Creative Estuary proudly unveils their latest cohort of co-commissions, showcasing eleven inspiring projects that will enrich and celebrate six towns along the Thames Estuary throughout 2025.

With a mission to empower local voices and showcase grassroots talent, this initiative brings together diverse artists and communities to create art that responds to the region’s unique character, history and potential.

These projects will engage young people and communities from Basildon, Benfleet (and wider Thurrock area), Canvey Island, Chatham, Gravesend and Sheerness through film, installations, workshops, immersive performances, visual arts, story-telling and hands-on experiences.

“Creativity is central to the regeneration and wellbeing of our local towns,” says Lorraine Cox, Creative Estuary Director. “Working closely with our Local Authority partners, our Co-Commission Programme not only enhances the artistic landscape of the Thames Estuary but also builds connections that celebrate the area’s rich cultural heritage.”

Each selected project brings its own artistic vision to the table:

• Aaron Shrimpton, Estuary Dreams, Basildon – Inclusive storytelling workshops empowering creatives to produce moving-image art inspired by Basildon’s rich narratives. 

• Animating Education, Canvey Animated, Canvey Island, Castle Point – Stop-motion filmmaking workshops inspiring Canvey Island youth to creatively retell local history and personal experiences. 

• Applause Rural Touring and Casson & Friends, Let’s Play Thurrock!, Gray’s Town and areas of Thurrock – Interactive dance performance celebrating play, mental health, and community, developed with Thurrock’s intergenerational cast. 

• Blueprint Arts, The Forgotten Dead, Gravesend, Gravesham – Powerful performances reviving the forgotten Princess Alice tragedy, preserving history through innovative community storytelling. 

• Callisto, Sightings of Home, Kent and Essex – Immersive art project exploring the emotional essence of “home” through interactive prompts and personal stories. 

• House of Stars, New Chronicles of Mudfog, Chatham, Medway – Engaging workshops transforming Dickensian themes into AR games, celebrating Chatham’s history of migration and creativity. 

• Icon Theatre, New Work (Title TBD), Sheerness, Isle of Sheppey, Swale – Outdoor theatre production exploring climate change’s impact on Sheerness, shaped by local voices.

• Sun Pier House, 300 Steps to the River, Chatham, Medway – Ambitious creative programme celebrating Chatham’s riverside heritage with 300 activities leading to the 2025 Festival.

• Sylak Ravenspine, Pocket Worlds, Basildon and Canvey Island – Hands-on art project inviting participants to create symbolic “pocket worlds,” fostering connections with Essex’s soil. 

• Unpuzzled Theatre Company C.I.C and Steve Lawes, The Peasants Revolt, Basildon – Drama workshops spotlighting Peasants’ Revolt history, offering participants hands-on experience in theatre and production. 

• YoHa, Sleeping with the Dead, Canvey Island – Provocative art project sparking reflection on disinterred remains, historical erasure, and migration’s enduring impact. This co-commission also forms part of the ‘Estuary 2025’ programme.

A number of the co-commissions will also take part in Estuary 2025’s ‘Estuary Anthology’ where timings align.

For more information about each of the Creative Estuary Co-Commissions visit: https://www.creativeestuary.com/co-commission-programme-meet-the-cohort/

CREATIVE ESTUARY is the creative development agency for north Kent and south Essex and their ambition is to transform the 60 miles of the Thames Estuary into one of the most exciting cultural hubs in the world. They are working to forge a new future founded on creative energy and innovation along the length of the Thames. Their deeply networked development programme builds leadership, capacity and space for creative production, and accelerates the growing cultural impact of the Thames Estuary region. They understand and use culture as the catalyst for growth, resulting in the provision of much needed space for expanding creative businesses. This delivers the scale of services, skills and infrastructure sought by both UK and international creative producers and organisations. Creative Estuary is supported using public funding by Arts Council England as part of their Place Partnerships Fund. www.creativeestuary.com

ESTUARY FESTIVAL Estuary Festival is an independent arts organisation that shines a spotlight on the Thames Estuary through high-quality contemporary arts programmes. Estuary 2025 (21-29 June 2025) is the 3rd edition of the contemporary arts festival celebrating the stories, places and people of the Estuary. Through the theme of ‘Vessels’, Estuary 2025 looks beyond the boats and ships of the Thames Estuary, to explore how communities, people, flora, fauna and even art events might be thought of as vessels too, carrying stories, memories and ideas. The ‘Estuary Anthology’ is designed to shine a spotlight on independently produced creative activities during Estuary 2025, offering artists, arts organisations and creative businesses working in any discipline an opportunity to showcase their work within an internationally recognised festival. Estuary Festival was founded and curated by Metal presenting the first two editions Estuary 2016 and Estuary 2021 with Cement Fields. Estuary 2025 is supported by 54 partners including Arts Council England’s Place Partnership investment and National Highways Designated Funds www.estuaryfestival.com

Media Contact: Jennifer Yard at j.yard@kent.ac.uk