Since 2014, more than 110,000 people have taken part in over 180 events in the places where they live, work, gather and socialise in and around Dewsbury, Batley, Mirfield, Cleckheaton and Heckmondwike.
There’s been shows in pubs and chip shops, an artist in a biscuit factory, parkour performances amongst the market stalls, children getting a fix of fantastic family friendly theatre, a poetic performance on the streets viewed from an open-top bus, fiery night time spectaculars in town squares and parks, even a game of digital bingo, projected and played on buildings. We’ve hosted international artists, commissioned new theatre which has gone on to tour around the country, and we’ve supported over 50 local artists – including emerging young artists – with learning opportunities to develop their skills, and get into further education, training and work.
We’ve shown there is no such thing as ‘hard to reach’ when it comes to getting people involved and developing audiences for the arts – artists and companies just need to get a little closer to where people are at.
Take a look at our Impact Report 2014-2017 to read about the story so far…