An honest update from our little spaceship
Dear friends,
We wanted to share an honest update with our Moonstruck Astronaut community.
We recently received the disappointing news that our application to Arts Council England for Telford Tall Tales: Town & Trees was unsuccessful.
This was our first time applying for funding of more than £30,000, for an ambitious programme designed to give children and young people sustained opportunities to create, play, build confidence and connect with others over more than two years.
While the decision was difficult to receive, the feedback was incredibly encouraging — perhaps the strongest we’ve ever had:
“The project is ambitious and very well planned. The application includes a comprehensive project plan with a clear timeline. The project, lasting just over 2 years, clearly establishes their dedication to long-term engagement, trust building, and the advancement of organisational skills.”
Making a difference rating: Strong likelihood of making a difference
We’ve been encouraged by advisers and our project partners to try again.
So that’s exactly what we’re going to do.
We plan to resubmit Telford Tall Tales: Town & Trees this autumn, with the hope of bringing the project to life from 2027.
🚀 Where we are now
Like many small community arts organisations, much of the work that keeps Moonstruck Astronaut flying happens quietly behind the scenes.
Preparing a project of this scale takes months of planning, partnership working, budgeting, artistic development, access planning, fundraising and careful writing — long before any project funding arrives.
Since March, many members of our team, including our Artistic Director Hannah, have volunteered their time, energy and expertise to keep Moonstruck Astronaut moving forward while developing our plans.
We’re very grateful for the wonders of Zoom, which allow our team to meet virtually, and for the generous support we’ve received from local partners who have helped us with meeting space and other practical support.
Our core admin team Rosy, Heather & Hannah meeting online. (That day zoom wasn’t as wonderful as usual)
But we have reached a difficult point.
At the time of launching our appeal, there was just £188 remaining in Moonstruck Astronaut’s bank account.
Our essential organisational costs are approximately £60 each month. This keeps our website, email systems, Zoom and the other basic tools we need running while our team works towards the next stage of Telford Tall Tales and Moonstruck Astronaut’s future.
💛 Could you help?
If Moonstruck Astronaut has ever made you smile, helped your child grow in confidence, inspired your family, given you an opportunity to create or volunteer, or simply brought something positive into your community, would you consider adding a little rocket fuel?
Every contribution makes a difference.
£5 helps keep our essential systems running.
£20 covers around a third of a month’s essential costs.
£60 keeps Moonstruck Astronaut going for approximately one whole month.
And we’re thrilled to say that we’ve already received a wonderful £60 donation since sharing our situation with our community.
That’s one month secured. 💛
Every donation gives our small team a little more breathing room to keep planning, developing partnerships, seeking funding and working towards the next chapter.
🌳 What are we working towards?
Our next chapter is Telford Tall Tales: Town & Trees.
It builds on the work we began with children and young people through Telford Tall Tales in 2025, alongside the learning and relationships developed through our earlier Drama in the Forest projects.
Our ambition is to create sustained opportunities for children and young people across Telford & Wrekin to work alongside professional artists, using drama, storytelling, movement, music, puppetry and other creative artforms to imagine, make and share stories together.
At the heart of everything we do is our belief that creativity thrives when different kinds of minds come together.
We want neurodivergent and neurotypical children and adults to have opportunities to create alongside one another in spaces where different ways of thinking, communicating and imagining are valued.
We believe this next chapter is worth fighting for.
And the feedback we’ve received has strengthened that belief.
🌙 If you can’t donate…
Please don’t worry.
There are other ways you can help our little spaceship keep flying.
You could share this page with someone who believes in the power of creativity and community.
You could follow and share our social media posts so our story reaches further.
Or simply send us a message.
Your messages of encouragement genuinely fuel our fire too, and we’d love to hear your memories of Moonstruck Astronaut and what our work has meant to you or your family.
Thank you
This is undoubtedly a difficult chapter.
But it isn’t the end of the story.
We’re treating this as a delay, not a stop.
We’re going to take the encouragement we’ve received, learn from the process, strengthen our plans and keep working towards bringing Telford Tall Tales: Town & Trees to life.
Thank you for believing in Moonstruck Astronaut.
Thank you for cheering us on.
Thank you to everyone who has participated, volunteered, partnered with us, funded us, shared our work or simply sent a kind word our way.
And thank you for helping our little spaceship keep flying. 🚀💛
With love and gratitude,
Hannah de Quincey
Artistic Director & Creative Producer
Moonstruck Astronaut