Nurturing Creatives in East Anglia

ECDP’s Community Engagement Lead in Norfolk and Suffolk

The recent uplift in funding as part of our National Portfolio Organisation programme funded by Arts Council England has given us the opportunity to explore new opportunities and make connections with communities, local authorities, and arts and cultural organisations in Norfolk and Suffolk, led by Daisy Lees, our Community Engagement Lead.

Over the last two years we have been forging new partnerships, working with new friends and partners to host Salons, events and commissions across the region.

We have also been supporting creatives to develop projects and funding applications, offering match funding to help uplift their bids. £9000 in seed funding across six projects levered a total of £118,383 worth of investment into the region.

Projects we’ve supported so far include For the Benefit of Pablo Fanque by Ashton Owen, Goodnight Maharajah by the ŚŪNYA Co, Brave Art Unlimited by Suffolk Art Link, Cultural Influence of African American Airman in the East of England by Elma Glasgow, and a project by Dulce Duca.

We’ve made connections with other NPOs in the region including Snape Maltings, Firstlight Festival and Out There Arts, and are seeking new opportunities with Benton End, and Counterpoints Arts as part of their Platforma Festival in October.

Much of this strategic work and investment is coming to fruition and starting to shape our current and future programmes. More about the some of the projects we’ve supported is below:

ŚŪNYA Company’s Goodnight Maharajah is a new stage production based on the extraordinary life of Maharajah Duleep Singh, the last King of Punjab who settled in East Anglia. Created by Indofuturist cross-arts innovators ŚŪNYA Company, we supported the development of the show, through workshops and a work-in-progress performance at Cockpit Arts in London on Saturday 7 June.

With colonial histories and cultural inheritance still affecting contemporary diaspora, this innovative production explores the frictions between parent and child, nation and empire, truth and illusion. Blending traditional and experimental storytelling, GOODNIGHT MAHARAJAH unfolds through live electronics and the textured richness of Indian music, performed live on stage by professional musicians and a community chorus.

instagram.com/sunya_company | thecockpit.org.uk/show/goodnight_maharajah

Fantastic Pablo Fanque! is a new show about Britain’s first recorded Black Circus owner, Norwich-born Pablo Fanque. The show was created by Ashton Owen and directed by Natalya Martin. Essex Cultural Diversity Project is very proud to have supported the ACE application for funding for a 2-week research and development period with a creative team in March 2025. Set in Victorian England, spanning over 30 years, we discover Pablo Fanque. From orphan to circus owner, this coming-of-age story is a tale of friendship, family, love and loss and dancing horses! Initial development was initially supported by the Polka Theatre Catapult programme in 2024, with additional funding and support from Arts Council England, Norwich Theatre, Norfolk County Council and Norfolk Museums. Photo credit: Time to be Photography

‘Incredible progress was made in the first R&D phase of Fantastic Pablo Fanque! Congratulations to everyone involved on creating an exciting and uplifting children’s show about an important local story for Norwich. It was obvious at the work in progress performance that this show will be educational for parents and children alike. Told with so much fun, the children in the audience were charmed by characters played by three talented actors and puppeteers Darcy Braimoh, Rue Blenkinsop & Niamh Hine. I am really looking forward to seeing where this show goes next’ Daisy Lees, ECDP Community Engagement Lead for Norfolk & Suffolk

Brave Art Unlimited is a development of Suffolk Artlink’s creative courses for learning disabled people. The project provides creative spaces for people to focus on their practice, experiment with materials and explore their own interests and ideas with support from artists and Artlink’s team.

The project supported eight weekly sessions between March and May 2025 in Bury St Edmunds, Lowestoft and Ipswich. The theme was ‘Suffolk Stories’, beginning in Bury St Edmunds with a trip to Moyses Hall to visit the exhibition of Suffolk Curiosities and Superstitions. In Ipswich, Jade-Marie Anderson from Ipswich Museums brought ‘Ipswich in a box – a social history’. Students had the opportunity to learn about and hold objects from Ipswich through the ages. In Lowestoft the term started with a workshop from poet Dean Parkin who told tales and stories from Suffolk. Brave Artists also explored their own ideas inspired by the exhibits and talks. They experimented with a variety of art materials and techniques including clay, printmaking, drawing, painting and collage.

‘At home I get stressed out but here I focus – I find making art relaxing. I like seeing everyone each week. I look forward to Wednesdays’

‘I feel very proud of how my artwork is going because every week I learn new things on top so it keeps getting more and more excellent’

‘I like trying out something new, mono-printing has been very good to try, I find it calming when I’m drawing’

‘My work is special and amazing, I like orange and gold and blue. I fill the page with colours and lines.’

‘I just go for it! Art explodes out of my brain, flowing onto the page. I start with an idea, and suddenly, my hand is chasing the colours, shapes, and energy that spills out. I love to look at something and then make it my own – turning it into something entirely different.’