Creative Wealden

Having explored the current cultural landscape of Wealden with stakeholders, opportunities for development and growth have become clear.

Key themes have emerged from conversations which can be grouped as follows:

Sense of Place – at grassroots there is a love of being located in Wealden and a desire to connect local communities with creative activity, including support for the events already taking place
Workspace – the need for space for visual artists and craft makers to develop and sell work and to support each other as a community
Education and Skills – a need to support future creative individuals and events
Networks – to prevent creative isolation in a rural setting, people need to be networked together.
Access – opportunities for everyone to experience high-quality cultural engagement.

Craft takeover in Alfriston

In June 2026, the historic village of Alfriston was transformed into Craft Town Alfriston as part of Sussex Craft Week, a ten-day, pan-Sussex celebration of craft, skill, heritage and community. Alfriston was one of two Craft Towns, alongside Arundel in West Sussex, bringing a county-wide focus to the region’s exceptional creative talent.

The festival provided opportunities for residents and visitors to discover exhibitions, explore maker displays in shop windows and experience live creative demonstrations. Across the ten days, visitors could also take part in workshops, learn new skills, visit bespoke maker studios and browse a marketplace selling locally made crafts.

The project provided us with an opportunity to spotlight the district’s talented makers, helping them raise their profile, reach new audiences and create opportunities to sell their work. It also connected craft with Alfriston’s strong heritage and sense of place, demonstrating how creative activity can support local communities and the visitor economy.

The festival concluded with the county-wide Craft Awards, where Wealden-based Studio ‘Amos’ won Best Heritage Craft for its outstanding basketry work.

ROSA magazine takeover

As part of our wider Sense of Place work, we collaborated with Review of Sussex Arts (ROSA) magazine to create a dedicated Wealden takeover in its Winter 2025 issue. The project aimed to put Wealden on the creative map, showcasing the district’s wealth of creative talent alongside its cultural history, heritage and organisations.

A key element was the Wealden Cultural Map, commissioned through the Land of Imagination, Home of Heritage Crafts project. The map provided a visual representation of the area’s creative and cultural offer and was distributed as an insert within the magazine.

With ROSA having a print membership of 8,000, copies were posted directly to members. In addition, the magazine was available through more than 70 stockists across the South East, primarily in Sussex as well as Surrey, Hampshire and London.

A further 2,500 maps were distributed at the London Art Fair in January 2026, taking total map distribution to 10,000.

The project supported our new position of actively investing in and promoting the growth of the local creative sector.

Makers Directory

The Makers Directory (TMD) is a free-to-access, hyper-local online directory showcasing more than 600 Sussex-based artists and makers. It provides a platform for artists and makers to connect directly with buyers. Originally launched in 2021 with funding from Lewes District Council and Eastbourne Borough Council, TMD now operates as a not-for-profit project supported through small grants, directory upgrades, advertising and contributions.

Building on this success, we are expanding TMD to create a public-facing database of Wealden artists and makers and strengthen connections across the sector. The ambition is for 400–500 new Wealden makers to join during the first year, supported by networking opportunities including a launch lunch at Farley’s House and Garden.

Increasing the visibility of local creative talent will help strengthen the creative economy, create new partnerships between makers and cultural venues, and increase audience engagement. In the longer term, the project aims to strengthen Wealden’s regional identity and visibility for its thriving art and craft community.

Creative Maker Space

This project responds to a longstanding need identified through engagement with Wealden’s creative sector for a dedicated, affordable workspace. Currently, there is no large-scale dedicated artist workspace in the district, with only small privately owned units accommodating one or two artists.

For many creatives, working alongside other artists is an important part of developing ideas, skills and practice, creating a strong case for exploring a shared hub where interaction and collaboration can take place.

To better understand the challenges facing creatives and assess how they could be addressed, we commissioned Flatland Projects, which operates Beeching Road Studios in Bexhill, to undertake a feasibility study into establishing studio or maker spaces and associated services within the district. Creatives were contacted through The Makers Directory to understand their current working arrangements and interest in dedicated facilities.

The Stage 1 report found that 57.4% of responding artists currently work from home, while 33.3% work from rented studios. Importantly, more than 60% expressed interest in studio facilities, demonstrating demand for affordable, dedicated creative workspace in the district.

Baseline cultural evidence review

The review provides a picture of Wealden’s cultural and creative ecology, informing future investment and enabling change and impact to be measured over time.

Findings show high participation and a strong creative workforce: 74% visited a heritage site, 50% attended performing arts, and 850 cultural jobs support the district. Yet infrastructure remains a gap, with 160–190 assets and no National Portfolio Organisation, highlighting opportunities for investment.

Create Music Project

We are working with Create Music, the Music Hub for East Sussex, to develop a new project supporting young musicians across the district. Funded directly by Arts Council England, Create Music provides youth music opportunities across East Sussex and Brighton & Hove. The Wealden branch of the project, due to launch in September, aims to engage young musicians and strengthen pathways into the music industry by working with Heads of Music in secondary schools and creating opportunities for young people to explore potential careers in the sector.

The project responds to a gap in existing provision within our rural communities. While Create Music and coastal venues have developed a strong ecology supporting youth music, this has not been replicated across rural areas. The project will therefore act as a pilot to explore how networks and partnerships can be developed effectively, while creating a lasting legacy for the district.

Secondary schools will be central to sustaining the work, with continued support from Create Music. Uckfield School, a lead music school, will help share learning and best practice with other Heads of Music across the district.