Submit your creative ideas for Derby Well

Local people are being invited to submit their creative ideas for the first part of Derby Well which will launch on the last weekend of September.

Derby Well is a new campaign to support and promote cultural and arts activities in and around Derby city centre and will launch with Derby Well Re-Dressed on Friday 25, Saturday 26 and Sunday 27.

This should have been the annual Derby Festé outdoor entertainment festival. However, the Government guidance around mass gatherings due to the pandemic has forced organisers to reinvent this year’s entertainment.

The Derby Well Re-Dressed weekend will see the city centre and surrounding area transformed into a street gallery with artwork, performances and contemporary well dressings.

Artists and members of the public are being invited to submit their ideas digitally or by post and these will be curated into a trail for visitors to enjoy.

Some of the street artwork generated for Melbourne Festival (which is the weekend before Derby Well Re-Dressed) will feature on the city centre streets, including work created by 40 Art & Design students from Derby College’s Joseph Wright Centre in the Cathedral Quarter.

Moving forwards, Derby Well aims to be an important driver in the social, cultural and economic re-development and growth in the city. It will bring together key partners to showcase the city’s arts, cultural calibre and vibrancy through a virtual and physical performance and events programme.

The programme will support artists back into work, encourage people back into the city centre in a safe and socially distanced way and contribute to the wellbeing of city communities by engaging with wider audiences.

Steve Slater continued: “Since 2007, Derby Festé has existed to bring surprise, enlightenment, entertainment and amusement to local communities and visitors alike.

Anyone interested in forwarding their creative ideas or work for inclusion in the Derby Well Re-Dressed Street Gallery should visit Derby Festé at https://www.derbyfeste.com/get-involved/