Company History
Over the past 3 decades, the company has worked with thousands of people. Our participants are from all walks of life encompassing all ages and abilities from across County Durham and the wider North East, as well as nationally and internationally. Our youth arts programme creates at least one high profile work each year, supported by visiting artists. In the past this work has been showcased at festivals such as the Hexham Gathering run by Folkworks, Contacting the World (a bi-annual international youth theatre project curated by Contact Theatre in Manchester) as well as Performing the World in New York and various youth media film festivals in all parts of the world.
Adults involved with our programmes have the opportunity to share and celebrate their engagement in high quality artistic work through annual exhibitions and through readings and performances, for example, a community choir comprised of people at risk of mental health problems sang in front of thousands of people at 'The Ashes' in Durham County Cricket ground, an event which also featured on national television.
Jack Drum Arts is one of the region's longest established professional community arts organisations having been founded in 1986 by Julie Ward and Paddy Burton. The organisation registered as a workers' co-operative in 1996 when Jill Cole and Simon Pell joined. Helen Ward became a member of the co-operative in 2001.
For two decades the company operated from various home offices but in April 2009 moved into the St Cuthbert's Centre in Crook taking over a large office and workshop space as well as storage units for our large collection of costumes, props and musical instruments - and we have been here ever since!
2014 brought about new changes with Julie Ward being elected as a Member of the European Parliament for the North West of England, and Paddy Burton resigning to follow a new career in Europe. We subsequently recruited 3 new directors: Jack Burton (freelance musician and actor), Michele Armstrong (Head of Volunteering at Auckland Castle Trust) and Tim Fletcher (International Business Manager) who, together with existing director Helen, support the continuing development of the company, for what we hope will be many more years to come.
Our work as creative producers has grown exponentially over the years, with an increasing number of visiting artists and arts organisations working alongside us to demonstrate their practice or share their approach to creativity and the making of work, particularly in the development of outdoor arts events. These have included artists such as the Handmade Parade Collective who have supported us to create large-scale puppets and light structures for our annual winter light parade, professional musicians such as Cat Myers a local lass who now tours with KT Tunstall and the hosting of an international residency with musicians from Nação Maracatu Porto Rico based in Recife, North East Brazil.
In complete contrast we have also developed relationships with some of the region's finest proponents of traditional folk art including The Unthanks who worked with our freelance musicians to embed the early stages of a youth music/theatre project that also created the conditions for the emergence of a new professional performance collective. Meanwhile we have developed strong relationships with musicians and artists such as Hannabiell Sanders of Ladies of Midnight Blue, The Baghdaddies, On Board Arts and Beacon Hill Arts.
A strand running through our work over the decades has been the development of young arts leaders and whilst we are are sad to see some of our most talented young people leave the area for work, study or adventure, we are extremely proud of their achievements, and are happy to welcome them back, especially in the holiday periods.
