3D yellow text on black background reading 'MEETS CREATIVITY, COMMUNITY'.
Group of people gathered outdoors on a sunny day, standing on a lawn with a stone building and a blue door in the background. There is a circular concrete structure in the center of the group.
Black and white photograph of an indoor ice rink with a large peaked roof and a sign that reads 'ICE RINK'. Surrounding buildings and houses are visible nearby, with a person walking in the foreground.
Children and adults playing with giant soap bubbles outdoors

Empowering Communities

Igniting Creativity

Shaping Futures

Into the Light is a place-based collaboration designed to drive long-lasting growth in County Durham. It aims to cultivate talent, widen access to creative education, enhance the skills of the cultural workforce, and break down barriers to working in the creative industries.

Group of people standing in a circle outdoors, holding pink strings, in a park-like setting with trees and sunlight.
An indoor room displaying photographs on a black partition, with a person working at a table in the background. The photographs include a man with a beanie, a woman outdoors, and hands with tattoos swapping a card.
A man in a yellow safety vest takes a photo of two paintings on a white gallery wall, one depicting a harbor scene with cranes and ships, and the other a landscape of a wooded area with a small car.

SPOTLIGHT

  • PROJECT HIGHLIGHT: PLACE LAB

    The mission of Place Lab is to use the power of culture and creativity to catalyse change at a local level.

    Learn more

  • Join Our Creative Community

    Do you work in, or do you aspire to work in the creative sector? Then we want you to join our mission and work.

    Learn More

  • Meet The Team

    Learn about Into The Light and the team fuelling our mission designed to drive long-lasting creativity-powered growth in County Durham.

    Learn More

  • The Index Music Durham Report is here

    Get the Index music report for Co. Durham now - 2025 insights and information from local musicians, promoters, educators and music lovers.

    Make It

  • ALL PROJECTS

    Browse our latest projects; from Place Lab and Cultivate Commissions - to Durham Creative Community Fellows, and more.

    See All Projects

WATCH ‘THE RIVERSIDE RINK’

Connected to our Place Lab programme, artist Lewis Hobson and filmmaker Carly Joyce created this short documentary telling the story of Durham City’s ice rink from its opening in 1940 to its closure in 1996. The rink once stood just below the Gala Theatre, on the riverbanks. It was home to one of the most important teams in British ice hockey history: The (mighty) Durham Wasps. It also hosted world class figure and speed skaters, skating exhibitions, discos and many other events that were hugely important the the people of County Durham. Over a year, CYAN CIC has held a series of exhibitions which have attempted to bring together this rich, but somehow untold history with the help of the community.

Discover Place Lab

MINING OUR COUNTIES creative ASSETS

About Us

Into the Light is delivered by a partnership of 10 founding organisations from across County Durham, with funding from Durham County Council, UK Government, the National Lottery Heritage Fund through Arts Council England, and Durham University.

The programme is a catalyst for new and imaginative ways to illuminate the ideas, history, communities and culture that shape our county. Just as our coalfields made Durham the cradle of the industrial revolution, Into the Light ignites ambitious county-wide collaboration that returns power to left behind communities, inspires children and young people, and develops the next generation of leaders as place-shapers in a global network.