HEXHAM’S High Streets Action Zone (HSHAZ) has been given a boost with the announcement of a further £80,000 grant from Historic England.

Hexham HSHAZ is one of over 60 English high streets to receive a share of £6 million for its cultural programme, through grants to local arts organisations for cultural activities.

Led by the Queen’s Hall, HSHAZ will run a pilot project in September called Animation Hexham, using the town’s high street and buildings to inspire conversations about Hexham’s past, present and future.

Katy Taylor, who put together the successful bid, said: “We’re working together with 6 professional artists and community animators to create work that will be projected in the high street in September. The idea with the pilot project is that it creates animation that initiates conversations on what the high street means to residents and what it could be. We’ve got everything from families working on Lego animations to professional hand-drawn animations.”

“The ambition is to create a festival that will run every 2 years called Animation Hexham.”

Cath Homer, councillor for Hexham East, expects that it will not only be beneficial for the town’s residents, but tourism too. She said: “It’s a great opportunity to bring people together, celebrating the town and marketing it as a cultural destination. It is part of the recovery of the tourism economy and this could give it a kickstart – which is really important for Hexham.”

For an arts venue like the Queen’s Hall, the funding comes at an important time. Katy said: “We all need to be thinking about arts and culture in a different way post Covid. We can now reach out to the community in their own spaces, and we can work with communities who don’t usually engage with arts venues.We will be working closely with the community on lots of projects and we want to support people. After all, the most sustainable events are the ones the community take up themselves and own.”