2022 was a rollercoaster of a year here at Redhills. Whilst the building was closed to the public ahead of our major redevelopment, the team were busier than ever – with lots of work behind the scenes and exciting projects out in the community. As the year drew to a close, we looked back on some of our highlights:

January

We welcomed young people to the Pitman’s Parliament to support our renovation through Woodshed Workshop.

Woodshed Workshop’s Ben, Will and Matty, supervised by woodworkers Pete Watson and Nathan Hopkins, are among those working on the restoration of Durham Miners Hall.

February

We appointed our first Chief Executive; a familiar face in a new role

Nick Malyan standing outside of Durham Miners hall
Nick Malyan, Redhills Chief Executive

March 

We attended the unveiling of the Ruth First House mural renewal

April

fiona hill and chris mcdonald at redhills
Fiona Hill and Redhills Chair, Chris McDonald

May

  • We supported the Durham City of Culture bid and welcomed the judges and the One Show to Redhills.
  • We learned more about our category D villages with the launch of a new short-film

June

  • We enjoyed our day at Sacriston Party in the Park to mark the Queen’s jubilee, telling the story of Redhills and collecting photographs from the community.
  • We discovered the Marradharma and poetry of William Martin through an annual pilgrimage.

July

  • We finally welcomed back the Gala after a two year-hiatus and provided entertainment for young people on the Gala field.
  • We also worked on amazing co-commissions with our friends at the Brass Festival, including LYR Field Music and Chisato Minamimura 
LYR at Durham Cathedral. Image credit- Jake Morris Campbell.

August 

 Having packed so much into July, we spent the summer month catching up on all of our work behind the scenes, including all-important fundraising bids. Oh, and the small matter of publicly announcing our intention to join a transnational bid for UNESCO World Heritage Status, which gained traction internationally.

September

We launched our Youth Brass Band with a visit to see Brassed Off at the Gala theatre; since then, they’ve already played at the Gala Theatre and Sage Gateshead!

Redhills Youth Brass Band play at Sage Gateshead

October 

We celebrated the 107th anniversary of our opening and commemorated and celebrated the achievements of Thomas Hepburn 158 years after his death.

November

We successfully applied to be an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation and won an award for our LYR co-commission with the Brass Festival! 

We also attended the unveiling of a new miners’ memorial in Sherburn village, organised by one of the fantastic banner groups who keep the spirit of the gala alive all year round.

December

We closed the year with a wonderfully festive evening courtesy of the Durham Miners’ Association Brass Band, who gave their annual Christmas concert out on the road, this year at Durham Town Hall.

Durham Miners Association play Durham Town Hall as part of our Redhills on the Road project during our period of restoration and renewal.

Phew! And if that wasn’t enough, we’ve continued lots of brilliant partnership working and met lots of new organisations with whom we hope to develop projects in the future. We thank all of our supporters for their continued support through 2022, and if you would like to keep updated regularly, you can sign up for our newsletter to learn about our plans as we prepare for an even busier 2023!