Creative Programme
Our Creative Programme brings unique artistic interventions to our sites in the form of contemporary visual art, theatre, literature, dance and other creative art forms that bring England’s stories to life.
The programme commissions artists, often in partnership with organisations, to produce creative works that draw inspiration from our iconic sites and collections and encourage engagement with heritage and history in new and thought-provoking ways.
Members and visitors can enjoy our creative and artistic projects as part of a regular visit to a site, with a series of exciting new projects, partnerships and collaborations planned for the year ahead.
What’s been happening
Our Creative Programme was launched in 2020. Since then, we've programmed a series of stimulating projects including a major art installation on Hadrian’s Wall in 2022, celebrating the Wall’s 1,900th anniversary. We’ve also commissioned a new artwork at Scarborough Castle, and hosted a poetry fellowship.
Our programme has included exciting partnerships with the British Textile Biennial, Forward Arts Foundation, Ikon Gallery, Invisible Dust, Newcastle University, Northampton University, Poetry Takeaway and Vigo Gallery.
Explore some of our most recent and ongoing Creative Programme projects below or look back further to some of our past creative collaborations here.
More on the Art Installation at Housesteads2024/25 Creative Programme
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Strike a Pose: Stephen Farthing and the Swagger Portrait
From 29 June – 3 November 2024, works by Stephen Farthing will be exhibited alongside the Suffolk Collection at Kenwood, in London, featuring paintings inspired by swagger portraiture including Kenwood’s series by Jacobean artist William Larkin. Alongside other events, Farthing will be in residence in Kenwood’s Dairy where he will create new works in response to Kenwood’s collections.
Image: Stephen Farthing, A Dance To The Music of Time (Cecil after Larkin), 2020. Photograph © Moira Jamrisko -
Marigold Short: Testament
In partnership with Northampton University artist Marigold Short has been selected to exhibit her work Testament at Rushton Triangular Lodge, Northamptonshire from 26 July – 3 November 2024. This new commission aimed to provide a unique opportunity for an early career artist to respond to this intriguing historic building.
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Untold Stories Continues
In 2025, our current English Heritage Poetry Fellow, Jacob Sam-La Rose, will support our poetry steering group, featuring national poetry specialists and ambassadors, to collaborate on new ways to bring poetry to English Heritage sites. Follow the link above to read more about the programme.
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Keith Harrison: Fountain | 1937
Artist Keith Harrison has been selected to produce a new artwork which will be on display at Witley Court, Worcestershire, in 2025. The work, Fountain | 1937,will respond to the working-class history that funded the family wealth of the 19th-century owner of Witley Court – the Earl of Dudley. Come back soon for more details on this exciting new commission.
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Lindsey Mendick at Kenilworth Castle
As part of the 450th anniversary celebrations of Elizabeth I’s 19-day visit to Kenilworth Castle, British artist Lindsey Mendick has been invited to produce a new temporary installation within the grounds of the castle in the summer of 2025. The work will re-examine the events of 1575 from the perspective of a female gaze.
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Dion Kitson: Silver Lining
Silver Lining is a new exhibition by contemporary artist Dion Kitson from 11 May – 7 September 2024 at the JW Evans Silver Factory, Birmingham. Kitson honours a lost industrial past, utilising new technologies to create sculptural interventions in the factory, celebrating the history and popular culture of Birmingham and the Black Country.
The exhibition is in collaboration Ikon Gallery which hosts Kitson’s first major solo show at the same time.
Past Projects
Over the years we have been privileged to work on a number of collaborations with emerging and established artists, local communities and other creative organisations to produce art commissions, site-specific works, sound installations, exhibitions, performances and events at our sites across the country.
Explore our Past Projects