Creative Village includes a paid Skills Exchange Programme with ten locals aged between 16 – 30 who will work together from September 2024 – June 2025 to gain hands-on skills related to the creative industries. They will explore live performance, visual art and digital practice; as well as business, marketing, access, environmental sustainability and fundraising skills – allowing them as full and rounded overview of the creative industries as possible, all while they are paid for their time.

The professionals participating in the programme will include choreographer Frauke Requardt and live performance maker David Rosenberg – whose work together pushes dance  out of the auditorium into public spaces; playwright and performer Chris Thorpe; designer Eleanor Field; music artist Marco Woolf; founder and CEO of Creative Pod design agency Matt Turner; artistic director of Theatre Centre Rob Watt; arts producer Jamie Wyld; multidisciplinary feminist artists Sarah Maple & Meg Mosely; spoken word artist and rapper Woodzy; Access All Areas, who make disruptive performance led by learning disabled and autistic artists; and The Hawth.

Skills Exchange participant, Izzy Burghard, said “I’m really excited to see what new things I can learn about and try on this program, I think it’s important at this stage of my life when I’m not sure what exactly I want to do that I get to try as many things as possible. I’m really thankful that I’ve been given the means to access this type of knowledge from industry professionals and I’m looking forward to meeting more artists in my town.”

Starting in October, local spoken word artist and rapper Woodzy will host a monthly gig showcasing local talent. Woodzy &  Friends offers creatives from Crawley, West Sussex and Surrey the chance to come together and share their work in front of a kind and generous audience. This curated evening of local talent, spanning music, theatre, film, and visual art, provides the space to share thoughts and ideas with likeminded people.

Woodzy said “I think it will be something that will grow over time, that will have a regular group that always attend as well. I’m really looking forward to starting it!”

Theatre Centre in co-production with Sheffield Theatres will bring their brand-new show Dizzy to the Hawth for one night only, Saturday 9 November, presented by Creative Crawley. Written by the Olivier-nominated Mohamed-Zain Dada (Blue Mist, Royal Court) and starring Brendan Barclay (The Importance of Being… Earnest?) and Sera Mustafa (Crackers), with the voice of Dizzy performed by Reda Elazouar (Sex Education), Dizzy combines audio performance and soundscape, with a live performance on stage. It is a daring and original story of graffiti culture and grief, with dream-like magical realism throughout.

Creative Crawley (with HemingwayDesign and Always Possible) have been commissioned by Crawley Borough Council to deliver a consultation on what a Cultural Quarter could look and feel like in Crawley. The survey launches on 19 September and is live until 31st October. There’s an in person event at Crawley Town Hall on 10th October where people can get involved and share their ideas.

Meanwhile, Creative Crawley’s Creative Playground continues throughout the autumn months and will see Playmakers come together to plan for future artistic activity in Crawley through Playmaker meetings, feasts and parties. Saturday Sessions will continue, inviting residents to experience the night sky at a local temple amongst other free creative activities for all ages; BOOST will provide the opportunity for residents to gain some seed cash support to test new ideas; Come With Us will continue to take Crawley residents on funded trips to experience arts and culture and participate in discussion, locally in Crawley and beyond.

Part of the Creative People and Places National Portfolio, Creative Playground’s funding has recently been extended and secured for an additional year until 2026, providing more stability and development time, and securing this vital community work. Creative People and Places is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. The Creative Village is funded by a Place Partnership Project Grant from Arts Council England which runs from April 2024 to August 2025.

Louise Blackwell, Creative Director of Creative Crawley said: “We’re delighted to receive funding thanks to #NationalLottery players that allows us to keep supporting creative people in Crawley. The Creative Village is a new addition to our programme and is for local emerging and established people who work in the creative industries. If that’s you, come and talk to us about what you need and get involved.”

Adam Joolia, CEO, AudioActive, added:“Having worked with young music artists across Sussex and in Crawley for many years, we know how crucial a project like The Creative Village is for the town. Our collaboration with Creative Crawley and Theatre Centre has huge potential to change the creative future of the town.”