Exeter Custom House announces new Cultural Partners
Exeter Canal and Quay Trust have appointed two local organisations as part of their latest Cultural Partners Programme, which will run from 2023 to 2026. Exeter Custom House and Transit Shed are home to a vibrant collection of arts and cultural events throughout the year – with many of them free for everyone to enjoy. To devise and host these programmes, Exeter Canal & Quay Trust commission Cultural Partnerships for three-year residencies.
Literature Works has once again been appointed to deliver the literature strand, while Art Work Exeter have been selected to deliver arts focussed events. Both partners will work individually and collaboratively to help the Custom House thrive as a vibrant and creative space where people can expect cultural activity that is accessible to all.
Literature Works supports writers at all stages of their careers, connecting them with opportunity and helping them help themselves. They do this by running workshops, writing courses, talent development programmes, providing seed funding and commissioning writing professionals to work in communities.
Literature Works programmes and delivers Quay Words at Exeter Custom House, which showcases literature as a diverse art form and is a core project of Exeter as a UNESCO City of Literature. They are committed to diversity and to the socially engaged use of literature to develop communities and support wellbeing. They believe that stories and words are for everyone, and exists to ensure that South West writing talent is given a foundation to thrive.
Art Work Exeter (AWE) holds community-led creativity and artist support at the core of their ethos. Their work brings together both professional and amateur, as well as emerging and established artists to deliver the annual Art Week Festival and a year-round programme of work across the city.
They want Exeter to be nationally recognised as a destination city for art lovers and the culturally curious, with a reputation for fostering new talent and ideas across genres and forms. To help them achieve this at the Custom House, Stuart Crewes and Belinda Dillon from AWE will be joined by Exeter based artists and Blind Ditch members Paula Crutchlow and Volkhardt Müller.
Alan Williamson, Chair ECQT said; “The Exeter Canal and Quay Trust (ECQT) launched a Cultural Partners Programme following a pilot in 2019. This project has been a considerable success and a real learning curve both for ECQT and the organisations involved. Both have developed some incredible projects and events at the Custom House and the wider quayside area and we are really excited to have Literature Works and Art Work Exeter as our new partners. We can’t wait to see what creativity they bring to this very special area of the city.”
Helen Chaloner, Chief Executive Literature Works said; “Literature Works is delighted to be appointed by Exeter Canal and Quay Trust as a Cultural Partner at Exeter Custom House until 2026. This longer timeline means that we can programme further ahead and connect Exeter communities to even more established, varied, and talented writers. Quay Words has survived the pandemic to emerge as a flexible, dynamic and diverse live literature programme exploring and embracing the many rich stories of its iconic location on Exeter Quayside.
“We will continue with the seasonal themes, framed by a writer residency, offering courses, hands on activities, performances, events and so much more. We can welcome back fun offers such as the Poetry Machine - creating tailor-made poems for members of the public - and popular offers like the bookable writers’ room. We have ambitions for more international work, connecting Exeter Quayside to the wider world. We will build the offer of immersive workshops for schools, with the Trading Places flash fiction competition for young writers. We urge people to step inside with their stories and share them in any number of flexible, creative ways. They may find their work published in one of the Quay Voices anthologies of new writing from Exeter Quayside”
Stuart Crewes, Creative Director at Art Work Exeter CIC said; “Art Work Exeter is delighted to be working with the Custom House as one of their cultural partners over the next three years. We’ve very much enjoyed the programme led by Honeyscribe and Literature Works to date. We are looking forward to building on this success with plans for events and exhibitions that will explore and complement the existing cultural offer of the historic Quayside”.
