St Helens Arts, Culture & Creativity Launch

On 25th September, St Helens Borough Council's Arts Service launched a brand-new Arts, Culture & Creativity Network, bringing together artists, makers, performers, and anyone with an interest in the borough's thriving creative scene. The launch event, held at The World of Glass, welcomed over 40 members of the local cultural community for an evening of networking, inspiration, and collaboration.

Celebrating International Creative Exchange.

As part of the event, we were delighted to welcome Helon Conning and Elke Lehmann, who gave inspiring presentations about the artist exchange programme between GEDOK Stuttgart and St Helens, which took place earlier this year. This marks the fourth exchange in a partnership that has spanned 17 years—and we're excited to build on this relationship with more frequent exchanges in the future.

Helon Conning, a St Helens-based artist, was awarded the 2025 artist residency at GEDOK—a live/work studio space in Stuttgart dedicated to supporting women artists.

During in the presentation, Helon shared her residency experience, reflecting on her time spent engaging with Stuttgart's vibrant creative community. She spoke about meeting fellow artists, visiting exhibitions, developing her own work, and leading collaborative drawing events on an international level. The residency offered a valuable opportunity for both artistic growth and cultural exchange.

Helon also introduced the audience to the history of GEDOK and its founder, Ida Dehmel, whose legacy continues to shape the organisation's mission today.

You can read more about GEDOK here and learn more about Helon's artistic practice here 

Elke has come from Stuttgart to take part in the St Helens residency.  You can explore more of her work on Instagram at @elkelehmann42 or on her website: http://zeichnungen-lehmann.de/

Elke showcased a video of recent series of drawings, including a live drawing performance at Hallo Kunstbau, an underground exhibition space in Munich, held in summer 2025. Please take a moment to view here, it fasciating to watch Elke's practice.

What's Next?

Elke and Helon will continue the artist exchange programme when they present a live art, collaborative happening on Thursday 23rd October at 7pm at St Helens College.Follow @artistledsthelens on Instagram for updates and ticket reservations.

This exchange programme has been made possible through support from Arts Council England, funded by taxpayers, and with additional support from Stuttgart Council.

Building a Creative Community

The network launch also gave attendees the chance to promote their own activities and events, and to discuss projects over a buffet and a brew. The creation of the network follows a recent survey of the local creative sector, which highlighted the need for regular opportunities to connect and collaborate.

In response, St Helens Borough Council has committed to hosting quarterly meetings to continue strengthening the local cultural community.

We really hope you'll join us at the next network event in January (date to be announced), where we'll offer more opportunities to share ideas, ambitions, and seek support for any challenges you're facing in your creative projects.

To stay informed about the network and upcoming opportunities, sign up to the contact list here:

https://forms.office.com/e/97WT5ViRyV