Peterborough Presents is a community-focused arts programme funded by Arts Council England’s Creative People and Places programme. The programme is hosted by Nene Park Trust and overseen by a team of partners including Nene Park Trust, Metal, Eastern Angles Theatre Company, Peterborough City Council, Creative Lives and Peterborough Council for Voluntary Services. This means that the programme is part of the Nene Park family but has a slightly independent reporting structure.

Peterborough Presents works with communities and artists to create great art across the city. By great, we mean art and creative activity that is fun, diverse, unlocks stories. It can sometimes be challenging but most importantly it is relevant to local residents. Our work is created by working with the communities in which we work. We try to place listening, learning, transparency and respect at the heart of what we do.

We focus on areas of the city where people may not be taking part in creative activities or have easy access to events and activities. This is often not because people aren’t interested in the arts but due to confidence, ease of access or people not seeing what is on offer as being relevant to them. In each neighbourhood we work with groups of community representatives (called panels) to commission new creative activities and events specific to that area. Our approach enables the communities to actively guide the programme whilst providing regular opportunities for artists to create new work in Peterborough. As such, we are always seeking artists who have this approach at the heart of what they do.

We have been working closely with communities to create festivals, virtual reality games, film-making courses and screenings, performances, cabaret nights, music workshops, den-building and murals. Together we have created alternate histories, through theatre, reimagined green spaces and more.

The programme started in 2015 with a focus on city wide projects. Over the last few years we have focused on working more intensively with specific wards / neighbourhoods. Over the next 3 years we will focus on Millfield, Orton, Eye, Westwood and one other new area (tbc).

All of the Peterborough Presents projects are led by a set of key values:

• We continue to be relevant and welcoming
• We are responsive, exciting and experimental
• We reflect and openly share our learning
• Our programmes are built on trust and respect for our participants, partners and artists
• We take the time to listen and respond to the communities we work with
• We recognise and celebrate the existing skills and knowledge held within the communities we work with

You can find out more about Peterborough Presents via our website here: www.peterboroughpresents.org

You can sign up to our newsletter by emailing [email protected]

You can find out more about Arts Council’s national Creative People and Places Programme here: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/creativepeopleandplaces