How Hebden Bridge is continuing to show its creativity and resourcefulness during the coronavirus pandemic

This revival of spirit has thrived, with fortunes flourishing in the Calder Valley to form a vibrant community now known for its abundant charm as much as for its quirk of character.

As this resilience is tested once again, with a summer of festivals cancelled and a lively arts scene seemingly on hold, it's this same resourcefulness that rises to the fore.

With a little ingenuity, the creativity of Hebden Bridge's community has put pause to all naysayers, as it readies to open its doors online in invitation to the wider world.

"This is a way to bring our arts to people, rather than them coming to us," said sculptor John Noble-Milner, one of the organisers of this week's upcoming Open Studios which is to feature 92 artists sharing their ideas and workshops with the public.

"We have to have creativity in our lives. We have got to have something beyond the mundane and the ordinary. And we do have a reputation that interesting things happen here."

Hebden Bridge is famous for its arts scene, once named among the world's quirkiest places to be and now home to a 'motley mix' of painters and poets and sculptors and more.

Going back to the 1960s, said Mr Noble-Milner, it was a different picture, of a very ordinary Northern mill town which was floundering somewhat as traditional industries declined.

What this resulted in was cheaper housing, which brought an influx of 'artistically cultured' creatives who set up home and also set the scene for decades of boom and growth.

"It perpetuates itself," said Mr Noble-Milner. "That community grew, as more people wanted to be a part of that environment. Hebden Bridge has grown on the back of its artistic community. It's now very cooperative, and community centred. Interesting in its arts, and in the people that come with it.

"This idea is in hosting something a little bit different, and a little bit less ordinary."

The annual Open Studios event has long been something of a fixture on the cultural and tourism calendars for the north of England, drawing a wide and varied audience.

This year, for the first time, it will be hosted online and delivered directly to audiences.

A warm up event on Thursday evening will set the scene as artist Kate Lycett hosts a conversation with gallery owners offering an insight into the north's art scene.

Over Saturday and Sunday, there will be live events and videos from 92 artists, featuring glimpses into workshops and working practice and lively debate.

"It's a mixed picture of interesting things, and I hope people will get the chance to see what it is to be an artist in Hebden Bridge," said Mr Noble-Milner.

"The thing about hosting online is it does open it up to people from a lot further afield. We often have people travelling to Hebden Bridge from all over the country, some of the artists here are internationally known and it does bring people in.

"The arts, in all its different forms, is central to the way we live, we are so far away from being people that just survive. It's all part of that creativity, and thinking about the arts in different ways."

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James Mitchinson