Out in the Community 2024 – 2025

To generate awareness about our work as a National Portfolio Organisation, we have attended several community events across the county, set up by other community focused organisations in Somerset.

Stories and Screen Prints

After a successful Glastonbury Festival 2024, with our screen printing activity, we decided to start taking it to as many different community events as possible. This has included some of the ‘Together’ events, set up by local organisations such as Community Council for Somerset and Diversity Voice. So far, we have attended:

  • Yeovil Together 2024
  • Wellington Together 2024
  • Bridgwater Together 2024
  • Chard Together 2025

We have also attended other community events with our screen printing activity, including:

  • The Blake Gardens Takeover 2024, Bridgwater
  • Friends of French Weir Park 2024, Taunton
  • Drayton Village Fair 2024
  • Bridgwater Blues and Folk Festival 2025
  • Somerset Day at Burrow Hill Cider Farm 2025

Through attending these events, we have solidified partnerships with other creative, culture based organisations and have thus been invited to several other events in the future. This is extremely helpful for us in our mission to reach communities and help them to access heritage.

Furthermore, we explored our stores at the Somerset Heritage Centre, and chose objects from the North Somerset Collection to take out to some of these events. As a Trust, we care for and provide curatorial support for the North Somerset Collection, which provides us excellent opportunity to share local stories with local people.

Woman with her arms spread out over a table to show a collection of vintage music players.
Bridgwater Blues & Folk Festival 2025, Blake Gardens.

‘The Story Of Invention In Bridgwater’ popup museum, with Seed Sedgemoor.

‘Seed is a charity that brings community-led creative projects to Sedgemoor on behalf of local community organisations. As part of the Arts Council Creative People and Places project for Sedgemoor, offering communities new opportunities to create, access and participate in creative arts, heritage and cultural activities.’Seed Sedgemoor.

Seed Sedgemoor invited us to use their Creative Popup Shop in Angel Place Shopping Centre, Bridgwater, as a popup museum. On 15th, 16th, 17th and 19th April, ‘The Story Of Invention In Bridgwater’ offered insight into Bridgwater’s past, as well as opportunities to take part in free creative activities.

We worked with MDesign, Somerset Film, and Ink Jam to curate the space – with exciting installations, museum collections, and creative activities.

A table full of brick and tile related objects with information banners and projections in the background.
The Story of Invention in Bridgwater, pop-up museum with Seed Sedgemoor – Collections into Communities.