Creative Community Commissions

Are you an artist, community group or organisation based in and delivering creative activities with communities in the Staffordshire Moorlands?  

We are hoping to support a range of projects through small scale commissions, up to £1,000 that help us to increase the range of arts and culture available for communities across the District. We particularly welcome applications that are co-created by local communities.  

What do you need to do? 

Simply complete this application form below and email it to hello@outsidearts.org.  

APPLICATION FORM

(Paper copies can be collected and returned to the OUTSIDE Stall within Leek Butter Market via a postal box.)  

Please email OUTSIDE at hello@outsidearts.org if you struggle to access the google form and we can send the application over as a PDF.

This process has been designed by both our Advisory & Youth Advisory Groups, it aims to be as accessible as possible. If you require any support to complete the form, then please contact hello@outsidearts.org and we can arrange this for you. Or if you would like to submit in an alternative format e.g. video, storyboard etc… this would be very welcome.  

What are we looking for?  

We are looking for exciting and innovative ideas which promote inclusion and creativity for communities across the Staffordshire Moorlands and activities that provide a sense of community.  

Our Youth Advisory Group will be directly responsible for making decisions about projects designed by or featuring activity for young people aged between 18-25. 

All applications will be scored by our Advisory Groups against the 5 criteria listed below: Please use these to help you when answering the questions and thinking about your application.   

Ambition – Does the applicant show originality and ingenuity in their project idea? 

Creative & Innovative Quality – Does the activity show quality – is it presented to a high standard. How does it show this? 

Sustainability – Is there longevity in the project – what will the legacy be for people or place? Is it, environmentally friendly? 

Community Impact – Does the application demonstrate good local community engagement. How is the project being delivered?  

Accessibility – This could be cultural, social, geographic, economic or physical. E.g. ensuring low cost, or that the venues is physically accessible for all? 

Our scoring will take into consideration the following balancing criteria: 

• Geographic Spread 

• Art Form Diversity 

• Range of Audiences 

We particularly encourage applications that support activity for young people aged between 14-18 and applications submitted by young people aged 18-25.  

When is the deadline to submit your application?  

Deadline: 9am on Monday 9th March 2026. We hope to notify all applicants by 5pm Friday 20th March 2026.  

You must be 18 or over to apply.  

You must be a resident of, or an organisation registered in or have a close connection to the Staffordshire Moorlands.

FAQs:

How much can I apply for?  

Up to £1,000 – we will have a range of scales of commissions, the minimum you can apply for is £100. We expect to offer more grants in the middle of this range and fewer at the top end, but please ask for what you need. In order to increase the number of organisations we can commission we may, on occasion, offer a smaller fee than applied for.  

When is the deadline?  

9am on Monday 9th March 2026.  

What can you include in your budget?   

You can apply for anything that will support you or your organisation to deliver your creative idea. This might be equipment, materials, travel expenses, a fundraiser, marketing materials, artist’s fees etc… If you’re unsure, please drop us a line on hello@outsidearts.org to ask for further details.  

When must the project take place?   

Within 12 months of being commissioned – please outline your timeline in your application.  

Can I be based outside the Moorlands but delivering to communities inside the Moorlands?  

People from outside of the Moorlands may apply but the Advisory Groups may favour applications from Moorlands based artists.  

Can I be based inside the Moorlands but delivering to communities outside the Moorlands?  

No, the intention is to commission activity that supports communities within the Moorlands.  

How many commissions are available in total? 

We don’t have a set number, it will depend on the scale of the applications submitted. However, our total budget for this strand of work is approximately £15,000. 

Do I need to be a registered organisation/not for profit/charity to apply?  

Individuals can apply but must be registered with HMRC and have a unique tax reference number in order for us to make payment. 

Organisations must be constituted and have a bank account in their name. 

Any organisation delivering creative activities with communities can apply.  

You do not need to be a registered charity or not for profit as long as you are working with local communities in the Moorlands.  

If I miss this deadline will there be future opportunities?  

We will evaluate these commissions and intend to run the scheme again in 2026. OUTSIDE also has a wide range of other commissions on specific themes and with specific audiences throughout the year. Please sign up to our newsletter to hear about these or follow ‘Creative Moorlands’ on Facebook You can do this via our website: https://outsidearts.org or come to see us at our Market stall on a Wed, Fri and we can discuss opportunities.   

Who will make the decisions about the commissions?  

The OUTSIDE residents’ Advisory Groups in collaboration with the OUTSIDE team will review and select the applications based on a set of criteria as above, including ambition, creative quality, sustainability, community impact, accessibility.   

When will I find out if I’ve been successful?  

We hope to notify all applicants by 1st April 2025. Payment will be made upon contracting.  

What evaluation is required during & after delivery?  

In line with our ambition to keep admin to a minimum on these small-scale commissions, all that we will require is the completion of a short evaluation form (template will be provided to successful projects). This will ask for images of the work or of audiences engaging, as well as information about the numbers of people who engaged and their postcodes, so that we can assess the reach of the commissions and feed back to our funders at Arts Council England.  

If appropriate members of our Advisory Groups may wish to attend your project/activities to observe the impact and feedback to the rest of the group.  

These commissions aren’t for me, is there any other support I can access?  

Please follow the OUTSIDE social media accounts or sign up to our e-newsletter to hear about other opportunities.   

Perhaps consider attending one of our ‘Creative Moorlands’ networking sessions, which are made up of creatives across the Moorlands. They are a great place to hear about opportunities, gain support and make connections. We meet seasonally & more information can be found on our website and socials.  

Alternatively, please contact a member of the OUTSIDE team via hello@outsidearts.org 

If successful, will I need to credit OUTSIDE?  

Yes! We will provide you with a copy of our logo and will expect that it is used either on print or marketing materials where relevant.  

Additional information  

As part of your application, you will be asked to complete a diversity monitoring form to help us ensure that what we do is representative of the diversity of the region. It’s voluntary, anonymised and has no bearing on your application.  

In 2025, thirty three successful 2025 Creative Community Commissions were granted:

• Ale Bravo – The Day of the Dead Celebration, Staffordshire Moorlands
• Amy Ford – Mum’s the Word creative sessions, Leek
• Art UK – Tagger workshops, Leek
• Bev Reardon – Collecting memories, Draycott in the Moors
• Biddulph Methodists – Creative workshops
• Biddulph Moor Community Association – Biddulph Moor Well Dressing Tableau
• Biddulph Youth and Community Zone – Young women’s photo project
• Bolton Gate Arts – Schools & community group arts workshops
• Borderland Voices – The Blackpool of the Potteries workshops & exhibition, Rudyard Lake
• Brown Edge Parish Council – Brown Edge Well Dressing
• Cheadle Arts – Cheadle Arts Festival
• Cheadle Cog – magazine printing
• Cheddleton Flint Mill Industrial Heritage Trust – Flint Garretaw: Music At The Mill
• Creative Cheadle Staffs – Outdoor creative messy sessions
• Draycott in the Moors Parish Council – Bus stop mini art galleries
• EqualBase Cheadle – Lion sculpture for The Wizard of Oz wellbeing garden
• Flash Village Hall – Community Flag
• Greenwood Growth – Bat trail, Leek
• Karen Hare – Leek Yarn Bombers
• Kate Dawes – Pen Drawing for Wellbeing Workshops, Blythe Bridge & Werrington
• Leek Open Studios – Participatory workshops
• Leek Town Council War Memorial Committee – Wool for poppies display
• Louie Young – Pugin After Dark festival, Alton
• Many Strands Textile Group – Scarves exhibition, Leek
• Moorlands Climate Action – Wassail event, Leek
• Moorlands Climate Action Youth Action group – The Lost Words at Wild Week
• Ruby Nixon – Mapping Myths, Staffordshire Moorlands
• Stockton Brook Time & Space – Mini ‘en plein air’ art festival, Endon & Stanley
• The Happy Makers – creative sessions for people with additional needs, Staffordshire Moorlands
• The Rudyard Lake Trust – Volunteers’ art workshop
• Teresa Pattison – Festival of Dance, Staffordshire Moorlands
• Waterhouses Youth Project – The Water That Joins Us series of events
• Woolly Wednesdays – Portable weaving loom, Staffordshire Moorlands

In 2024, eighteen successful seed funding projects were granted. The OUTSIDE Advisory Group and Youth Advisory Group helped the OUTSIDE team select the applications. We were all pleased to support such a variety of creative activity across the Moorlands. Here are the projects which received seed funding:

• @21 Youth Club, music workshops
• Alana Wheat & Tean Youth Club & Wilder Youth, nature connection zine
• Alstonefield Village Hall, family shows
• Biddulph & District Community Orchestra, new music scores
• Cat McGill, bass aux pieds for workshops with disabled children & children with learning needs
• Caverswall Creative Hub, community arts trail
• Cheadle Arts Festival, touring theatre show
• Chris Thompson, exhibition of miniature art works
• Creative Cheadle, courtyard garden for outdoor crafting
• Doctor Plot’s, parade & workshops
• Emma Dawson Varughese, ‘The Language of Flowerz’ pyrography & tattoo project
• Endon Village Hall, community breakfast club craft activities
• Greenwood Growth, ‘Plant with Me’ project
• Kingsley Holt Centre, children’s arts and crafts furniture
• Lighthouse Women’s Refuge, shadow puppet theatre
• Moorlands Climate Action, ‘Storylogs’ at HuG Green Arts Festival
• Social Connective, circus workshops at Community Hive, Biddulph Town Hall
• Stockton Brook Waterworks, open day

We also separately funded Borderland Voices and Cathey Yardley’s yarn group through our funding for the Leek Textile Heritage projects, and in collaboration with Film Hub Midlands, supported Foxlowe Films.