Arts Council England highlights the importance of inclusive art spaces

Making a case for inclusive art spaces

A look into the National Lottery supported BEAF 2023, running from 16 to 25 June. We break down the events to catch and artists to see at the Boscombe festival, set up by BEAF Arts Co with the vision to amplify the voices of those who are often unheard.

 

 

Place-making is at the heart of Bournemouth’s BEAF 2023 Arts Festival. 

Funded by the Arts Council for a number of years, including the Culture Recovery Fund in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2023 festival has received £95,000 in support thanks to National Lottery players. 

Now one of the biggest independent art festivals in Bournemouth, the all-round inclusive celebration involves artist commissions, free workshops and live performances dedicated to spotlighting the creativity of Boscombe and its unheard voices.

 

Celebrating Boscombe’s creative and cultural identity  

 

Harold Offeh © Ashley Carr

 

The festival is set in Boscombe, a lively and diverse part of Bournemouth but with long-standing levels of deprivation. The small team at BEAF Arts Co saw this as an opportunity for change, starting a festival realised through collaboration with local communities, local agencies and the Arts Council to promote local heritage, cultural identity and place.

They do this by commissioning works responding to the area, such as Harold Offeh’s Boscombe World  which invites visitors and residents alike to engage with Boscombe as a place of restorative care. Consisting of several playful installations, the piece explores the rich history of the suburban town as a seaside resort for visitors in search of recuperation and healing. With this, Offeh aims to provide an opportunity for visitors to reflect on the complex narratives of the area – tackling the different ways people interact with it, as well as the complex ideas of ‘refuge’ and ‘sanctuary’.

 

"To me, all those things are connected. There’s a different historical and social and political context to those things. But it’s interesting that this one place has been a site for that. It’s something to be celebrated and discussed and recognised."

 

One of the narratives I’m interested in Boscombe is this idea of its long history of healing, of recovery and wellness. Going back to being a seaside resort, spa hotels, then becoming a holiday destination for day trippers. But, more recently, providing refuge and recovery for people who are recovering from addiction or people – asylum seekers and refugees – seeking sanctuary.” - Harold Offeh

Another highlight is the festival’s group showcase of works by artists Corrianna Clarke, Maddison Collymore, Mark England, Sadaf Firoozi, Rose Leyshon, Mark Perry and Nicholas Teo, presenting portraits from the past and present, responding theme of ‘unheard voices’. Some portraits reflect personal stories, whilst others represent how we identify and how we want to be seen in the places we inhabit.

 

A festival for all

 

BEAF Arts Pavilion © Caroline Beale Johnson

 

With Lets Create, we have set the ambition that everyone had the opportunity to be creative, in our core principles including Inclusivity & Relevance which focuses on being inclusive or relevant to local communities. This way, we encourage the organisations that we fund, like BEAF Arts Co, to lead their decisions with the place and people in mind. A big part of this is strengthening close connections with residents, and to give voice to talented creative practitioners in the area. 

 

"BEAF Arts Co is an innovative and independent organisation who truly believes culture changes communities for the better. It’s our mission to create welcoming, inclusive spaces to enable us to reach as many people as possible with our events.” 

- Carol Maund, BEAF Arts Co-Director

 

One of the ways BEAF 2023 Arts Festival addresses this is by not only focusing on amplifying voices and sharing experiences with the community, but also championing accessibility, inclusivity and affordability within the arts.

This year, the festival features The Outsiders Project, set up to give a voice to marginalised members of the community of Boscombe. Through the project, people with different lived experiences will be able to share their stories and are offered a route into performance and writing where there might be none. 

Nell Leyshon, Artistic Director at The Outsiders Project, says: 

“BEAF festival brilliantly engages our local community’s artists and audiences. We support local artists to make work of exceptional quality, and show it within the community to our local audiences, who don’t normally engage with arts events. 

 

"The new work from The Outsiders Project has come from our workshops. Our artists are supported right through the writing and performing process.” 

 

It’s one of the reasons why the organisation has introduced ‘pay what you can’ tickets and created alcohol-free spaces for selected performances during the festival. 

 

 

Other projects from the programme include The Flags of Boscombe by commissioned artist Ian Wornast, an artist from ActionSpace. While Seeking Refuge: The Stories We Thread presents a creative, collaborative project sharing the hidden voices of people who have been forced to flee their homes. 

Using one of the oldest photographic printing techniques, the cyanotype, The Stories We Thread brings together unaccompanied refugees, and those who have settled in Bournemouth, who come to the weekly workshops to create a large communal artwork. Alongside the exhibition will be a set of ‘painting with light’ postcards, produced by participants from Bournemouth and Poole College in photography workshops at TOSH. 

 

© Seeking Refuge and Caroline Beale Johnson

 

© Seeking Refuge and Caroline Beale Johnson

 

"For me, the Seeking Refuge project has been an unforgettable experience. It was great to tell my story and share it with other people from different parts of the world. Each person has something to share, each from their own experience, but in the end we are all looking for a place where we can live well, safely and freely.”  

- Pilar, member of the Seeking Refuge collective

 

Joli Vyann © Gigi Giannella

 

Also part of this engagement is the local dance company Joli Vyann’s performance Stateless. It combines the voices of refugees with experimental sounds from Japanese composer, Nao Masuda, who plays the Taiko drums alongside Iranian musician Babak Barbod. 

Supported through our grants 

 

© Sadaf Firoozi

 

By taking a collaborative and place-based approach, and with the support of National Lottery Project Grants, creative organisations like BEAF Arts Co can deliver creative experiences that respond to the needs of the communities in the places they are in. The festival exemplifies the importance of inclusive spaces, and how supporting grassroots creativity can change communities for the better. Now more than ever, it is important that all sections of the community can embrace creativity in the towns and villages they live and work in. 

National Lottery Project Grants is our funding programme which gives thousands of individual artists, community and cultural organisations the opportunity to experiment, create and practice art for the public to enjoy.

Article originally published on the Arts Council England website

 

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