Hawkwood Centre for Future Thinking has a growing national & international significance as a place offering high-quality, innovative creative opportunities for those in the arts & cultural sector, connecting them with global thinkers in sustainability & wellbeing. Artists, creatives & changemakers come to nurture their thinking & creative endeavours. We provide a public cultural education programme, covering new models of creative leadership, performing & visual arts, create health, artistic & changemaker residencies, festivals & talks.
Culture & Creativity
Our Artist Residencies
Generously Supported by The Francis W Reckitt Arts Trust
Hawkwood’s Artist Residency Programme fosters creativity in a serene, inspiring environment. Our week-long residencies allow artists to immerse themselves in the creative process, free from daily distractions, and encourage reflection, research, and collaboration. Participants can share and discuss their work with peers, enhancing their creative development.
Our program supports individual artists and national organizations like The Royal Court and Bristol Old Vic, fostering new collaborations and content creation. In recent years, over 400 artists, including musicians, dancers, poets, and visual artists, have benefited from our diverse and supportive community.
Supported by The Francis W Reckitt Arts Trust, Hawkwood provides more than just space; it offers inspiration and nurtures creativity. Our open, accessible environment connects national and local artists, breaking down barriers and raising aspirations. Committed to sustainability, Hawkwood offers a broader context for artists, stimulating innovative ideas that often reach the national stage.
Culture & Creativity at the Heart of Our Work
Our offerings to creatives & artists include:
Fostering Creative Networks
At Hawkwood, we offer a nurturing environment for cultural organisations to develop their ideas and strategies. Our partnerships with esteemed entities such as Music Works, Wise Children, The London Theatre Consortium, Youth Music, Cheltenham Festivals, The Royal Court Theatre, Lyric Hammersmith, and Julie’s Bicycle highlight our dedication to fostering innovation and collaboration within the arts.
Hawkwood’s unique setting and cultural initiatives make us a pivotal space for organisations and artists nationwide. By providing a serene, inspiring backdrop, we enable creative minds to connect, reflect, and strategize, contributing to the vibrancy and growth of the cultural sector.
Promoting Wellbeing Through Creativity
We are developing a creative health programme with Kingshill House and New Brewery Arts to foster wellbeing through artistic expression. In partnership with Create Gloucestershire, Stroud District Council, and the NHS, this countywide initiative aims to tackle inequality and improve access to our programmes. By engaging high-quality creative practitioners, we support the psycho-social recovery of our communities, enhancing wellbeing through culture and creativity.
“Hawkwood is a beautiful place, stewarded by an extraordinary team who make everyone’s wellbeing the top priority. I have always found the team to be collaborative, flexible, and supportive but during 2020 they were simply outstanding. Within government guidelines, extreme weather, and a reduced workforce, Alicia and the team somehow enabled us to deliver some important NHS health & wellbeing cultural events to local people, in a safe, nurturing, restorative environment that was completely free from fear, and which helped people relax and breathe again. I can’t commend the Hawkwood team and venue highly enough.” – Jules Ford, Cultural Commissioning Group NHS
Enriching Cultural Education
We offer a year-round programme of events for our local community, featuring exceptional artists, insightful talks, films, concerts, and festivals, including the renowned Seed Festival, the UK’s largest arts and environmental festival.
Through our diverse activities, we channel income directly back into the creative and cultural economy. Over the past four years, we have invested over £350,000 in supporting artists and creative practitioners, and £450,000 into educational tutors. Artists find Hawkwood a unique environment where they can think and create differently, supported by our deep care for their work.
Hawkwood is a vital cultural organisation. It is rooted in the local community, but has a regional and national reach, playing a crucial part in our tourism economy. Hawkwood’s programme brings people from across the world to Stroud. Many new creative works have started at Hawkwood and gone on to have national significance. It is a place that plays an important role in supporting a collaborative approach to the cultural ecology working with local partners such as Strike a Light, Stroud Valley Arts, Gloucester Culture Trust & Create Gloucestershire.
– Siobhan Baillie, MP