Right now, we are programmed through to the end of March 2026. We are working on new funding applications to help continue the work we have started.
We are currently running two temporary arts spaces in the town that were developed as part of a Place Partnership Project called The Creative Village . You can find out more about the spaces HERE. We are currently working out the next steps for our partnership on the West Green Studios and have been invited to stay in the County Mall unit until at least the end of June 2026.
We are currently in a period of research and development for the next part of the programme.
Check out our What’s On section to find out what we have planned in the coming months.
Local creative professionals
Subject to further fundraising, the West Green Window Gallery is available to showcase the work of local visual artists. We are working with local visual artists Sarah Maple and the Resident Artists at the West Green Studios to host regular events for local creative professionals.
You can find out more about the local showcases we have curated in the past; Woodzy & Friends by watching a short film HERE.
If you are a local creative professional you can join the Crawley Creatives database to ensure you have all the latest opportunities from Creative Crawley.
We are also convening a group called West Sussex Creatives alongside Chichester Festival Theatre. Our aim is to create a coherent picture of what the creative industries are in West Sussex and articulate clearly who we are and what we can offer in order to unlock potential resources for creatives in the county. Find out about and read the minutes from recent meetings HERE. For more information email [email protected]
Town-Wide Festival (working title)
We are planning (raising money and building partnerships for) the 2026/2027/2028 programme. One key element of that will be a town-wide festival which will take place over a period of time in summer 2027 (probably in June). We are working with different communities in Crawley to create a festival that celebrates the diverse identities in the town through creativity.
Get in touch if you have an audience-ready piece of work that could be presented outdoors and/or in non-traditional theatre spaces as part of a town-wide festival in May/June 2027 that could connect with the different people in Crawley.
If you have a socially engaged practice that could help us develop connections with local people through creativity, please get in touch.
We are looking for work of all scales and practitioners who can deliver one off workshops as well as longer and deeper engagement programmes.
If you are a community group based in Crawley that wants to get involved in the festival please let us know.
Creative Crawley brings arts and culture to life for everyone in everyday spaces across Crawley.
We care deeply about the way things are made – and who they’re made for. Through thoughtful events and collaborations, we craft experiences that connect people, celebrate local, national and international stories and make creativity feel welcoming, meaningful and truly shared.
We do not have a permanent venue to programme and we do not produce work from scratch. We do programme existing work and sometimes we commission new work.
Creative Crawley is currently a project funded arts charity. This means we have no core funding or business income and we work project to project. We work in partnership with funders and other organisations to make things happen. Our partners could be the local Business Improvement Districts, arts organisations, community centres or councils.
There are two strands to our work; everyday creativity and creative and cultural infrastructure.
Our business plan objectives to March 2026 are as follows:
a) Support and develop the infrastructure for creative workers in Crawley
b) Shine a light on Crawley as a cultural landscape for the rest of the UK and beyond
c) Celebrate and support everyday creativity for and with people in Crawley
d) Create a kind and robust business model for Creative Crawley that supports staff, artists and participants and maximises their potential.
You can read our annual reports HERE to get a sense of the work we have programmed and presented in the past.
You can read about past and current projects HERE.
You can read about what’s coming up HERE.
We have a small but mighty team of full and part-time people who are passionate about arts and culture and the positive impact it can have on Crawley. They are committed to working professionally in the arts and have a range of experiences but are specialists in making arts events and activities happen. We work with local people to understand what is needed and use our expertise to develop and present projects with local people, be that creative professionals and/or other residents.
We create the frameworks within which brilliant art (be that visual art, performance, digital or craft) can happen and impact positively on Crawley and the people who live, learn and work here.
The Creative Crawley team meet lots of community groups and find out what they are up to, go and see lots of professional shows, exhibitions and other events and actively seek out professional creatives who could work with us.
Things that work well in Crawley tend to…
We are ambitious for Crawley and want to raise the ambitions for those that live here about what’s possible in this town. We’ve worked with world renowned artists like Luke Jerram and local artists like Beth Williams and Sarah Maple. International, national, regional and local creatives are all important to us.
We are interested in and curious about people and the work they make. We want to start a conversation with creative professionals whose practice connects with what we are trying to do and the people who live, work and study in Crawley. We want to build trust between our team and the creatives we work with before we bring or support their work in Crawley. This can happen through seeing each other’s work, conversations, test projects and other activities.
We are rigorous about quality. Each year, we work with local people to develop a new definition of quality. Here’s the current one:
The Creative Playground programme also has a set of themes that we are working on and a Creative Playground People’s Theory of Change that was developed with local people.
You can find out more about how we programme that strand of our work by watching a film HERE.
We receive over 50 invitations and proposals via email each month. We try really hard to get back to everyone but sometimes it takes us some time and we have to prioritise.
If you don’t hear from us, please try not to be disheartened, it’s not a reflection on you, it’s just that we have to prioritise work and practitioners that connect directly with what we are trying to achieve.
We know it takes more time, but if you want to bring your work to Crawley, try and understand how it might connect with the people who live here before you get in touch with us. We don’t expect you to be experts in the town or our programme, that’s our job, but it really helps if you articulate what your aims are for bringing your work to the town.
We don’t have a permanent venue so don’t contact us as if we are a theatre. We pop up in spaces and places all over Crawley. Each year we programme in a different way. We are testing lots of things to see what works; we might programme a town-wide bus tour with a 5 metre high puppet one year and a festival in a park the next. No two years are ever the same and we respond to what we learn.
Sometimes we produce work in disused shops, community centres, libraries, parks and shipping containers. We are responsive to the artists, participants and audiences we work with and this means locations change to suit the people of the town and the work. This means we always work in partnership with others who own/manage the spaces we work in.
We programme 6 months-2 years in advance. It’s really rare that we can make something new happen with short notice. We have a small team and try to make sure they are not overstretched. We plan carefully and strategically so when we commit to making something happen, we can do it with care, foresight, skill and energy. We try not to take on too much. Sometimes though, an opportunity comes along at short notice that we just can’t resist and so shift things around to make it possible.
A new town, based in between London and Brighton and on the doorstep of Gatwick Airport, Crawley has a diverse population of nearly 120,000 people.
People from all over the world live in Crawley and communities have grown and embedded themselves in the town, from Bangladesh and Mauritius to Poland and Portugal to London and Sri Lanka. Over 90 languages are spoken here. There are 14 different neighbourhoods in the town that connect with the town centre. There are three train stations that serve the town; Crawley, Three Bridges and Ifield. Crawley Town Football Club is in Division Two and the Broadfield Stadium is abuzz with fans on match days.
The cultural infrastructure for the size of the place is underdeveloped. The Hawth is an 800 seat commercial theatre with a small studio space. There are two excellent libraries and a leisure centre. There is a thriving amateur theatre scene and a strong commercial dance class offer for those under 16 years old. There is a network of community centres and a thriving third sector. Crawley Museum is open part-time, run mostly by volunteers. Crawley Borough Council still has an Arts Development Officer at this moment in time (Feb 2025) and runs cultural events throughout the year. Crawley Town Centre Business Improvement District runs a cultural events programme in the town centre and Manor Royal Business District commissions artists to create public realm work that brings their place to life. There are two National Portfolio Organisations, regularly funded by Arts Council England based in Crawley; The Posh Club and Theatre Centre.
Internationally renowned visual artists, DJs, architects and comedians live but rarely work here.
Email [email protected]
Come and visit us at one of our events and say hello. What’s On HERE.
