Second cohort of the University of Northampton’s Heritage Accelerators unveiled

A new group of arts, creative and history experts will use their skills and knowledge to boost the cultural understanding of a Northamptonshire town.

University of Northampton’s (UON) Heritage Accelerator project supports arts, culture, environmental and history practitioners in Corby and surrounding areas. It delivers heritage-related, hands-on educational projects for children and young people, such as the history of the town or its built or natural environment.

Funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, UON’s Accelerator project announced its first practitioners last October.

Since then, the Fab Four have spread the cultural word about Corby to many local people. Local artist Lisa Lovett even opened a studio at Chester House Estate.

The second cohort of Heritage Accelerators is (clockwise, from top to left):

Lucy Knight:

Lucy is a dance artist passionate about how creativity can have a transformative power on people’s health, wellbeing and quality of life. She is also the founder of BareFooted Arts that uses dance, storytelling, music, and puppetry to achieve these aims.

Lucy concludes by saying: “My creative practice is deeply informed and inspired by community engagement and co-creation. I want to ensure all voices are heard as I believe giving space for people to share their stories breaks down barriers, connects communities emotionally and celebrates our differences as human beings.

“I am very excited to be part of Heritage Accelerator through which I will provide opportunities for Corby’s communities to connect with their surroundings and develop a deeper sense of place and belonging, enriching the cultural fabric of the town with a multitude of perspectives.”

Becky Carrier:

Becky is Director of Northampton Film Festival, a creative industry and social enterprise which runs an annual festival and year-round events alongside producing community-based films and other creative projects.

Becky adds: “I am very excited to be on the Heritage Accelerator programme, to develop the heritage side of my work. I am hugely passionate about Northamptonshire, its stories, and its place on a world stage, past, present and future. I’m also excited to do more work in Corby. While we’ve always worked county-wide, this opportunity will help me understand the community and stories of Corby better. I look forward to celebrating its unique spirit and what unites the whole county.”

Atlas Easton:

Atlas is a queer illustrator, comic artist and activist whose work focuses on LGBTQ+ rights and community. They have created illustrations for local, national, and international groups including West Northamptonshire Council and Sassify.

Atlas also works with Q Space, a volunteer community organisation that supports LGBTQ+ people in Northamptonshire, running a youth group, training businesses and public services about LGBTQ+ identities, and engaging in events within the community.

Atlas says: “Along with Q Space, I am interested in discovering and preserving local LGBTQ+ history. As part of Corby Heritage Accelerator we want to work to create an archive which is as accessible as possible so that local LGBTQ+ people know that they have always existed in Northamptonshire and they always will.”

Courtenay Johnson:

Courtenay is a cultural producer developing community-led, local multi-arts and heritage projects, developing theatre and other live productions that tour locally, nationally and internationally.

She says: “I’m excited to join the Heritage Accelerator programme to focus on developing more ambitious projects that utilise my multi-arts practice to communicate heritage to a wide range of people.

“My priorities are inclusivity, access and amplifying underrepresented stories and perspectives. It would be super to do this at a bigger, more ambitious scale to share and celebrate with more people.”

Find out more about University of Northampton’s heritage projects.