Help us light a fire within the North East creative community to embark on ambitious, hopeful climate action together.

About this event

Keynote from Rebecca Ball, Area Director North, Arts Council England

Open Space format: agenda set on the day by delegates, facilitated by Seeds for Change (https://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/)

Establishing peer-mentoring groups, to support ongoing work

We live in a unique moment in human history. The choices made in this narrow window of 5 to 10 years will determine how liveable a future all humans inherit.

The North East creative sector is full of brilliant people doing great work. But does our collective ambition and collaboration live up to the moment? We think our sector can do much more ambitious climate and nature work and we want to do something about that together.

This first assembly marks the launch of a brand-new regional network bringing together artists, creative freelancers, cultural workers, administrators, directors, academics, and policymakers. It’s a practical and ambitious space to meet peers, build climate confidence and start shaping a coordinated programme of workshops, peer-mentoring and shared resourcing across our sector.

Whether you are already leading environmental initiatives or feeling unsure where to begin, everyone is welcome. You don’t need to be a climate expert, just curious and ready to collaborate.

This is an opportunity to be a Good Ancestor. We hope you’ll join us.

Artist & freelancer bursaries

To ensure independent practitioners can participate fully, we have 20 bursaries of £100 available to support freelancers and independent artists attending this assembly (10 of which are specifically Hartlepool-based funded separately by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation).

If attending this session presents a financial barrier or loss of income for you, please select the Bursary ticket option when registering. (Bursaries are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis and are reserved for Newcastle and North East-based independent practitioners).

Location & regional scope

This project is supported by the Newcastle Culture Investment Fund (NCIF). While our initial assemblies take place in Newcastle city centre, our vision and ambition are truly region-wide. We warmly invite cultural workers, artists and decision-makers from across the wider North East to join, contribute and help shape a network that serves our entire regional ecosystem.

What to expect

Connection: Meet peers from across different art forms and organisations in a welcoming environment.

Practical Discussions: Facilitated discussion focussed on activating practical next steps and ambitious plans

Shaping the future: Help design the network’s upcoming calendar of workshops, peer-mentoring and collective action.

Accessibility & inclusion

We want this gathering to be as accessible, welcoming, and comfortable as possible for everyone.

When booking your ticket you will have the option to share any access needs, dietary requirements or adjustments that would help make taking part both possible and comfortable for you (for example: quiet spaces, BSL interpretation or large print materials).

If you’d prefer to discuss your access requirements directly with us before booking, please feel free to email Anya Bonner at anya@theinclusionpractice.co.uk

Tickets & waiting list

Space for this first gathering is capped at 50 participants to keep discussions meaningful and interactive.

If tickets are full when you attempt to book, please join our Waitlist. Adding your name helps us demonstrate the regional appetite for creative climate action to funders and helps us expand capacity for future events.

Reserve your free place today and help us build the network!

https://www.threadsintheground.com/projects/climate-culture-assemblies

Description supplied by the event organiser.