Cromford Mills is looking to commission an artist or artists to create and deliver workshops for the public based around the theme of building and construction in May half-term (24th May-1st June).

As a charitable organisation, The Arkwright Society owns the grade I listed mill complex at Cromford. Cromford Mills is of international significance and a key attribute within the Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO World Heritage Site.  It was from this site that Sir Richard Arkwright kick started the industrial revolution and changed the world we live in, giving rise to the modern factory system. Cromford Mills is a large site with a visitor exhibition, business centre, catering, a mill shop, retail tenants, popular tours, a busy events programme and an award-winning educational offer for schools.

Brief

We are looking for an artist/practitioner to plan and facilitate 9 days of drop in public workshops to be delivered from 24^th May to the 1^st June at the mill site, in the run-up to our Cromford Builds event. The first 7 days of activity will take place indoors in our school room during half term. The final two days the activity will run alongside the Cromford Builds event these two days of activity will be in a small marquee in the Mill Yard. The drop in will be open to the public from 11am-3pm. The drop in activities are part of the countywide Derbyshire Makes Programme which aims to celebrate making in all its forms. It is made possible by funding from the county council and Arts Council England.

The workshops must:

• Be based around the theme of building and construction, in order to feed into our “Cromford Builds” event on May 31^st and June 1^st.
• Be suitable for all ages, both adults and children. Ideally encouraging parents to work with their children and adults to feel comfortable to join in alone.
• Be drop-in
• Encourage participation from the public.
• Consider different abilities to be as accessible as possible.

The selected artist/practitioner must:

• Be able to engage with a wide range of people and encourage participation
• Be skilled at promoting creativity in the public domain
• Be able to run safe activities engaging to a wide range of participants

Budget

There is a flat fee for this commission of £2250, inclusive of 9 days of workshop delivery, preparation time and materials.

Deadline

Expressions of interest should be submitted by 11^th April 2025. This should be no more than two sides of A4 outlining who you are, what skills and experience you can offer, and how you would fulfil this brief. Please send expressions of interest to mshell@arkwrightsociety.org.uk

If you have any questions, please direct them mshell@arkwrightsociety.org.uk

Next Steps

We will be inviting a small number of applicants to come and show us their ideas at the end of April.

Find out more here