Culture Show

Bideford Bay Creatives are a not-for-profit group of creative practitioners, established in July 2009. Practitioners include visual artists, crafts people, musicians and performers who are based in the Bideford area and who wish to raise their profile, whilst creating opportunities for the local community (people, businesses, voluntary groups, arts and non-arts organisations) to host events and activities and get involved with the arts. This watercolour by Ian Hudson.

Our aims are to promote the Creative small businesses and practitioners in the Bideford Bay area by various means, including the generation of projects to promote members’ work and to develop cultural tourism initiatives for the town.

One of the BBC’s aims is to ‘Promote awareness of the arts as a means for creative practitioners to share their experiences with communities on a District/County, Regional, National or International scale’ – which is where a relationship with our ‘twin town’ Manteo comes in. This textile by Sue Russell.

The Bideford Bay Creatives are introducing to Bideford a new project called ‘Culture Show‘ in various businesses in Bideford and will run for the whole month of October 2009. The project brings the arts into the public realm; places where people go on a regular basis and as part of their ‘normal’ day to day business. For example shops, cafes, hairdressers, the library, building societies and pubs. These places, in turn, are venues for hanging and placing creative artworks, sounds or performances.

The project brings the arts to the people and places where the public go – the creative works will be both discovered unintentionally by visiting a shop or café and intentionally by following the Culture Trail. It also raises the profile of and promotes creative practitioners in the area. Above all it creates an event that can introduce the arts and practitioners not only to the locals but also adds value as a tourist attraction and a quality cultural experience in Bideford. This batik by Janet Jopson.

A trail map will enable members of the public to follow the Culture trail and to see as many venues and artworks as they wish. Also members of the public will come across creative work as part of their visit to the town centre and the businesses there. There will be an ‘opening’ of the event to raise awareness of it and for the Culture Show to be officially launched. The BBC group wish to develop the Culture Show into an annual event.

You’ll find more about the Bideford Bay Creatives at the following website: http://www.bbcdevon.org/
For a photostream of the show follow the following link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/greengallery/sets/72157622426411393/