We are excited to share with you news that we have received a National Forest Arts Grant for Whispers from the Woods - a brand new creative writing project for young people to share experiences of Nature during Coronavirus Lockdown. A huge thank you to The National Forest for their support.

‘Whispers from The Woods’ is a new poetry and creative writing project organised by Arts Melbourne (the organisers of Melbourne Festival) and aimed at YOU! Made possible through a National Forest Arts Grant. The project aims to document the experiences of young people from South Derbyshire of interacting with nature during Coronavirus Lockdown.   

We want to know how the coronavirus pandemic has affected young people and how interacting with nature may have helped during these uncertain and difficult times. This could be walking or exploring in the woods for the first time since childhood, meeting friends for a socially distanced picnic, walking the dog or exercising outside with the family.

We’re asking young people from the local area to write one sentence, summing up their experiences of interacting with nature during lockdown, to be included as part of a woodland poetry trail. These sentences will be printed at set locations throughout Melbourne and The National Forest and form the basis of a poem to be created by Dan Webber, a poet and published author based in Derby.

To submit your line of text to the project or for more information, please visit the Melbourne Festival website www.melbournefestival.co.uk or email info@melbournefestival.co.uk

Hills & Dales a celebration of the countryside featuring work by Kat Christou, Ian Daisley, Liz Emery, Hannah Lobley and Louise Roe at Arts Melbourne Gallery

The trees are dressed, the pictures hung so drop in this Christmas to buy gifts by local artists, Make two people happy the person receiving the gift and the Artists! We have Melbourne Merry Christmas Cards by Barbara Bagley, many handmade cards by other artists and lots more besides.

Sonic Tapestry - Weaving together the words, sounds and sights of Melbourne, Derbyshire, in 2020.

Arts Melbourne invite you to Wildlife in Focus, an exhibition featuring work by award winning pencil artist Mark Langley, wildlife photographer Steven Fairbrother, wildlife sculptor Lynn Hazel along with work by Kevn Shepherd, Dee Robinson of Bumblebird Design and Susan Olumide.

See the catalogue for the 2020 Melbourne Festival Emerging Artist Award and visit our Facebook page to vote for your favourite piece in our Online People’s Choice Award.

The Arts Melbourne Gallery reopened in August for the first time since Lockdown with the Country Life Exhibition. The exhibition runs until mid-Sept, when a new exhibition will then take its place.
We are excited to be back.