Community Partners
Our Community Partners work in music, dance, theatre, radio, visual arts and performance, with professionals and amateurs, children and adults, of all ages and abilities.
Some of these groups have a long history here at Dartington Trust, some have grown out of the College of Arts, and some have developed locally more recently. All engage with the community in meaningful and creative ways, providing regular activity.
They use 1,485 studio sessions a year – through broadcast radio, community engagement, and courses, workshops and performances.
We also foster a collaborative network of businesses and residential tenants on the estate. To find out more about the DCN, click here.
Engage
Engage is our community outreach programme. We look for opportunities to engage visiting creatives with local communities.
If you would like more information about the potential to collaborate with us on a specific project or would like to bring a group to visit the estate please contact emily.hoare@dartington.org.
meet our community partners
Dartington Community Choir
Since the purchase of the Dartington Hall Estate in 1925 by Leonard and Dorothy Elmhirst, the Arts have been an integral part of its activities.
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In 1942 when Imogen Holst was invited to join the staff at Dartington to train young music students, she established both an orchestra and a choir to which all the community were welcome. Dartington College of Arts continued this tradition with local participation in the college choir until 1982 when in the autumn of that year a new choir was formed known as the Dartington Community Choir. Membership was to be non-auditioned and open to all who wished to participate in choral singing.
With the kind permission of the Dartington Trustees the Dartington Community Choir was able to use the venue vacated by the previous choir. To this day the choir is privileged to rehearse and hold concerts in the magnificent 15th century Great Hall at Dartington.
Dartington Playgoers
The Playgoers have been making theatre in and around Dartington for over 70 years. They’re an amateur theatre company with around 70 members – the youngest is 15, and oldest acting member is over 80.
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They programme plays which stretch the company theatrically, welcome new talent and help to sustain, build and engage audiences.
They hold auditions for all their productions, whether full-blown shows or informal readings. These are open to everyone and they welcome people coming to theatre for the first time, or returning to it.
Above image credit: Christopher Wilson
Moor to Sea music collective
Moor to Sea support people to connect, co-create and find a voice through music – providing opportunities and experiences that encourage and nurture connection and which build trust and understanding across differences.
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Working across generations, Moor to Sea create communities where power is shared, difference is valued and creativity, music and the arts are how we understand ourselves.
Soundart Radio
“A SPACE TO LISTEN, PLAY AND EXPERIMENT”
Soundart is an experimental community radio station which grew out of a student project at the College of Art.
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Soundart is run by volunteers, and alongside their brilliant broadcast work they also run workshops and sessions for both children and adults.