Place Shaping

We believe that a proper understanding of Cornish heritage brings about a cultural confidence and sense of pride in place.

By working in collaboration with audiences and local partners, we intend for all our projects to make a lasting and meaningful difference to communities and improve Cornish places for the better.

Through the Man Engine, Golden Tree Productions demonstrated how Cornish heritage, culture and the arts could promote and drive positive economic and social outcomes, whilst fostering a sense of community cohesion. The project generated jobs for local creatives, marketed Cornwall as a hotspot for arts and cultural activity, and significantly benefited local high streets and businesses. The immediate economic impact of the 2016 Man Engine tour was estimated to be £3 million, with many local shops reporting record sales. Our local, national and international media reach was over 112 million, catapulting the significance of Cornwall’s mining heritage and culture across the world.

Other place shaping activities have included:

• Cornish hedging workshops – highlighting the cultural, geological and ecological importance of the humble Cornish hedge, whilst encouraging local pride and the health and wellbeing benefits of our Cornish landscape.
• Cultural happenings – uncovering the amazing treasures of Cornwall’s theatrical, sporting, musical, mining and cultural heritage, whilst unpacking Cornwall’s distinctiveness and diversity for local audiences.
• Cornish language events – gathering families and communities together through town trails, drop-in Cornish sessions and cultural events, celebrating the Cornish language as a way of understanding place and fostering a sense of collective identity.

“Golden Tree was the catalyst for a fabulous array of mining-themed community events in Penzance. They galvanized people, businesses and organisations to get involved and connect with one another – to see the town centre as more than a place to simply shop.” 
– Marie McEwan, Pop-Up Penzance

“The main Kerdroya site is in the parish of St Neot in East Cornwall – a place that experiences high levels of rural deprivation and very little cultural provision. Our creative sector is a huge cultural and economic asset, and Kerdroya is exactly the sort of project, rooted in place and identity, that Cornwall Council is keen to support.” 
– Bob Egerton, Cabinet Member for Culture, Economy and Planning, Cornwall Council