About us

Applause is a cultural charitable organisation that collaborates with people across Kent, Sussex, Essex, and the wider region to create opportunities for creative experiences in their local communities.

Our work creates opportunities for rural and culturally under-served neighbourhoods to be empowered to reimagine their community through creative engagement.  From halls to pubs to libraries, from fetes and festivals to village greens and to wide open spaces. We connect exceptional artists and performers with a network of passionate volunteers and programmers. Our work with artists and performers helps connect the dots to tour performance as well as develop new creations that empower people to reimagine where they live.

Communities are at the heart of everything we do and being far flung from a building for culture shouldn’t be a barrier to experiencing it. Our work offers the opportunity to bring people together for inspiring, shared experiences celebrating the positive impacts culture has for a community. Through our touring programmes we reach over 140 communities, 35,000 audience members and more than 500 volunteers for culture each year.

Over the next 4 years we will focus on developing our work with artists through a Community Co-Creation programme, supporting community volunteers and artists to work together forging shared cultural ambition and creative leadership.

We are committed to working in partnership with others to maximise the benefit and impact of all of our work.

Previous partners include:

101 Outdoor Arts, Marlowe Theatre, Roundhouse, Turner Contemporary, Queens Theatre, Mercury Theatre, South Downs National Park, Home Live Art, Spot on, Take Art, NRTF, National Centre for Writing, Creative Arts East, Pub is The Hub, Creative Estuary, Ideas Test and Arts Council of England and of course many artists, villages and communities!