Town of culture

The 'Druth Is Out There

The Brief

Be visible to the judging panel. Demonstrate that culture is core to Redruth's identity. And show the town back to itself — reminding local people just how extraordinary their community is. Underpinning everything: the rising tide lifts all ships. Culture isn't a luxury for a town like Redruth; it's the engine of its renewal.

Phase 1: Discover

Before a single frame was filmed, Felix and I immersed ourselves in Redruth — a town I first came to know as a primary school child, and that connection gave the research a different kind of weight.

The reality is that Redruth has faced real challenges. Deprivation is measurable. Investment has been scarce. But alongside hardship, something else has always been present — resilience, creativity, and a fierce sense of community. The campaign had to honour that honestly.

Phase 2: Document

Working alongside photographer Jonathan Cherry, I spent December 2025 capturing the essence of Redruth in portraits, street photography, and video. We went everywhere — filming MP Perran Moon at the rugby, carol singers at the Buttermarket, ceramicists and librarians, shopkeepers, artists, teenagers and farmers. Each story became a thread in a much bigger tapestry, and each reel I filmed and edited a small act of testimony on behalf of the town.

Over the course of the campaign, I filmed and edited 34 reels.

Phase 3: Design

Gemma Stevens — a recent Falmouth University graduate and Ladder intern — gave the campaign its iconic visual identity. In her own words:

"From designing a typeface to sticker packs to posters, I started by doing a walk around. I looked for the finer details of the architecture — the beautiful way the town was made during the historical boom of the 17th and 1800s — but also the indie new energy of it. And I tried to combine those things to make something new. That strange, historic, powerful energy."

The result was a brand that felt entirely of its place: bold, rooted, and quietly triumphant.

Phase 4: Debut

Felix had landed the campaign's beating heart: the strapline The 'druth is out there. Locally, Redruth is simply "the 'druth" — and here was a playful nod to The X-Files, with layers beneath it. The 'druth’ of ‘Redruth’ is also rooted in the Cornish word drudh, meaning treasure. From there, a whole lexicon opened up: the cold, hard 'druth, the inconvenient 'druth, home ‘druth. The strapline wasn't just a tagline; it was a creative framework that could hold the full complexity of the story.

Felix had also quietly secured the @townofculture handles and the domain townofculture.uk. The day the Government announced the competition, Redruth was ready — fully branded, fully formed — becoming the first town in the UK to announce its bid. The DCMS post was swamped with over 50 comments of support for Redruth within hours.

Phase 5: Dominate & Delight

We published over 60 posts across the campaign, including 30+ reels, and went viral twice. A reel playfully staging the friendly rivalry between Redruth and Penzance reached 68,000 views. On St Piran's Day, we released our hero piece: The 'Druth Is Out There.

Written and performed by artistic director Will Coleman and produced by Felix and I, this short film — filmed and edited by Sam Glazebrook — captured something that statistics alone never could. It played before every screening at The Regal on St Piran's Day, reached 32,000 views on Instagram, and was referenced in The Guardian. One line in particular stopped me in my tracks when I first heard it, and still does: "we've got what it takes to heal Redruth." That, more than anything, is what this campaign was really about.

Collaborators including The Buttermarket, Kresen Kernow, Krowji, Wildworks, Flamm and Redruth Library rallied around the campaign. In three months: 18 pieces of press and broadcast coverage spanning BBC News, BBC Spotlight, The Guardian, and BBC Radio Cornwall.

Results in three months:

• 335,000+ social media reach

• 16,000+ interactions

• 1,500+ new followers

• 30–45 million estimated combined media reach

• 18 press and broadcast features

Phase 6: Wait

The judging panel had already noticed. Early in the campaign, they wrote to Felix:

"We were very impressed to see you snap up the domain name Town of Culture so quickly. We really look forward to reading your bid when it comes through."

The shortlist is expected imminently. But in the meantime, a former mining town that has long been overlooked spent three months making sure it couldn't be ignored. The 'druth is out there — and now, so is the story of what it can become.