Newcastle Creative Network

The Newcastle Creative Network is a support programs that assists and enables creative members of the Northern Natal community and emerging entrepreneurs to penetrate the creative industries with their skills and wares, thus contributing to the local economic growth.

It’s first aim is to create a supportive network and database of existing and working visual practitioners in Newcastle and its peripheries, with the aim of providing exposure of the artist work to the greater community and to make practitioners aware of each other and not function in isolation but rather as part of a supportive community that encourages peer dialogue and exchange.

The support takes the form of workshops aimed at supporting skills development and making it possible to support them gain confidence, abilities and influence in the community as they improve their leadership skills and take initiative to create ventures for economical sustenance.

This is achieved through facilitated knowledge sessions and workshops around contemporary practice; events where artists meet each other and are given a platform to expose their work (exhibitions); and be open to a much wider audience through a website where their art is recorded, followed by a brief statement and pictures of their work and selected profiles are posted.

The network stimulates and supports artist in identifying opportunities for the development of their careers by making practitioners aware of all the resources available to them and providing access to information. This information pertains to art events taking place nationally and internationally and in future it is hoped that access to project space where, through an application process, can come and create their work in a conducive environment, will be available.

Depending on the success of this aspect of the network further steps will be made to expose the work of these artists to a wider audience in the physical sense as well as by establishing and maintaining ties with other existing commercial and non-commercial organization in the Durban and Johannesburg cities which are easily accessible from Newcastle and foster participation in exhibitions and festivals.