Visual arts charity Sidmouth School of Art (SSA) is delighted to have partnered with Rockfish Sidmouth to host a very special fundraising evening in support of its creative work in Sidmouth.
Supporters of the arts are invited to show their support for the ongoing creative programme that has been brightening the town for nearly 5 years now.
Tickets are available to buy individually or as a group booking. Attendees will be treated to a sharing starter, fish and chips and ice cream included with your ticket which costs £50 plus booking fee. There will be table service for drinks available to buy at the Rockfish bar. The proceeds of each ticket will go to support SSA’s work thanks to the generosity of Rockfish.
The team at SSA work with different artists and community groups to bring new artworks exploring themes that are resonant with Sidmouth.
Residents and visitors are now familiar with the everchanging face of Sidmouth Wallspace – a giant billboard overlooking the Ham car park.
SSA are also responsible for the telephone box installations in Sidmouth’s market square. The iconic red phone boxes were revamped by SSA to become the Micro Museum of Contemporary Art and the Micro Museum of Antiquities.
Sidmouth Festival of Flags, now in its third year, is another creative innovation led by SSA which now has 45 community group flags in its collection flying high over the town for the summer season.
The latest free public art space for the town – Riverside Artspace is located in the Sensory Garden opposite the Ham play park. With its bespoke gabion baskets each topped with wooden panels on which to display the artwork, SSA showcases 3 different exhibitions per year each on show for 4 months.
Since setting up in 2021, SSA has championed participatory art projects to build creative skills and confidence in the community through its artist led workshops alongside boosting the towns cultural reputation and prominence.
Projects have worked with all ages, sometimes targeted to working with children and young people such as the Confluence – River Sid and Its Tributaries project in collaboration with the River Sid Catchment Group, and sometimes to all ages such as Our Town – led by artist Maureen Hawridge. Local and internationally known artists such as Kyle Baker and Brighton based photographer JJ Waller, have exhibited their Sidmouth community images through a whole town project called Your Town, My Town.
SSA’s vision is to make Sidmouth the artwork and it’s people the artists. Its projects have been praised by the Arts Council England for the high levels of community engagement and by the Royal Horticultural Society for its nature and art connection.
Recent work also includes the environmentally focused exhibition Marine and Green - Together Be Seen on the South West Water hoardings surrounding the Ham during the recent sewage improvement works.
Participation, collaboration and creative inspiration are at the heart of the organisation. They regularly give prominence to the groups in Sidmouth who work so hard for the benefit of the town such as Sidmouth Arboretum. Sid Valley Memory Café and Sidmouth College students plus care home residents, primary school children, Sidmouth Science Festival and the Sid Valley Biodiversity Group have all been involved in their many projects, to name but a few.
The benefits of public art on show is well evidence helping towns to be resilient and attractive to visitors as well as boosting the wellbeing of both those who take part and those who view the art on show.
Sidmouth School of Art’s Co-founder and visual artist David Shrigley said:
“Thank you to Mitch Tonks and the team at Rockfish Sidmouth for their generous support. It is so heartening for an important new business boosting the town, to partner with us to offer their support for the arts – at a time when arts funding is so challenging. What better cultural pairing than food and art together.”
Rockfish founder Mitch Tonks added “Community is at the heart of what we do, we are delighted to offer our support to Sidmouth School of Art. Culture, whether through food, music or art, is good for our wellbeing and sense of place. We are really pleased to be helping them to keep doing what they do creatively for the town.”
Tickets are on sale now https://buytickets.at/sidmouthschoolofart/2364581 and can be purchased individually or as a group of friends, family or colleagues.
You can find out more about how to support Sidmouth School of Art via the website
Get Involved | Sidmouth School Of Art
