Dry Water Arts wins National Lottery support

Dry Water Arts are delighted to announce receipt of a grant from The National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund. Thanks to National Lottery Players, Dry Water Arts has received £43,000.00 for an exciting new project: Woman Made.

Woman Made will celebrate and research the touring initiatives of the 1940’s instigated by the Council for Encouragement of Music and the Arts, which was the forerunner of the present day Arts Council.

The project will celebrate the cultural and creative role of women in Amble and Pegswood and the contribution they make to the wider community.

The project will start in May 2018 with a series of participatory workshops and social events open to all. The project will enable woman of all ages to celebrate their creativity and contribution to their communities. The project will tell the often hidden or overlooked social, cultural and political stories of women in our region and provide exciting training and volunteering opportunities.

The project has a particular significance as 6th Feb 2018 marked the centenary of the beginning of universal women’s suffrage and the North East was a particularly active and involved region.

Frances Anderson of Dry Water commented:

 “This project has a particular interest for me as In 1941 my great aunt, Helen Frances Anderson was employed by CEMA as a ‘Music Traveller’ in the North East. The Music Travellers were mostly women and were involved in spreading art & music to various regions of Britain to raise civilian morale during World War Two.

My aunt retained a deep affection for the North East and she has left some wonderful accounts of touring around the North East in her Morris Minor with, amongst others, Kathleen Ferrier. She was committed to the sharing and enjoying of the arts within the community and understood the importance of bringing people together. I am clearly following in her footsteps with my work with Dry Water Arts and share her passion for the importance of community and celebration.

We are thrilled to have received support and are looking forward to discovering, sharing and celebrating women’s creativity through the Woman Made Project."