Arts and crafts

The Arts Service co-ordinates and develops arts provision in the County. The Herefordshire Art Strategy informs the work for Herefordshire Council's Arts Service and can be found as an Adobe PDF document in the external link at the bottom of this page.

The Arts Service's work involves offering a diversity of arts experience to a range of people. They have a track record of supporting arts based businesses, referred to as creative industries. This has led to the establishment of the Creative Industries Programme which assists local companies develop their businesses, enter new markets and secure a long-term future.

Instilling creativity in education has also been a recent focus for the Arts Service, with additional funding being obtained to support events in schools led by professional artists. With this in mind an arts education partnership has been established to pool resources to support arts activities in schools that complement the national curriculum. Please see the Directory of Artists & Agencies pdf below in the resource box if you are looking for an artist or craftsperson to work in a school.

In locations throughout Herefordshire professionally produced public art can be seen, both within public buildings and outside in open spaces. Herefordshire Council has commissioned a number of art works and gives advice and support to other organisations and businesses interested in public art.

Projects Include:

• Establishment of h.Art (Herefordshire Art Week), with artists open studios, gallery exhibitions, and special events in venues throughout the County. Please see link below for the h.Art website. The dates for 2008 are: 13 - 21 September.
• Hereford Contemporary Craft Fair each November and produce a crafts guide for the County.
• April 2002 - April 2005 - £1.7m secured investment to support creative industries offering business advice, support for innovation, marketing schemes and community projects.
• New investment secured to carry on creative industries programme through to May 2008. The new programme will offer artist mentoring, trade show support and a design agency to help artists work with manufacturers.
• Financial support for key arts organisations and festivals, and act as a partner in their success and development.

Cultural Services officers also offer advice on funding from various sources including the National Lottery, Arts Council, England (please see link below for website), and the Elmley Foundation. Herefordshire Council also offers a range of grants through the Delegated Grants and Programmes Team. For further information please Tel: 01432 260753 or E-mail: delegatedgrants@herefordshire.gov.uk

Herefordshire Council's Cultural Services providing opportunities in Arts, Museums and Heritage, Libraries, Tourism and Sports Development to residents and visitors.

Over 400 craftspeople live and work in Herefordshire, contributing £6 million to the local economy. The Arts Team runs the annual Hereford Contemporary Crafts Fair, to showcase the range and quality of crafts produced in the area. The next Fair will be on 14, 15 and 16 November 2008 at The Courtyard Centre for the Arts (please see link below to the website). More details can be found at Hereford Contemporary Craft Fair Website by clicking on the link at the bottom of this page.

As well as crafts there are hundreds of other people working in creative industries in Herefordshire, covering literature, media, photography, music, visual art, performance, etc. Cultural Services has a database of creative industries, for more information contact (01432) 260182. A dedicated website Creative Industries (please see link below to the website), holds all the published information plus form downloads, online applications, links and an opportunity to sign up for regular updates.

Photo: Pierre Williams - ceramics

The Information Service has several roles based around providing information on Cultural Services to the public, co-ordinating and supporting the work of Cultural Services, and facilitation of Herefordshire Cultural Consortium an ambition group of the Herefordshire Partnership. The Consortium's remit goes beyond that of Cultural Services and covers areas such as recreational countryside, sport and libraries, as well as arts, heritage, tourism and archives. As part of its facilitation, Cultural Services leads on the Herefordshire Cultural Strategy which involves working with a diverse number of organisations, groups and individuals to shape future priorities and plans for cultural provision.

Projects Include:

• Maintain a comprehensive database of Herefordshire artists and craftspeople.
• Produce and distribute regular listings and publications on local festivals and events.
• Commission research into the views and opinions of the local community on cultural provision.
• Establish and map leisure and culture facilities in the County.

Cultural Services Manager (01432) 260732
Principal Arts Officer (01432) 261818
Arts & Culture Information Officer (01432) 260182
Arts Liaison Officer (01432) 260614
Crafts Officer (01432) 260129
Creative Industries Co-ordinator (01432) 383064

Or e-mail arts@herefordshire.gov.uk

Please note Cultural Services address is: Herefordshire Council, PO Box 4, Plough Lane, Hereford, HR4 0XH