£200K project launches in Morecambe with community market

Morecambe is one of fourteen communities across England that is set to transform its local area as part of the £4million new Creative Civic Change programme.
Creative West End market launches on Saturday, May 18.Creative West End market launches on Saturday, May 18.
Creative West End market launches on Saturday, May 18.

Over the next three years, Morecambe’s creative community will take the lead and use creativity to generate meaningful civic change in the area.

With funding of up to £200,000 for each community involved, as well as a substantial programme of support including advice and mentoring, Creative Civic Change will help every area make social, economic or environmental changes that matter to them locally.

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Whatever the local priorities, from addressing loneliness and isolation to bringing together disengaged young people, this programme will help communities to thrive by responding in creative ways.

More Music, The Creative Exchange, West End Million, Alt Space and Film Morecambe are working together to present the Creative West End Market, launching on Saturday May 18 on Devonshire Road near More Music.

They are inviting residents to join them between 12pm - 4pm as they launch a new community market, where there will be stalls, art activities, food, music, spoken word, planting and much more.

More than a market, it is a community celebration that will bring local people together.

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Funded by The National Lottery Community Fund, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and Local Trust the Creative Civic Change initiative is a shared desire to create a deeper knowledge and understanding of what community-led cultural activity looks like in action.

Sarah Benioff, Director of England at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “People are at the heart of what we do and we believe it is important for them to get involved, have their say and make the changes they want to see.

“It’s thanks to National Lottery players and this partnership, the Creative Civic Change programme is building stronger networks within communities, whilst bringing them together to tackle issues that are not only affecting them individually, but collectively as a whole.”

Creative Civic Change is being launched in response to the Inquiry into the Civic Role of the Arts Organisations with the aims of exploring a new approach to funding community-driven projects and share experience and learning to inspire others to use the arts and creativity to make positive local change.

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The organisations backing it share the belief that creativity can be harnessed to engage, inspire and mobilise communities, and showcase the difference individuals can make as they develop collectively as a whole.