EDAN Gallery

The East Durham Artists' Network (EDAN) runs a gallery at 74 Church Street in Seaham Harbour, at the bottom of the town's main street near the seafront. Formed in 2004 by a group of local artists who found no existing network supporting East Durham's practising artists, EDAN is a voluntary membership organisation rather than a council-run museum, funded through membership subscriptions, sales commission and grant funding rather than a local authority operating budget. The gallery shows changing exhibitions of members' paintings, photography, textiles and mixed media by professional and amateur artists working in and around East Durham, and hosts occasional talks and community art events. Work is for sale directly from the gallery, with proceeds supporting the artists and the network's running costs. It operates as a single site rather than a branch of a larger arts organisation, staffed largely by member volunteers, giving Seaham a permanent, changing display of locally made art.