Arts by the Sea
Friday 29th September – Sunday 1st October 2023
Welcome to the Arts by the Sea Festival, an enchanting event held in Bournemouth's town centre. With a focus on creating unique and immersive experiences, the festival invites everyone to join in the celebration of creativity. We have the pleasure of speaking with Arts by the Sea Festival Director Andrea Francis and Creative Director Tor Byrnes, who share their insights into the magic and wonder of this extraordinary event.
Can you tell us a bit about the Arts by the Sea Festival for someone who has never been before?
Arts by the Sea is a diverse and inspirational arts festival which takes place in Bournemouth’s town centre. It’s designed so you can stumble across unique, creative experiences including music, theatre, dance, large-scale spectaculars and installations. The whole festival is free and unticketed, accessible and inclusive. It’s funded by BCP Council & Arts Council England and we’ve got a small but dedicated team who have been working hard on our 13th festival, coming up on Friday 29th Sept – Sunday 1st October 2023.
What have you got planned for this year’s festival that you’re most excited about?
So much! This year’s theme is MOMENT and we have no doubt you’ll experience your own unique festival moment at Arts by the Sea. We’ve got the world premiere of PORTAL, a towering light & art installation which will frame our beautiful coastline, created by the renowned design studio Lucid Creates. Plus, exclusive artwork from the internationally acclaimed artist Annie Nicholson of Fandangoe Kid STUDIO, our esteemed 2023 Artist In Residence. You can look forward to captivating projection mapping by The Media Workshop on the Civic Centre, as well as a unique audio-visual performance curated and mixed by DJ Yoda. We’re actually collecting video content for this piece from locals to showcase and celebrate the Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch area, so share your clips with us by tagging #BCPMoments and they might be featured!
How do you strike a balance between big spectacles and showcasing local talent?
We think it’s really important to bring high quality performances to Bournemouth to inspire and surprise our audiences, while supporting local creatives and showcasing the amazing talent we have in the South West and BCP areas. We find this complementary mix creates an atmosphere of celebration and discovery. We get really excited to offer the festival as a platform for local talent, and for local participation. Why not have a go at our Pop-Up Skate Park & Ramp hosted by King Ramps this year? Kids (and brave adults!) Can discover a whole new local community through their have-a-go workshops. You should also check out our Bournemouth & Poole College takeover of 60 Million Postcards – it’s such a brilliant display of the new generation of talent.
How do you make sure everyone feels welcome and represented at the festival? Is this something you consider when designing the festival?
We work really hard to make sure that our festival is diverse and inclusive by working with local groups, listening to residents about their needs, and programming a diverse range of talent. This year, we have Black Victorians, a powerful and moving dance performance by Artistic Director and Choreographer Jeanefer Jean-Charles MBE, Big Gay Disco Bike by Fatt Projects (it’s what it says on the tin!) And our Associate Artists for 2023, The Working Boys Club, who use their performance Serving Sounds to open up the conversation about male mental health. Some of the most impactful performances that we’ve had have been the ones that are community-centric like Carnival by the Sea from 2022, which was a colourful, participatory celebration of our diverse residents in BCP.
Have you got anything coming up in 2023 that involves the local community?
This year we’re continuing to work with the Carnival by the Sea community groups and we’ve created a moment in movement for all of BCP to ‘BREAK DOWN WALLS’ in a community-driven flash mob dance! Everyone, groups and individuals, can get involved in this so check our website for more details on how to take part. We want as many people as possible to move in unity! We’re also running our annual Community Day in West Howe again, full of activities and performances for residents, and this year we’re expanding the Community Programme into Bourne too!
Sounds great. Are there any other ways for us to get involved with the festival?
We have an amazing team of volunteer Festival Ambassadors who are essential to making the festival happen and are always looking for more people to join us. We’re also keen to connect with creatives, businesses, and local community groups too so if you want to get involved just get in touch. But generally, just come along, challenge yourself at the Skate Park, get hands on in our Green Hub, dance in our Flashmob, participate, explore, enjoy, chat to us and let us know what you’d like to see for future festivals. We look forward to seeing you.
Website → artsbythesea.co.uk
Instagram → @artsbythesea
