Summer of Culture 2023

EDITORIAL: EMMA WILLIAMS, CHRISTOPHER DAVIES, ANDREW WARD, CATHERINE HARRISON AND JAMES RAVINET

CONTRIBUTORS: CULTURE ESSEX, ESSEX BOOK FESTIVAL, ESSEX RECORD OFFICE, ESSEX CULTURAL DIVERSITY PROJECT, LOVE ESSEX, ESSEX LIBRARIES, MERCURY THEATRE, COLCHESTER MUSEUMS, FOCAL POINT GALLERY AND VISIT ESSEX MEMBERS.

ADVERTISING: MARTKETING@EXPLOREESSEX.GOV.UK

THIS INFORMATION IS ISSUED BY ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL, HERITAGE, CULTURE AND GREEN SPACES. © ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL 2023 | ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL, COUNTY HALL, CHELMSFORD, CM1 1QH

New cultural strategy for Essex

A new cultural strategy to support the county’s creative sector is to be launched by Essex County Council (ECC).

Sharing a vision for the arts, culture and creative industries, the strategy will outline how art and culture will improve the lives of the county’s residents while making Essex a great place to live and work.

ECC recognises that the arts, culture and creative industry have an impact on areas throughout the county, from health and wellbeing to regeneration and tourism.

Working with the cultural and creative sector will provide a framework to enable the county’s creative industries to flourish, with key themes such as greater collaboration between cultural networks, increasing engagement, as well as diversity, and supporting sustainable growth.

The cultural strategy will be published this summer.

£500K awarded from ECC’s Climate Action Challenge Fund

Over 40 voluntary, community groups and schools have been allocated £500,000 from the Climate Action Challenge Fund to develop projects to combat environmental change.

The fund – which was launched in July 2021 in response to the Essex Climate Action Commission’s Net Zero: Making Essex Carbon Neutral report – has helped many pioneering projects, many of which will play a vital role in transforming Essex to net-zero. Some of the projects and exhibitions have proved to be extremely popular, such as ‘Gaia’ at Chelmsford Cathedral. The extraordinary ‘Gaia’ touring artworkby artist Luke Jerram - provided visitors with a replica of the planet which was created from detailed NASA imagery of the Earth’s surface.

Other projects include Groundwork East – an environmental charity which was awarded funding to help develop Climate Crew Clubs in nine Essex primary schools so that children can learn more about climate change.

To find out more the Net Zero: Making Carbon Neutral report visit: www.essexclimate.org.uk

Discover all of the projects which have been allocated funding by visiting: www.essexclimate.org.uk/climateaction-challenge-fund-recipients