Arts magazine launches Wealden focused edition for winter
Publish Date: 4 December 2025
Wealden District Council is excited to be working with the ROSA (Review of Sussex Arts) magazine on their winter issue, which will explore the unique creative energy thriving across the district from studios of local artists to independent galleries, hidden towns with quirky stories to mysteries from the past.
The magazine features interviews with key figures from the sector, discussing what makes Wealden special to them and the challenges and opportunities of supporting a strong arts presence in a rural setting.
The Wealden district is a cultural gem – home to writers, artists and makers, musicians, and performers both past and present, working creatively across the district and using geographical features and the Sussex landscape to inspire the edition.
The ROSA magazine launches the council’s cultural programme which puts the district on the map for the creative industries.
Councillor Rachel Millward, Alliance for Wealden (Green Party) and lead councillor for Community, Culture and Communications and deputy leader of the council, said, “This collaboration marks an exciting starting point of our cultural programme over the next two years. The programme aims to support local creatives and creative industries. The creative sector is hugely important to Wealden’s local economy, and a key aspect of our tourism and visitor economy, whilst also providing a deep resource of well-being of residents. We are very proud to be offering infrastructure and workspace improvements, networks and resources to the sector.”
Jessica Wood, publisher for ROSA magazine, said, “Wealden is an artistic hotspot at the moment with extraordinary work being created. We are delighted to be working with Wealden District Council to support its artists and makers and drive the cultural economy.”
As part of the partnership, ROSA has commissioned local artist Chris Price who has created a map that highlights cultural gems and draws visitors into the area to see what the beautiful landscape has to offer.
Alex Leith, editor for ROSA magazine, said, “We’re delighted to be working in partnership with Wealden District Council to explore this richly layered region – not just as a place on the map, but as a cultural force in its own right. In ROSA magazine you’ll find tributes to art and makers rooted in the Weald’s textures and traditions: the sculptor and woodcut artist Keith Pettit, whose work seems carved from the land itself; Arthur Conan Doyle, who found both solace and mystery in the Wealden mists; Antony Penrose, whose parents Lee Miller and Roland Penrose held court to their artist friends in Chiddingly, and the wonkily radical murals of Berwick Church, where modernism meets medieval rhythm, painted in the face of vociferous local dissent. We visit the ancient village of Alfriston, examine the history of iron production in the region, showcase ceramicist Tim Fluck’s vivid and playful creations, and visit Kipling’s Bateman’s, compiling a site-inspired musical playlist.”
To stay updated on the Wealden cultural programme follow the links below: