The charity’s founder, Leo Amery, a stained glass artist, described what inspired him to create VARC:

“I moved from London to a very rural part of southwest France in 1986 when I was thirty. The aim was, and is, to get closer to Nature — both as an inspiration for my work as an artist and for my development as a human being. The idea of VARC was to give artists a similar and rare opportunity to live and work in a very rural environment for a year-long residency, to experience Nature through all its seasons. The engagement with the rural community is an inevitable consequence of such a move, and VARC is the catalyst to encourage and facilitate this interaction.

My experience of helping to bring up our son, Joey, who is on the more challenging end of the autistic spectrum, led me to encourage VARC to have a focus on working with people with autism.”

Alongside its core artist residency programme, VARC instigated, fundraised for, and managed a range of additional projects connecting artists with the local community. These ranged from small participatory events to large-scale projects involving public commissions, community collaboration, regional exhibitions, and publications.

Funding and support have been generously provided by organisations including the Community Foundation, Arts Council England, Northumberland National Park Authority, Gillian Dickinson Trust, High Sheriff of Northumberland Awards, Defra, and European LEADER funding. VARC has proudly collaborated with numerous partners such as universities, Kielder Art & Architecture, Crossings, CRISIS, FLOW, Pathways4All, Sangini, local schools, and regional SEN and SEND schools. Through these partnerships, opportunities have been created for people who might not otherwise have access to art and artists within a rural setting.

VARC has always actively valued and promoted social inclusion, equality, and diversity. For example, a 2018 Creative Case residency and research project led to a pilot residency for a disabled artist. Most VARC residencies were openly advertised and accessible to artists from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines.

The programme ENTWINED: Rural. Land. Lives. Art. reflected VARC’s commitment to flexibility and inclusivity, offering both one-month and longer residencies to meet artists’ diverse needs. The charity’s final initiative, Full Circle, invited former VARC artists to shape a concluding programme, culminating in a celebratory event in September 2025 — marking twenty-five years of supporting creativity, connection, and artistic exploration in rural Northumberland.

For any legacy enquiries please contact varcarts@gmail.com, note that this inbox will be infrequently checked beyond December 2025.