Network Grants 2026

Network Grants 2026

Norfolk & Norwich Festival is delighted to announce the Network Grants, a set of eight £1000 seed-funding grants to grow the cultural networks across East Anglia.

The initiative will fund eight individuals, collectives or organisations to develop or build cultural networks across East Anglia, with the aim to enrich the connections in the cultural sector as well as develop cultural leaders working in the region.

2026 Recipients

Recipient: Callan Durrant, Reflex Theatre
Location: Norwich

Reflex Theatre was created in March 2020 during the pandemic. Their Artistic Director, Callan Durrant, saw that there would be a regression in our society’s ability to connect and empathise, communities feeling isolated and forgotten, creative opportunities decimated and a lack of artistic engagement. Since then they have grown as artists and their artistic vision has evolved:   

To build trust in communities, to spark honest conversations, to inspire positive social action, to create worlds where people can just be themselves… from the very first second. 

For this project, they’re aiming to establish a neurodiverse creative network, connecting emerging artists, local producers and established cultural leaders in Norwich through six facilitated, informal social sessions at The Garage. Their aim is to not only encourage social interaction between neurodiverse individuals who want to rebuild confidence, but also offer a clear progression route to develop creative ideas, cultural leaders and professional connections. 

Recipient: Emily Steele-Dias, Gateway Film Festival
Location: Peterborough

Gateway Film Festival is an independent film organisation rooted in Peterborough, delivering an annual flagship festival alongside year-round collaborations. Through a programme of screenings and cross-artform events, Gateway explores heritage, identity and place while celebrating cinema of the past and present from around the world. 
 
Between 2023 and 2026, Gateway was selected to deliver the BFI Spotlight programme in Peterborough. Working with more than 15 local organisations, Gateway presented over 80 screenings and engaged more than 15,000 audience members. The programme also supported partners to develop the skills, confidence and connections needed to deliver their own film activity. 
 
This work led to the creation of the Peterborough Film Network, bringing together organisations to share knowledge, build partnerships and develop collaborative approaches to film exhibition, strengthening a more resilient, sustainable and inclusive film culture across the local area.

Recipient: Joshua Pickering, The Seagull Theatre
Location: Lowestoft, Suffolk

Joshua Pickering is a theatre maker, performer and creative practitioner with a passion for creating high quality cultural experiences for young audiences. He is Youth Opportunities Coordinator at The Seagull Theatre in Lowestoft, where he leads youth theatre programmes, develops creative learning opportunities, writes and directs original early years productions, and works closely with schools, nurseries and community organisations to increase access to the arts.  He is also founder of the Little Seagulls Children’s Theatre Festival and a committee member for the board of trustees of Gorleston Pavilion Theatre.  

Through the Norfolk & Norwich Festival Network Grant, Joshua will establish the East Anglia Early Years Theatre Practice Exchange, bringing together theatre makers, producers, performers and cultural organisations from across the region. The project will create opportunities to share specialist knowledge, build professional networks and strengthen the early years theatre sector across East Anglia, creating lasting benefits for artists, venues and young audiences alike. 

Recipient: Anna Benari, Friend of a Friend
Location: Cambridge

Anna Benari is an artist, creative producer and facilitator based in Cambridge. She designs and delivers workshops, exhibitions and community events that bring people together through creativity, with a particular focus on zines, printmaking and accessible arts experiences. 

Anna is the founder of Friend of a Friend, an emerging artist-led initiative building creative connections through making, skill-sharing and community. Building on a monthly zine workshop previously run as Honey Arts, Friend of a Friend will use the Network Grant to develop new opportunities for creatives to connect, learn and share knowledge through workshops, networking events and a monthly community newsletter highlighting opportunities, stories and resources from the arts community. 

Anna is passionate about creating welcoming and accessible spaces where people can explore their creativity, build confidence and find their community. She believes art and creative opportunities should be something everyone feels able to take part in, regardless of their experience or background. 

Recipient: Sara Hayes, The Public Art Company
Location: East Anglia

Public artist, creative producer and consultant Sara Hayes is a practising artist working across public art, placemaking and socially engaged practice. Through The Public Art Company, she develops public art commissions, visitor trails and walking projects for local authorities, charities, cultural organisations and heritage bodies. Her work is united by a strong social and environmental conscience, with a particular interest in creating meaningful connections between people, place, heritage and ecology. 

Through her work delivering public art commissions, Sara identified a gap in the infrastructure surrounding public art production: the need for stronger connections between commissioning artists and the engineers, designers, fabricators, manufacturers and technical specialists who help turn creative ideas into deliverable works. 

Sara is using her Network Grant to pilot the Public Art Makers Network, seeking out specialist makers, fabricators and manufacturers across Suffolk, Norfolk and the wider East Anglia region, and making their expertise more accessible to artists, creative producers and commissioners. 

The project will include visits to local manufacturers and fabricators, an informal networking event, and the development of a simple digital directory and LinkedIn group. The aim is to encourage knowledge-sharing, new collaborations and a stronger regional network supporting the development and delivery of public art and placemaking projects. 

Recipient: Veronica Sekules and Michal Bernasiak, Groundwork Gallery
Location: King’s Lynn

GroundWork Grassroots is a new cultural network for young and early career creatives in King’s Lynn and West Norfolk. Led by Michal Bernasiak and supported by GroundWork Gallery, it explores how creativity, environmental awareness and practical making can help people live economically, sustainably and beautifully.

Veronica Sekules has a background working in environmentalism and art galleries and has a doctorate in art-history. She was employed for over 30 years as curator and then head of education and deputy director at the Sainsbury Centre, University of East Anglia. She has worked freelance in education and heritage and has been a consultant with many national and international projects in these fields. She is a published author in art history, cookery and education. Since 2016, she founded and runs GroundWork Gallery in King’s Lynn, Britain’s only contemporary art gallery dedicated to the environment. 

Michal Bernasiak, as an interior designer and maker who is developing his own new organisation mehaus. 2020 BA Interior Design, Lodz, Poland; 2020, Exhibited in Museum of Lodz a video collage exploring transsexual identity. 

Recipient: Tabatha Willmore, DanceEast
Location: East Anglia

Tabatha is a dance artist, teacher, choreographer and emerging producer based in East Anglia. She began her training locally through the DanceEast Centre for Advanced Training (CAT) programme before moving to London to continue her training at London Contemporary Dance School. Having experienced the journey from being a young dancer in the region to leaving East Anglia to pursue further opportunities, she has become increasingly passionate about creating pathways for artists to develop and build sustainable creative careers within the region. 

Her Network Grant project is an artist-led development network for early-career dance artists in Ipswich and across East Anglia. In partnership with DanceEast, she’s creating a regular space where artists can come together to train, share ideas, build connections and support one another. The programme will combine weekly professional dance and strength and conditioning sessions with guest artist workshops, creating opportunities to learn from different practitioners, gain industry insight and develop professional networks. 

At the heart of the project is the belief that we can learn a huge amount from one another. The network will be peer-led, giving artists the opportunity to share their own skills and experiences while developing confidence in leadership, teaching and facilitation. 

Recipient: Roland Burt
Location: Peterborough

Roland Burt is a Peterborough-based artist and founder of RB7 Art Centre CIC, which champions creativity, cultural exchange and community engagement. Through his practice, Djibo Art, he creates vibrant, story-led paintings inspired by his Caribbean heritage, travel and wide-ranging cultural influences. 

Roland is supporting this collaborative project on behalf of the Intercultural Artists Network, a growing community of Global Majority artists and creatives in Peterborough. The network provides a supportive, culturally relevant space where members can build solidarity, share knowledge and opportunities, develop collaborations, and connect with the wider cultural sector. It has supported 40 artists by providing meet-ups, commissions and opportunities to engage new audiences. 

The Network Grant will enable the group to continue and expand its work through six artist-led exchanges, including facilitated workshops, peer exchanges, visits and informal spaces for relationship-building. Two sessions will connect members with other networks and cultural organisations across the East of England. The programme will also give members space to reflect on the network’s future, consider next steps and explore partnerships and funding opportunities that could support its longer-term sustainability. Together, these activities will help artists build confidence, extend their professional networks and explore diverse approaches to creative practice, leadership and collaboration.