The creative sector has been identified as one of the UK's successes - and we’re excited about it in Essex.
The county’s arts, culture and creative sector is thriving.
Essex has a reputation for nurturing talent which we export nationally and internationally from popular music to visual and performing arts to TV and Film and digital innovation.
It is a place of energy and potential, full of artists makers, performers, innovators, and creatives.
Through our cultural ambassadors we aim to celebrate success and inspire future artists. Culture belongs to everyone and can offer rewarding careers; it can inspire generations and have a positive impact on the lives of everyone in Essex.
Mercury Theatre ‘Aint Misbehavin – credit Pamela Raith
Landscapes and Legacy
The connection between Essex and its geography is hugely important. From the industrial gateways of the estuary to the rolling landscapes captured in Constable’s ‘Wivenhoe Park’ and from the new town brutalist architecture in Harlow and Basildon to quintessentially English villages – the Essex Landscape has been the inspiration for work across the decades and disciplines.
It is the spirit of the Essex person that makes us the place we are today, spirited, brave, inquisitive, adventurous, mischievous, and playful. The Essex character has been exported worldwide and now is the time for us to own this narrative.
From Romans to the Essex Witch Trials and from 1980’s Essex Man to modern day TOWIE – almost everyone will have heard of Essex, but what many might not realise is that we grow and nurture creative talent.
Essex Cultural Ambassadors
Powered by our people
Nationally the cultural and creative industries employ over two million people and are growing faster than other UK industries, having contributed £125 billion to the economy in 2022 (DCMS). Essex’s strong and vibrant cultural sector is one of the reasons so many people choose to visit our county. In the summer of 2024, we launched our Essex Cultural Ambassadors campaign. Through this campaign, we aim to celebrate success and inspire future artists, and creatives. Culture belongs to everyone and can offer rewarding careers; it can inspire generations and have a positive impact on the lives of everyone in Essex.
Culture Essex are thrilled to announce our Essex Cultural Ambassadors campaign, showcasing the vibrant and talented members of our community.
Visit our Ambassador page here.
Culture Essex is managed by the Essex County Council Cultural Development Service. Our mission is to support, promote and advocate for the arts, cultural and creative sector in Essex.
Essex Book Festival – credit Ros Green
Through our Arts and Cultural Fund we provide dedicated funding and support for artists, organisations, and creative practitioners working across a broad portfolio of disciplines and throughout, arts, heritage, creative and green spaces in Essex.
In 2023 we launched a Cultural Strategy for Essex, a broad and ambitious initiative that defines a county-wide roadmap of how we can help create the conditions for our cultural and creative sector to flourish.
We know the importance of data when it comes to illustrating the potential of the arts and identifying areas for growth, that’s why we recently commissioned a report to map creative hubs across the county.
With a focus on encouraging strategic partnerships, and networks and encouraging the sustainability and growth of the sector, we also support several Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisations in Essex.
We understand the place that digital and tech businesses have in growing our county’s creative sector from digital start-ups, film and television production to games developers, entertainment companies as well as architects and designers, Essex has a wealth of potential.
Our vibrant cultural infrastructure stretches from Creative Estuary – part of the Thames Estuary Production Corridor in the south, to Colchester based Firstsite which was named Art Fund Museum of the Year in 2021 and from the Blackwater estuary to the Medieval town of Saffron Walden in the West and everywhere in between.