Arts & culture in East Anglia
Norfolk and Suffolk, from its urban centres, rural villages and coastal towns are part of the four counties of East of England including Cambridgeshire and Essex. Overlooking the North Sea to Europe we are the most easterly point of England.
The East of England offers the best in culture and arts outside of London. We’re home to nationally and internationally renowned festivals, venues, theatres and touring companies. We’re also the place where world-class talent is celebrated, built and nurtured.
From Suffolk’s Snape Maltings and its long-running Aldeburgh Festival to the Norfolk & Norwich Festival, a flagship multi-discipline arts festival, Great Yarmouth’s Out There Festival, a free weekend of international street arts, Latitude, Red Rooster and Maverick Festivals; and Lowestoft’s all-new and free First Light Festival.
On a more day-to-day basis, Norwich hosts Norwich Arts Centre, Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery, Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at UEA, Curious Directive, Norwich University of the Arts, Norwich Theatre and Playhouse, and ourselves at Dragon Hall, while, football team rivalries aside, Ipswich offers up both DanceEast, a national centre for dance, SPILL Festival and the New Wolsey Theatre.
Image: DanceEast Youth Takeover © Malachy Luckie
Download the New Anglia LEP Cultural Strategy Evidence Report
Download Culture Drives Impact: The Norfolk & Suffolk Culture Board Manifesto
Truly successful places are much more than economic powerhouses. Their high levels of performance are always underpinned by a sense of creative vibrancy, a manifestly strong quality of life, and a clear sense of cultural identity.
Culture Drives Impact
A celebration of arts, culture and heritage in the east of England
Head East is a new year-long campaign celebrating the rich diversity of arts, culture, and heritage in and around Norfolk and Suffolk. There’s an abundance of places, spaces and events to explore close to home, for a day, an overnight stay or for longer. And with something for everyone, you can search for the latest news and updates on the Visit East of England website.
Cultural experiences bring us together, help us make sense of the world and provide moments of laughter, tears, learning and quality time with friends and family that we’ve missed over recent months.
Head to Visit England’s Culture and Arts pages and you’ll be sure to find something that will have you venturing east at your earliest opportunity.
Mapping Creative Health in Norfolk and Suffolk
New report exploring the challenges and opportunities to improve health outcomes
Creative Lives was commissioned by the Norfolk and Suffolk Culture Board to map the creative health sector across Norfolk and Suffolk, looking at need, investment, gaps and priority areas, and to develop a series of recommendations that could strengthen creative health provision.
Working with consultants Nikki Crane (King’s College London) and Llewela Selfridge (museums and heritage researcher), and using desk-based, surveys, one-to-one interviews and conducted a series of focus groups, Creative Lives explored the following questions:
- What is the current creative health activity and how is it being funded, reviewed, and sustained?
- What does good practice look like and how can it be defined, shared, and scaled up?
- What are the workforce training needs?
- How can we make the case for creative health stronger in the region and ensure future investment?
The final report, launched at Snape Maltings on 18 April 2024, highlights the potential of creative health interventions across arts, culture and heritage to meet health and wellbeing needs across Norfolk and Suffolk in a strategic way.
Header image © Head East
