What is DCAF?

DCAF = Darwin Community Arts Fund

In April 2008 Shrewsbury & Atcham Borough Council launched the Darwin Community Arts Fund to celebrate Shrewsbury’s famous son. Maggie Love, Darwin Project Officer for Shropshire Council is managing this project.

It was understood that in 2009, Shrewsbury would be at the centre of the world-wide Charles Darwin bicentenary celebrations and would be under the glare of the international spotlight.

We therefore offered a wonderful opportunity for the local creative community to get involved and deliver cultural activities that both inspired and engaged. They are Events, Activities and Projects that celebrate Charles Darwin and his ideas.

10 of the 38 proposals were funded up to £5,000 and were encouraged to seek additional sources of funding to add value and scale to their project.

Arts Council, Awards for All, HLF and many other funding bodies have increased this initial investment.

7 of the 10 are featured during the SHIFT TIME Festival

They are:

1) Darwin and the Dodo

2) The Remembrance Path

3) The Tortoise Project

4) Darwin Days

5) Primordial Soup

6) TAKE: a dance in the Park

7) Heresy – part of the Lighting Up Time project

Why SHREWSBURY?

Inspiring thoughts:

Shrewsbury is the birthplace of Charles Darwin and was his home for the first 27 years of his life. Our Darwin is a young, enquiring mind not the hirsute, aged academic on a ten pound note.

This is the town of his formative years and early influences. He attended two universities and went on the Voyage of the Beagle whilst still a resident of the town. This is where the mind was made.

The ideas that he committed to paper continue to resonate in all areas of society, Science, Education, Politics, Art and Culture.

February 12, 2009 was his 200th birthday and it is also the 150th anniversary in 2009 of the publication of “On The Origin of the Species”