Community Projects

The Council commissioned Same Sky, a Brighton based community arts to run workshops with over 200 pupils aged 7-15 years, at three local schools – Lindfield Primary, Blackthorns Community Primary, Oathall Community College - and with the public and community groups at King Edward Hall during the May half term.

The participants worked with Same Sky artists to make colourful withy and tissue artworks on the pollinator theme, for a street procession from Hickmans Green to Lindfield Common on Lindfield Village Day, 3 June 2023. The procession was accompanied music from the Burgess Hill Marching Youth and the Baruhlo Samba Reggae Funk Band who later performed and ran a workshop on the Common.

Lindfield Procession is a longstanding annual event in the village which involves the local bonfire society, representatives from emergency services and other local groups. Due to Covid lockdowns the procession had not been held for a number of years so this project was intended to reinvigorate the event. Same Sky shared their experience of running similar events and supported the local organisers to produce an event management plan.

Waymarker artist and sculptor, Janine Creaye, spent two whole days working with 60 pupils at Handcross Primary School to create wire sculptures inspired by a visit to Nymans. The children enjoyed a walk to Nymans were they made small line drawings of the plants and stone sculptures in the gardens. Back in the classroom they used these drawings to create intricate wire sculptures to hang and display on a wire frame lantern.

The nationally important sites of both High Beeches and Nymans are local to the village and the school. Both have Japanese stone lanterns, Nymans has a Byzantine urn with all sorts of plants and creatures depicted, both sites have important collections of plants which were set up in the 19th century. The workshop was a new, challenging and fun experience.

Mid Sussex District Council commissioned illustrator Helen Cann to produce to pictorial maps of villages in Worth Parish. The maps of Copthorne and Crawley Down show the story of each village – past histories, local characters, flora and fauna and the voices of contemporary villagers.

The artist ran a series of events and drop-in sessions at local schools and community venues to collect residents views and input. The maps are A1 in size and created in pen and ink with a watercolour wash. They are installed on public display on the corner of Copthorne Bank / Borers Arms Road, Copthorne and Station Road / Burleigh Way, Crawley Down.

The Council commissioned U Can Spray to run a series of creative workshops with participants at Age UK, East Grinstead Museum, Sackville and Imberhorne Secondary Schools. The workshops provided inspiration for a mural design to decorate the footbridge at East Grinstead railway station, which is on the Crawley Down to East Grinstead walking trail route. The mural illustrates flora and fauna found along the Worth Way and makes reference to some key features in the town.

The project also funded chainsaw sculptor Peter Leadbetter to create a carved wildlife totem from a large standing cedar tree trunk at East Court.