Our Story

We are a Community Interest Company, who often work voluntarily and sometimes through projects funded by grants and sponsorship.

Established in 2013, we are four Directors who bring a passion for our coast and a variety of skills and knowledge.  

We have core volunteers who support us with their specialist skills as artists, creatives and designers, gardeners, site managers, bar workers, choir leaders, musicians, mermaids and  marketeers plus many more, who help us achieve our vision and have a positive impact.    

Without their support things simply wouldn’t be possible or half the fun!

Curious and Creative

Our journey started as a campaign to save Sidmouth’s Drill Hall but weaved a different path as we crafted our own course towards many creative collaborations.  

At the heart of this journey was a headstrong desire to work creatively with young people, add value to Port Royal and to bring some life, joy and colour to the process.

Blue and Green

Environmentally conscious and wishing to protect the marine environment, we share a love of the beach and the sea.  This provided the steer to design projects which tell the fascinating stories of Sidmouth’s fishing past and heritage, highlight the fragile ecosystem around us and spread the word.

Multimedia

Over the years we have brought the community together through Creativity on the Coast, our films Love and Loss and Working the Sea, our radio play about Stephen Reynolds, our amazing collaborative EU project Tourfish, and our community choir recordings.

The Fish Wall

One of our proudest achievements is The Fish Wall created in 2014 with school children in Sidmouth and given a refresh with 120 volunteers over 4 days in 2021.

This much-loved tactile mural has stood the test of time and provides a vibrant visual link to the sea.  Never a day goes by that someone stops to look at, guess the names and feel the fish as they pass on their way to and from the seafront.

It is sometimes the simplest of ideas to achieve your vision that can both be catalysts and just a little symbolic.

Funding & Partnership

We are a not-for-profit Community Interest Company, who often work voluntarily and sometimes through projects funded by grants and sponsorship.  We raise money from our Prawn Cocktail bar and welcome donations to support our work.

The support we receive from Sidmouth Town Council and local businesses is cherished as a community-based organisation.

Our current projects are also funded by:
 

  • Arts Council England

  • Sid Vale Association

  • East Devon AONB

  • The Arts Society of Sidmouth

  • Devon County Council