Exciting Essex

Insite was a unique partnership comprising of the district, borough, unitary and county councils of Essex, and Arts Council England, East. The programme was hosted by ExDRA, the Essex Development & Regeneration Agency, from the summer of 2005 to the end of 2007. The partners had ambitious aims to challenge perceptions of the county and establish Essex as a cultural destination of choice.

During its two years of public activity Insite celebrated Essex's distinctiveness and conveyed positive images through a diverse programme of ground-breaking contemporary arts and cultural tourism activities. 2005 saw the development of 'Three Heads in the Well', a magical Essex tale devised by the Mercury Theatre set amid the most picturesque venues in the county from Hadleigh Castle to Harwich Redoubt.

2006 was the year of the big debate 'What is it About Essex?', with commentators Germaine Greer and Simon Heffer, and the innovative 'Spoke'n'Word' tours with Martin Newell, trips punctuated by poetry readings along the Colne Valley. Two spectacular performances, 'ESSEXstreetdiversions' in partnership with Chelmsford Borough Council, and 'Souterrain' with the Mercury Theatre, closed a year of exciting
activities.

2007 was a busy year with 'Food in Landscape', a stimulating exhibition emerging from the Essex Food Challenge; exciting debates in partnership with Metal joined artistic and tourism communities in the county; exhilarating performances from the 'Wish You Were Here' festival; and an extended programme of 'Spoke'n'Word' tours.

More information about any of these initiatives can be found in the Insite's projects section of this website. You can also download the programme of events of 2006 (PDF file 4MB) and 2007 (PDF file 320KB).

In addition to these downloads you can check the series of e-newsletters developed by Insite from the summer of 2006 to the autumn of 2007 (PDF file 900KB).

Projects

Moving East
Opening cultural tourism initiatives for the £16.5 million arts complex in Colchester, Essex | Read more »

Spoke'n'Word 07
Expanded programme of tours in the north Essex countryside with poet Martin Newell | Read more »