2004-2020

Projects

Whilst CCANW had a Project Space at Haldon its work was delivered by its own staff and involved several partnership projects, such as the University of the Trees. It began close links to the Research in Art, Nature and the Environment group and Arts and Environment Network.

Moving to the Innovation Centre, it organised a number of smaller exhibitions, but much of its time was spent on delivering the Soil Culture project with numerous partners.

At Dartington, it worked closely with art.earth to deliver the Science Walden project with a South Korean institute and Evolving the Forest conference with the Royal Forestry Society. It also forged academic links with Bath Spa University and worked internationally; with the Global Network of Water Museums and over a proposed network of botanical gardens.

Finally, it worked on the Our Living Soil project with the British Society of Soil Science, linking COP26 with the World Congress of Soil Science in Glasgow.

25 years of

Fundraising

After a Feasibilty Study on the Dunsland Project was abandoned in 1997, the Arts Council agreed that £20,000 from its grant could be used to assess other options. Poltimore was chosen and the remainder of the grant (£55,000) contributed to a detailed Development Study.

In 2001, an application to the Arts Council’s Arts Capital Programme (ACE/ACP) failed and we had to withdraw another to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF); a new application to the HLF failed in 2002. Consultancy funded by the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) confirmed that Poltimore was unviable and a new site in the Haldon Forest was identified in 2004. CCANW converted a redundant building and ran a successful programme until it was forced to leave in 2013, due to increased challenges in securing regular funding from the Arts Council, local authorities and the EU.

It moved to the Innovation Centre and the Soil Culture programme was successfully delivered despite continued financial difficultues. At the invitation of art.earth it moved its base to Dartington in 2015 but, despite securing significant international funding, no new funds from the Arts Council were secured and CCANW closed in 2020.

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