About Us

Arts by the Sea is a celebration of art, culture, people and place.

Arts by the Sea brings together large-scale spectaculars, diverse music, intriguing installations, dance, street theatre, participatory experiences and much more, in one unique and celebratory festival. Originally launched in Bournemouth in 2011, Arts by the Sea is now expanding into Christchurch and Poole, and we also bring cultural experiences out into neighbourhoods, working with schools and communities across the area. We value our talented local artists and creatives and provide a variety of opportunities to support their development. We feel privileged to bring you inspirational experiences in one of the most beautiful locations in the country and put inclusivity, diversity and sustainability at the heart of everything we do.

We’re an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation Organisation, which means funding thanks to taxpayers and National Lottery players plays a huge part in supporting our work.

Andrea Francis

SHE/HER

FESTIVAL DIRECTOR

BCP COUNCIL

I’m the Director of the Arts by the Sea festival within my role as Cultural Development Manager for BCP Council. I lead a small Cultural Development team within the Council who work on a huge variety of interesting and exciting projects, and I feel lucky to be able to bring creative opportunities to so many people. I moved to Bournemouth in 2016 and love it here, I’m in my happy place on my bike or at the beach.

Tor Byrnes

SHE/HER

FROM THE FIELDS LTD

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

I’m the festival’s Creative Director and my role is to produce an event with the best local and national artistic content for Arts by the Sea. I’ve worked freelance for many years across the UK at festivals, and it’s an honour to work in my hometown. I’m the CEO of  We Broke Free, an independent events and promotions company, as well as being a DJ so you may know my stage name, Tor Da Force, an original member of the all-female collective Frau DJs. I’m a strong advocate for culture in the region, inclusivity and most of all celebrating our local creative talent in our beautiful BCP home.

Leigh Hayler

SHE/HER

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT OFFICER

BCP COUNCIL

I’m the Arts by the Sea festival Public Engagement Officer within my role as Senior Business Support Officer for BCP Council. I manage all the festival administration but also get to work with artists, schools, community organisations and volunteers, and I’m an Equality Champion for BCP Council. I was born in Bournemouth and have always worked for the Council in different departments – I love being in a role that brings people together through culture and creativity.

Tom Powell

HE/HIM

EVENT MANAGER

BCP COUNCIL

I’m an Events Manager at BCP Council and work on a variety of different events. For Arts by the Sea I implement all the logistics to deliver the festival which includes liaising with artists on their tech requirements, developing event management plans and managing the Events and Stewarding teams over the festival to ensure we deliver a safe and successful event.

Nuala Clarke

SHE/HER

CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT OFFICER

BCP COUNCIL

I’m the festival’s Cultural Engagement Officer within my role at BCP Council. I work to support the festival’s community participation and manage its sustainability initiatives and impact, including the festival’s Green Hub. Prior to BCP Council, I have worked in the Higher Education and Heritage sectors, organising community engagement events, improving access, and empowering individuals to turn their ideas into action. I love introducing people to new experiences and bringing culture to our communities.

lucy-base-hotshot-agency

Lucy Base

SHE/HER

COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

HOTSHOT AGENCY

I’m the Content and Communications Manager at HotShot Agency and oversee all the branding, artwork and creative communications for Arts by the Sea which help us connect with our audience. I started out in the music and events industry and have been with HotShot since 2018, working with a variety of festivals and events clients in the UK and overseas.

joshua-makinson-hotshot-agency

Joshua Makinson

I lead the marketing strategy and digital development for Arts by the Sea as the Managing Director of HotShot Agency. I started out developing a number of global youth event brands that now operate in 12 countries attracting 200,000 customers per year and HotShot now delivers marketing and design services for a range of international brands.

Emma Kerr (Chair)

Emma is an experienced and strategic creative senior producer, consultant and executive director who has evolved a strong reputation in the dance sector working for organisations such as Rambert Dance Company, East London Dance and English National Ballet. Most recently she has held a senior strategic position at Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council managing the development of a new cultural leadership programme that included the creation of the area’s first cultural strategy.  

Emma utilises her skills in strategic thinking, creative vision, fundraising and organisational experience which has created a vibrant portfolio of creative and executive professional experiences.  Her current roles include Executive Producer for Cathy Waller Company, Executive Producer for Joli Vyann and Executive Director for Luminelle. She is also a trustee of The Powerhouse Poole, a community arts organisation based in Poole and is an advisory Board member of Zoielogic Dance Theatre. 

Alan Dove

Alan is the Head of Commercial Services for the Students Union at Bournemouth University, a charity that raises funds through its commercial activity to spend on student support, advice, and group activity. Alan is currently the chair of Bournemouth Townwatch and a board member of the Bournemouth Town Centre Business Improvement District.

He believes in strong mutual relationship between cultural development and economic development. The enrichment, education and expression that Art improves communities, builds aspiration and this boosts the economic performance of towns and cities. 

As part of his role in Bournemouth Alan has overseen the development of outdoor events and festivals, grass roots touring live music and has been an active campaigner for broadening the cultural night time offer in Bournemouth. Alan instigated two key research reports about Bournemouth – ‘Bournemouth by Night’ and ‘Bournemouth by Night 2’ exploring interventions, opportunities and ideas for development what the Town’s after dark offer should be.

David Doust

David is the General Manager of OutdoorArtsUK. A membership organisation that serves anyone with a stake in outdoor performance. He is also co-founder of Pests Production, a producing and programming company based in Dorset that creates live events across genres for emerging artists to showcase their skills. He’s worked in Inside Out Dorset and with Lorna Rees.

Jacqui Rock

I am the Poole Business Improvement District (BID) Lead.  I work with a small team of individuals along with a Board of Directors and serve the Poole Town businesses to positively affect their bottom line and bring more footfall to the area.  Until recently I was President of Bournemouth Chamber of Trade & Commerce performing a similar role on a voluntary basis. 

Currently I also hold Board positions with WSX Enterprise, a business support and employability company, and PramaCare, a home care charity dedicated to providing exceptional services to people who wish to remain living in their own home. 

My background was predominantly as an investment bank manager with JPMorgan and a freelancer in Branding, Marketing and Event Management and so I am looking forward to bringing both business support along with networking and collaboration to see the Festivals sustained growth over the coming years.

Jennifer Atherton

Jenny is a dynamic events manager with over 20 years experience managing a wide range of events, festivals and arts projects. She is currently the Events and Cultural Projects Manager for Rushmoor Borough Council (an area covering Aldershot and Farnborough in the North of Hampshire) and runs her own freelance events business.

Her passion and expertise lies in creative live event management, inspiring audiences and creating a wow factor, particularly in outdoor arts.

For the last 3 years in her role at Rushmoor, Jenny has been working closely with Arts Council England to drive a new Council arts and cultural strategy and establish a Cultural Compact, alongside curating and producing a significant outdoor cultural events programme, and supporting and commissioning a growing number of arts and heritage projects within the community.

Jenny works with a wide range of arts organisations and artists (locally, regionally and nationally) to ensure that events are creative, dynamic ambitious, inspirational, of high quality and create a lasting impact on residents, visitors and the economy. She can’t wait to bring her knowledge to Arts by the Sea.

Rachel Berenson-Perkins

As a director, coach and choreographer, Rachel’s work has been seen in the UK, USA and Asia winning multiple National and International awards.

Post uni, she worked for Proctor & Gamble where she managed billion dollar brands and customers.

Rachel owned and ran a competitive and recreational sports program for nearly 10yrs. Following success there, she was invited to perform as part of Team England at European and World levels. She then coached for, choreographed and managed Team England Adaptive Abilities at World level for two years.

By day, Rachel is Centre VR’s Marketing Director and also serves on the Board of Directors for the Bournemouth Town Centre BID. Find her in the sea, along the beach or in a hammock.

Timo Peach

Timo Peach is Climate & Futures Storyteller, Presenter and Music Artist.Drawing on a lifetime of work as a distinctive performer, composer, designer, writer, events creative, speaker and host, his personal passion as an arts champion and creative business encourager is to connect more of us to the possibilities found in the challenges of the 21st century – and to understand more about art’s practical magic for changing the stories we think we’re in.

He is the bloke from Momo:tempo, the voice of Unsee The Future and Creative Director of Momo:zo. A member of the Association of Sustainability Practitioners and associate nature communicator with AimHi Earth, he is currently creative director of The Battery Tour with UN Young Leader AY Young and co founder of the emerging Rogue Futures Initiatives. 

Author of “UTF! How to think like an artist and change the world”, he is deep into developing “The Shape of Things To Hum – an electro cabaret musical to end the end of the world”.

 

Vrushali Harihar

Vrushali Harihar is a passionate dance artist associated with local organisations and work as an independent freelancer. Along with being a performer, Vrushali also works as dance instructor, choreographer, moment director and hosts events. She is a committed community volunteer and advocate for art and culturally based activities as well as advocate small businesses in UK and in India. Vrushali has recently completed the program for Women Leaders Southwest (WLSW). Her association with charity organisation extends from the Indian Cultural Association of Dorset to advisory committee for diverse led community groups & Theatre organisations.

 

We aim to create an inclusive environment and are committed to ensuring that all people find the festival a safe environment where diversity is embraced. We are taking positive action to ensure that everyone can attend the festival or find alternative ways in which they can fully participate and enjoy the experience on offer. If you need any assistance or have any comments please contact [email protected]

At Arts by the Sea, we are committed to sustainability and are working hard to ensure our festival is environmentally friendly, ethical, and globally conscious. We are currently working to measure our carbon footprint and better understand what we are doing well and in which areas we need to improve. 

 

By having conversations around sustainability in the early stages of our festival planning, we are putting environmental consciousness at the forefront of our operations. We are working with our artists and performers to monitor and reduce their impact, creating a diverse programme that provokes debate, and building relationships with key partners to help us on our sustainable journey.

Want to find out more? Click on the links below.

Arts by the Sea Sustainability Policy

Arts by the Sea Sustainability Action Plan

Arts by the Sea Venue – Green Rider

Arts by the Sea Artist – Green Rider

While we are working hard behind the scenes to make sustainable changes, we can’t do this alone. Our audiences have a huge impact on the footprint of our festival, from how visitors get to the festival to what they consume while they’re enjoying our performances.

You can make a difference!

Travel to the festival

Did you know that in England, around 60% of 1-2 mile trips are made by car? We’re working with More Bus and Beryl Bikes to make travelling to our festival site even easier. Click here to find out more.

Eat and Drink

The UN has recently revealed that meat and dairy farming accounts for around the same amount of greenhouse emissions as the exhausts of every car, train, ship and aircraft on the planet!

There are loads of great eateries and cafés around the festival site serving plant-based and locally-sourced food & drink. Making a small change in what you consume contributes to a big impact!

Buy local

Buying from local businesses and creatives often means there’s a smaller footprint on the products you purchase! While you’re at the festival, why not pop by South Coast Makers Market. You can browse all sorts (including hand-made homeware, jewellery, prints and gifts!), meet the people behind their creations, and grab something yummy to fuel you while you shop.

Reduce, Refill and Reuse

It is estimated that 4.9 million metric tons of plastic is placed on the market in the United Kingdom each year. Of this total, around three quarters becomes waste. We’re asking you to please reduce, refill and reuse where you can. This could be buy bringing your reusable own coffee-cup or water bottle to the festival, or opting to eat in to reduce plastic waste. We’ve partnered with Litter Free Coast and Sea to promote their amazing Refill scheme to make reusing even easier.

Recycling is tricky in the town centre as bins often become contaminated by unrecyclable waste. In 2018, Bournemouth Council’s Seafront team introduced 200 new bins along the prom with clearly marked Recycling and General Waste labels. Please recycle in the new bins along the prom with clearly marked Recycling and General Waste labels, or do your bit by taking your waste with you and recycling at home. Find out more information here.

Check out our handy map for refill points, bike stands, electric charging points and key bus stops:

 

In 2019 BCP Council declared a Climate and Ecological Emergency, later incorporating the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals into its Corporate Strategy. There are many local organisations in the BCP area that share this sense of urgency and are working to promote sustainable behaviour changes. Amongst other sustainability accreditations, in 2014, Bournemouth gained Fairtrade Town status. Fairtrade Bournemouth and our community works together in supporting and promoting the work of the Fairtrade Foundation. 

Every year, we host a range of these local organisations at our festival Green Hub. They offer a range of interactive activities for all ages so that you can get creative while learning more about how we can be kinder to our beautiful planet. We have hosted wonderful organisations at our Green Hub, including Beryl Bikes, Dorset Scrap Store, the RLNI, the Green TLC, Dorset Wildlife Trust, and more!

If you’d like to be part of our Green Hub, please get in touch.

Click here to contact Arts by the Sea

Our address:
Bournemouth Arts by the Sea Festival
BCP Council
Town Hall Annexe
St Stephen’s Road
Bournemouth BH2 6EA
[email protected]
01202 128121
Arts Award Logo Arts Award's mission is to support children and young people to enjoy the arts, to connect with and take part in the wider arts world, and develop creativity, communication and leadership skills. Arts by the Sea are proud Arts Award Supporters, please get in touch for more information on how the festival can help with your award. Email us at: [email protected]