Welcome to the latest edition of the Vibrant Shropshire newsletter.
We want to highlight some of the great opportunities and projects happening across Shropshire's cultural sector.
If you have something you would like to share in future newsletters such as a job opportunity, funding, cultural opportunity or a success story, do let us know by emailing culturalcompact@shropshire.gov.uk
Make sure to check out the Cultural Funding Opportunities at the end of the newsletter.
If you think this newsletter might be of interest to someone you know, please forward it onto them. To make sure you get this newsletter every month, subscribe here.
If you run or enjoy a cultural activity in Shropshire, Vibrant Shropshire needs your help.
Vibrant Shropshire, in partnership with the Rural Art Hub and Designs in Mind, wants to understand more about the current cultural provision in Shropshire and has developed the Creative Activities Mapping Survey .
We would be grateful if you could take 10 minutes to fill in the survey about any cultural activities that you deliver or take part in before Monday 11 August.
You can fill in the survey as many times as you wish for different activities.
Once the survey has closed, a report will be accessible on our website. You will be able to use this to help inform your own planning and development.
Click below to complete the survey:
 As we prepare to announce the organisations that have been commissioned to deliver activity as part of the 'This is Shropshire Festival', we are revisiting some of the projects previously funded by Vibrant Shropshire through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
The brief for the Vibrant Shropshire 'Celebrating Shropshire' commission was to propose an exciting and innovative programme of cultural activities that focuses on ‘Celebrating Shropshire’ whether it be its heritage, natural landscapes or cultural scene, with the condition that it should also enable rural communities to overcome barriers to participation in the arts.
After an extremely competitive process, Pentabus were awarded the commission earlier this year to deliver an ambitious story-telling and performing arts project that would involve 180 Key Stage 2 pupils from primary schools across Shropshire. The project was titled Gwendol: A Giant Problem and allowed pupils to work with a professional performing artist to create performances based on the local fable of Gwendol the Giant that also reflected their own issues, views on the environment and experiences.
The project culminated in two live performances at the Ludlow Assembly Rooms in front of an excited audience of friends and relatives.
Read the full story below:
Free outdoor summer holiday arts and digital media projects for young people (aged 12-18) are taking place in Shropshire.
Piece of String Media is working with two more Hill Stories groups this summer, thanks to funding from Arts Council England and Shropshire Hills National Landscape Conservation Fund. They will be working in partnership with South Shropshire Youth Forum, filmmakers, local artists and experts. Last year, the project was funded by Vibrant Shropshire.
The groups will be in Clee Hills 28-30 July, and Stiperstones 11-13 August. There are a few spaces left for the Stiperstones group. Places are free but limited and booking is essential. Details can be found here.
Email workshops@pieceofstringmedia.co.uk or call Nick (she/her) 07718 274884 if you have any questions or access needs to take part.
 Oswestry’s Love Oswestry programme has been selected as the only UK project to be included in the European Heritage Days programme. Love Oswestry, Love Where you Live, connects place, people, and programming to make the town’s heritage more inclusive and community-driven.
Activities include Heritage Open Days in September and Love Oswestry 2026, a winter festival in February with art, music, and cultural sharing across Oswestry. It will also include a heritage trail designed by Oswestry’s young people. A creative and community hub based at Oswestry Memorial Hall will be developed as a base for cultural organisations and events.
Love Oswestry developed out of a “High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ)” funded by Historic England, a programme which aimed to revitalise historic places, using heritage in ways that engage local people and local business. Oswestry’s story demonstrates some key things around places and their culture and heritage:
- people really appreciate learning more about the history of the place they live in
- the importance of positive narratives about connections between past and present to encourage a stronger sense of connection
- young people are very open to their heritage if given imaginative opportunities to learn
- rural areas and smaller towns can develop amazing heritage and cultural projects and they can often have a greater visibility then in much larger cities.
More details about what’s happening in Oswestry can be found on Love Oswestry’s social media pages and by following this link at the button below:
Weave Only A Trace are a collective of Shropshire-based artist-makers who work with willow, wood and natural fibres.
They are holding two interactive exhibitions in 2025, where they will show traditional and heritage baskets alongside sculptural and contemporary pieces.
The first exhibition is in Shrewsbury, 18-30 August, as part of the town's annual arts trail, and the second is at the Footprint Gallery, Ironbridge, 18-30 November.
More information here.
 Award-winning theatre company Pentabus, helmed by BAFTA winning director Elle While, is launching a brand-new Youth Theatre in Ludlow for young people aged 11 – 14 and 15 – 18.
Pentabus Youth Theatre will take place at Ludlow Assembly Rooms from Wednesday 10th September 2025, with weekly, term-time sessions led by experienced directors and guest artists.
Young people will develop acting skills, work together to create scripted pieces of theatre from established texts, learn how to devise, and perform their work at arts venues across the region.
- No experience needed – just enthusiasm!
- Act, devise and perform in staged productions
- Develop your acting skills with an award-winning theatre company
- Build confidence, make new friends and be heard
- Special workshops with guest artists
When do sessions take place?
Wednesdays from 10th September at Ludlow Assembly Rooms: For ages 11 – 14: 5.00 – 6.15pm For ages 15 – 18: 6.30 – 7.45pm
You can also join us for a £5 Taster Session on Monday 4th August. To book your place, visit: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/shropshire/ludlow-assembly-rooms
How much does it cost? Fees will be £85 per person for a 10-week term. Bursaries are available.
How do I get involved?
Visit the button below for more information about Pentabus Youth Theatre, and how to join us for a £5 Taster Session on Monday 4th August at Ludlow Assembly Rooms.
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We all know the Shropshire countryside is beautiful, unique and needs protecting.
What part of Shropshire is special to you? It may be your local town park at sunrise, a river or walk in summer or a hike in the hills with big views. It may be your daily dog walk, a favourite meadow or country lane, or as close as your back yard or garden.
CPRE want to know the story behind the part of Shropshire you like best.
Grab your camera, smartphone or tablet and show us what is special about this place to you!
Winning entries will be professionally printed and shown in our Sense of Place exhibition at the Gateway Gallery, Shrewsbury in October 2025.
Deadline for entries: Sunday 31 August 2025.
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We are getting lots of great feedback about our new, dedicated website for Vibrant Shropshire: A Cultural Compact.
You can check it out here: Vibrant Shropshire | Supporting Shropshire's Cultural Sectors
Developed by Shrewsbury-based web design company, Verve, this website will act as a home for:
- Information about Vibrant Shropshire
- Our latest news, project updates and events
- Available Cultural Funding: a summary of funding opportunities for cultural projects regionally, nationally and internationally
- Vibrant Shropshire Partner directory
If you have any ideas for additional content that would be useful for the sector, feel free to let us know. Please send suggestions to culturalcompact@shropshire.gov.uk.
Our new Vibrant Shropshire website includes a directory of all the Vibrant Shropshire partners. This directory will be used to connect partners, promote co-working and link up Shropshire's cultural sector.
If you are a Vibrant Shropshire partner, and would like to be included in this directory please fill out the form linked below.
Once you have filled out the form, please send us a copy of your logo to culturalcompact@shropshire.gov.uk
If you are not a Vibrant Shropshire partner, why not become one for free? Please sign up using the link below, you will then be able to complete the directory form:
Have you got a project coming up that you would like to promote?
Do you have news that you would like to share with your peers?
Perhaps you know about an opportunity for cultural practitioners that isn't listed here.
We want to hear from you.
Please send us details of:
- events
- exhibitions
- classes
- employment opportunities
- shows and performances
- commission opportunities
- available funding
- partnership projects
Our aim is to make this newsletter as informative and useful for Shropshire's Cultural Sector. If you know of an opportunity that's of interest to you, chances are it's of interest to another creative practitioner too.
Please send details to culturalcompact@shropshire.gov.uk
Please see below a selection of currently open cultural funding opportunities. To see a full list of cultural funding opportunities, please visit the funding page of our website.
AIM Museum Fundamentals Programme
Association of Independent Museums (AIM), in partnership with the Julia Rausing Trust and the Pilgrim Trust, is offering grants of up to £20,000 for small-to-medium-sized museums with fewer than 50,000 visitors per annum across the UK to support core activities, enable them to care for collections more effectively and efficiently, and meet the standards required for Accreditation.
Eligible costs include:
- Collections documentation and research.
- Collections review.
- Development of new exhibitions or other access to collections.
- Purchase of new equipment and software.
- Small-scale building work to support collections care.
- Improvements to heating, lighting, and other building services.
- Staff time.
- Volunteer recruitment and expenses.
Grant amount: up to £20,000
Deadline: 8 August 2025
Find out more:
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CoSTAR National Lab Call: Grassroots Music Venue Innovation
Grass Roots Music Venues have intrinsic cultural value. They provide shared social experiences. They offer emerging artists their first opportunities, and they stimulate local economies.
The UKRI-AHRC CoSTAR National Lab (CNSL) and the UKRI-AHRC MusicFutures Creative Cluster (Liverpool City Region) are now inviting UK-based companies to develop and pilot creative and technologically innovative ideas that will start to address the challenges faced by grass roots music venues. They are seeking ideas that can extend the reach of grass roots venues, that can connect artists and audiences in new ways inside grass roots venues, and that point toward new portable and scalable business models and solutions.
Grant amount: up to £40,000 plus access to state of the art facilities and research staff.
Deadline: Tuesday 26 August
Find out more:
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Vaughan Williams Foundation
The Foundation offers funding towards:
- the performance, commissioning or recording of music by professional British/Irish composers active in the last 100 years
- projects and organisations in the UK which create developmental opportunities for composers, or which promote wider awareness of British/Irish music of the last 100 years
Grants will generally only be awarded for notated music, scored for live performers. (Repertoire which combines electronics with live performers will be considered.)
Supported repertoire must be by named composers of British or Irish nationality, or who have been resident in the UK for a minimum of five years.
Ensembles, organisations, individual performers or composers may apply.
They do not generally support the performances of composers currently in higher education, or performances by student ensembles.
Grant amount: most grants will be under £3,000. Larger grants may be given for significant projects.
Deadline(s):
- Wednesday 3 September 2025
- Monday 5 January 2026
Find out more:
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Arts Council England Incentivising Touring Scheme
The central aims of the Incentivising Touring: Repayable Grants for Theatre and Dance scheme are to:
- enable more high-quality dance and theatre productions to tour
- give boards and investors increased confidence and incentive to support tours
- give venues and producers the ability to create, tour and programme a greater range of work
- provide audiences with more opportunities to see a range of quality dance and theatre productions at scale
What you can apply for:
- You can apply for up to 25% of your production’s capitalisation costs, up to a maximum of £500,000.
- You can apply for investment to tour dance or theatre that is a new production (new work or new revival) or to remount a production for a new or first tour; theatre encompasses plays (including text-based, physical and visual theatre forms), musicals and circus.
- Any money you receive as part of this scheme will be in the form of a repayable grant.
- When you recoup your capitalisation costs, you should repay your other investors first, then Arts Council England. If you don’t recoup all your capitalisation costs, you will keep part or all of your repayable grant.
Amount available: up to £500,000
Deadline: 30 September 2025
Find out more:
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Next Level Award by Help Musicians
If you’re a musician with a strong track record but lacking the resources to embark on larger and longer-term projects, then the Next Level award might help.
With a programme of one-to-one business advice and peer support, alongside financial support to help you pursue your opportunity, this is designed to help you take your career to the next level.
The award is open to:
- Working musicians who have made at least 40% of their income from music over the past two years. Musicians with a long-term health condition and/or disability that impacts their ability to work as a musician will just need to show some income from music within the past 2 years.
- those aged 18 or over, living in the UK, with the right to live and work in the UK and with a UK bank account.
- those who do not have more than £10,000 savings or access to other capital that could fund your planned activity.
The award includes:
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6 hours of one-to-one business advice from industry experts
- Online meet-ups with other awardees and industry guests
- Up to £3,000 towards your own music activity.
- Invites to online peer drop-in spaces with other musicians (optional)
- Access to a healthy practice session delivered by BAPAM (optional)
Deadlines:
- Round 3: 15 September - 10 October
Find out more:
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Heritage Revival Fund
The Heritage Revival Fund has been created to help communities across England rescue and repurpose neglected historic buildings. It will do this by supporting community organisations to take ownership of, adapt and reuse the local heritage assets that matter to them, transforming them into thriving spaces that meet their needs.
The programme will focus on regenerating historic buildings in town centre locations. Funding is available to support projects from the earliest stages through to capital works, including feasibility studies, development of business plans, design, surveys, and the costs of acquiring and renovating buildings.
Amount available: between £15,000 to £350,000
Deadline: Round 3 closes 13 October
Round 4 closes 19 January '26
Find out more:
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Heritage Crafts' Maker Relief Fund
The Maker Relief Fund is offering grants to UK-based professional craftspeople facing financial hardship.
Grants of £1,000 will be awarded to 50 eligible applicants over the course of a year, starting in November 2024 and running through to the end of October 2025.
These grants are intended to provide flexible financial support, allowing recipients to use the funds without restrictions.
Practising professional craftspeople are eligible to apply if they identify with one or more of the following groups:
- Individuals on low incomes.
- Working-class people.
- Black and ethnically diverse people (including Gypsy, Roma, and Travellers).
- People with disabilities, neurodiversity or those managing chronic physical or mental health issues.
- LGBTQIA+ individuals.
- People with caring responsibilities.
Grant amount: up to £1,000
Deadline: End of October 2025
Find out more:
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BFI National Lottery Creative Challenge Fund
The British Film Institute is accepting applications to the National Lottery Creative Challenge Fund for UK-based organisations delivering creative or talent development programmes. The funding aims to support projects in feature film and narrative immersive media, including narrative, documentary and animation.
The fund is designed to address challenges within the screen industry such as underrepresentation of certain genres, lack of early career producer opportunities and limited support for scalable projects with broad audience potential.
A total of £2.7 million is available over a three-year period. Applicants can request between £12,000 and £150,000. Eligible costs include staff and freelance fees, participant payments, venue and equipment hire, travel, creative practice sessions, mentoring and access provision. Reasonable overheads not already funded from other public sources are also eligible.
Applications are open to organisations across the UK with a track record in delivering professional or creative development work. These include production companies, film festivals, limited companies, CICs, partnerships, registered charities, local authorities and other statutory bodies. For-profit organisations may apply if the funded work is not-for-profit.
All funded work must be completed by 31 March 2026.
Grant amount: between £12,000 and £150,000
Deadline: rolling. Applications must be submitted at least 16 weeks before the planned start of activity.
Find out more:
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To find more available funding opportunities, take a look at the Available Cultural Funding list on our website:
Know about an arts or cultural funding opportunity that isn't listed here? Please contact us
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