IOD Advocacy Doc 2023 v5 singles large
C r e d i t : E l l i ot t F r a nk s Extraordinary events in extraordinary places
Cover: Transe Express in Weymouth Credit: Roy Riley Inside cover: Sisyphus, Company Satchok Credit: Elliot Franks
A festival for all Inside Out Dorset is an award-winning international outdoor arts festival that takes place across the county every two years. We bring live performance to unexpected places – town centres, village squares, beaches and hilltops – for everyone to enjoy. It is the only outdoor festival in the UK that works in both urban and rural outdoor locations across a whole county. In September 2023 we presented enchanting installations, spectacular parade shows, awe-inspiring acrobatics and thought-provoking performances. Some of Dorset’s most remarkable urban and rural spots were transformed with experiences that touched hearts and minds like nothing else. 33,000 visits were made to 昀椀ve unique Dorset locations across ten days: Moors Valley Country Wild Woodbury Park and Forest at Bere Regis Poole High Street Wimborne Weymouth At the heart of what we do is our belief that performing arts should be accessible for all – no matter what your experience or background – therefore all of Inside Out Dorset 2023 was free to attend. Themes of landscapes, the climate, and the importance of coming together were our focus.
Our work with artists and 2023 commissions Over 80 artists presented work at Inside Out Dorset 2023. We featured companies from India, New Zealand, France, Italy, Germany and The Netherlands, as well from across the UK and the South West. CrI e m Two world premieres and 昀椀ve UK premieres d a i g t e : : took place at Inside Out Dorset 2023. MS i a k e e 昀氀 Po For the 昀椀rst time, Artmusic presented Sae昀氀od, e d t , i A tdr a requiem for the Earth. Audiences experienced emat m music at Moors Valley Country Park and Forest n us i g c where sound boxes played Helen Ottaway's e composition performed by the Orchestra for the Earth. And Collectief Walden’s presentation of Songs for a Shifting Soil was unique in its use C I of word-for-word anecdotes of interviewees r m e a d g i e from the local community of Bere Regis. t : R : Eaj l Inside Out Dorset Associate Artist, Lorna Rees, l i a ots was a collaborator and performer in this piece. t th Fan r a H nke The UK premieres were from French company s r i t a De Chair et d’Os, German artists Chris Iris and g e B the Italian performers Duo Kaos. r a s s B We proudly commissioned four South West an d artists for Soup and a Story, part of a project called Flavours with Dorset National Landscape, W I Dorset Food and Drink and Dorset Race Equality a m l a Council. Each artist presented a short performance d g e e n : inspired by the Wild Woodbury landscape and . S C o r n e g served a specially created soup to the audience. dis f t o : A unique experience for all the senses. Jar a S y n h e i Ja昀琀 Other artists from the South West included The i c n k g S Working Boys Club, Laura Reid and Alice Stevens. s o o n i l Once again, we encouraged students from Arts , C o University Bournemouth to present site-speci昀椀c l l e c installations responding to one of our festival t i e f locations – this time, at Wild Woodbury.
“It is always a great pleasure for the team to participate in Activate Performing Arts projects… Thank you for your work and the exceptional welcome you gave us. I'd also like to highlight the incredible work you seem to be doing on issues of audience accessibility.” Cécile Durot, from French company Le. G. Bistaki. CrI em da ig te :: MS ia ke e昀氀 Po ed t, i A tdr emat m nus i gc e CI CI rm rm ea ea dg dig ie e t: R t: : : Eaj JaB l a l yï ia na[ ots n tth e Fan Jana r c] a , nk H k L e se. sr o G i n t . a B g e i B s t r a a k s i s B an d WI am la dg ee n: . S Co rn eg dis f to : Jar a S y nh ei Ja昀琀 i cn kg S s oo ni l , C o l l e c t i e f
Image: Rodney Bell with audience members Credit: Jayne Jackson Image: Audience members watching Rajasthan Heritage Brass Band in Wimborne Credit: Roy Riley
Image: Audience members watching Transe Express in Weymouth Credit: Sam Rose
Visiting professionals As part of our For Creatives area of work, we hosted two groups of outdoor arts professionals at Inside Out Dorset 2023. Several programmers also attended to see the newly commissioned artworks. C I r m Activate is a partner in a European Project e a dig t e : : called LAND and a UK-Dutch partnership JaP r y a called We Live Here. Both include our long-term n va e a partner, Oerol Festival from Terschelling in the Jas , c A k k Netherlands, who are specialists in presenting s ad o landscape theatre outdoors. We hosted 24 arts n e m i professionals from the UK and the Netherlands comprising of artists, festival directors and environmentalists. We discussed climate justice, diversity and the arts, alongside experiencing the festival programme. OutdoorArtsUK, our sector membership organisation brought a cohort of professionals on one of their ‘Festival Focus’ trips to Inside Out Dorset 2023. The group were interested in the climate emergency and outdoor arts festivals. We hosted their visit whilst they experienced the diversity of the programme at Moors Valley Country Park and Forest, Wild Woodbury at Bere Regis and Weymouth. C I We also hosted theatre director Edward r m e a dig McMillan from The Bridge Theatre in Brussels t e : : JaF i who hosts a series of podcasts exploring y v n e S different ways in which theatre is presented. e Jae a c s Edward interviewed our co-artistic directors k o s n o s and audience members at the festival. n , D e C h a i r e t d ' O s
C I r m e a d g i e t : : DO a ut v door i d D o A u r s t t sU K F es t i v a l F oc u s g r ou p CI rm ea dig te :: JaP r ya nva ea Jas , c A kk sad o ne m i CI rm ea dig te :: JaF i yv ne S “We wanted to bring an OAUK Festival Focus cohort e Jae a cs ko sn to Inside Out Dorset because of the unique place os n, D e C the festival holds in the eco-system of outdoor h a i r e t d arts festivals in the UK, the high quality of work ' O s programmed, and the ethos behind it. Our group enjoyed engaging with themes of access, location, programming different styles, scales, and locations.” David Doust, General Manager, OutdoorArtsUK
Our work with our communities Whenever we create our events we make sure they’re made for and with our communities. We worked with a number of artists to deliver a range of workshops prior to, and during, the 2023 Inside Out Dorset festival. German artists Chris Schlunk and Iris Pelz visited Bournemouth and Poole College and Queen Elizabeth’s School in Wimborne to deliver workshops with performing arts and dance students. Adam Dupree from The Working Boys Club delivered a 3-hour drop-in workshop at the Reef Youth and Community Centre in Colehill, Wimborne, to explore the music made on the Serving Sounds bar. Bharatanatyam dancer Vidya Thirunarayan led a 90-minute workshop integrating clay, music, and storytelling. Participants included adults with learning disabilities from local groups 15 Days in Clay and Allsort’d Dorset. Artist Nicola Davis helped young people from Purbeck Youth and Community Foundation create a 5 metre long silk banner re昀氀ecting the wildlife of Bere Regis. This was supported by rangers from Dorset Wildlife Trust. Dorset-based rap artist Isaiah Dreads and street dancer Isaac Farmer reached over 600 year 5 and 6 pupils on their visits to 10 primary schools in the BCP Council area to run rap and street dance workshops. Over 100 children took part in drop-in workshops with puppet-maker Holly Miller in Dorchester and Weymouth. The workshops were part of Dorset Council’s Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, offered to children in receipt of free school meals. Businesses in Weymouth then displayed the puppets in their shop windows in the lead up to the festival. 46 participants took part in the Activate Summer School which included a workshop day with dance artists Chloe Loftus and Rodney Bell, who performed as part of Inside Out Dorset. Most participants were from our inclusive performance groups The Premix, The Remix and The Originals – they then went on to perform their own piece ‘Imprints’ at the festival. Local artists Heidi Steller and Rose Perry hosted drop-in ‘make and take’ activities for families at our Poole and Wimborne locations. Wilder Dorset Ranger Seb Elwood, from Dorset Wildlife Trust, delivered talks about Wild Woodbury to audiences in Poole.
3 1 . . C P 1 2 h a l r oet i Lc i o p 昀琀a n u t s s a at a m nd Ra o k d e a ne y n Bd t e a l l k we w or k o s r hopk s h ao t p i tn P he Ao c o t l i e v . a C t r e e Sd i u t m : J mea 3 y r n Se J chooa c k l s . Co n r . 2 e d . i P t : Ja a r t y i n c i e Jp a a n c t k s s a o t n a . 4 p u . pp P e a t r - t m i c i a p k a i n ng t s w aor t ak ps u hop pp i e n t - D m or a k ches i ng wt ore r . k s C hopr e di it : n C Da orr o chesl i n e 4 t S e ur r i . . C “Thank you for such r e di t : a brilliant workshop… C a r o l i n Our students really e S ur i enjoyed it, and it was . an excellent ice breaker for the start of term.” Bournemouth and Poole College
Without our friendly team of Volunteers, Inside Out Dorset couldn't take place. C I r m e a dig t e : : 59 enthusiastic volunteers supported JaV y ol the 2023 festival in a variety of roles n u e n Jat e including stewarding, supporting audience c e r k i participation, access, collecting donations, s ng o i n n assisting artists and supporting our front P of house team. ool e 576 volunteering Approximately hours were completed across the 昀椀ve festival sites. C I r m e a “I really enjoyed volunteering… dig t e : : JaV y o l I was made to feel welcome, n u e n Jat eeri c supported and appreciated k n s g o i n n B by the lovely Activate team. er e R e g I wouldn’t necessarily have i s visited on my own, but this CI rm ea dg way I got to be part of a ie t: : EA lud l i oti wonderful event as well.” e tnc Fe r me a Mandy Robbins, Volunteer nkm sb e r s i n W i m b or ne
33,000 visits were made to 昀椀ve unique Dorset locations across ten days. CI rm ea dig te :: JaV 97% 85% yol nu en Jat of audiences surveyed rated their of audiences surveyed would rate e ce r ki whole experience of the festival as the accessibility of the festival as sng o i nn ‘Very good’ or ‘Good’. ‘Very good’ or ‘Good’. P ool e 79% 60% of audiences surveyed of audiences surveyed were visiting live in Dorset. Inside Out Dorset for the 昀椀rst time. CI W I rm e m ea y a dig “Lovely to have access to the moutg te e :: : JaV A o h u yl . di nu arts in Dorset which is free.” e en C n Jat r ce eeri e c d m i k t sn : Se og “A joy, blending art mb n i a n m R B e er r o s e and nature.” s i R e n e g Audience member feedback i s CI C I rm r m ea e a dg dig ie e t: t : : : EA JaA lud u l d i y oti n i e e e tnc n F Jac re e m a me c nk k e sm s m o b n b e e r r s s i i n B n W e i r m e R b e or g ne i s
Work in the landscape For over twenty years we’ve worked closely with landscape, environment and heritage organisations and in 2021 wrote the 昀椀rst national arts strategy for the National Landscapes Association (formerly The National Association for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty), following years of partnering with Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. For Inside Out Dorset 2023 we worked with The Dutch company Collectief Walden Dorset Wildlife Trust (DWT) to bring live presented Songs for a Shifting Soil which performance to Wild Woodbury – their site used word-for-word accounts of people’s in Bere Regis. This remarkable location is experiences of the Dorset soil. Artist and undergoing a process of rewilding and offered Arts University Bournemouth Academic, us a unique setting to work alongside DWT Alice Stevens, presented Imagine-Better: and Dorset National Landscape (formerly Welly Walks which encouraged visitors to Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). try on specially equipped wellies that played pre-recorded poetry relating to the weather. Our expertise is in presenting live events in And composer Laura Reid created an audio sensitive landscapes, raising awareness of walk / song cycle that utilised GPS technology their environmental importance. We highlight to play music at certain points around the the relationship between landscape, artists, Wild Woodbury festival site. land stewards and the climate emergency. For the second time, we worked with Forestry The Wild Woodbury programme included England and Dorset Council to present an Five Seasons from French artists De Chair artistic programme at Moors Valley Country et d’Os. This was a site-speci昀椀c piece about Park and Forest. This took the form of an rituals and our connection to the earth. enchanting art trail consisting of four sound A clay oven was built and will remain at Wild installations. Woodbury for the local community to use. C I r m e a d g i e t : : SF a i m Rv e S o e s a e s o n s , D e C h a i r e t d ' O s
“It was a lovely evening celebrating what forests can be if we cultivate partnerships to blossom.” Forestry England spokesperson CI rm ea dg ie t: : SF ai m Rv e S oe sa es o n s , D e C Cr h a e i d r e i t t d : MI ' im O ka s eg Pe e: tL i tdach emar y nm gae e
Our commitment to the environment With the current climate crisis, we consciously work in greener ways, understanding that we all need to be part of the solution in protecting our planet. Some of the things we did at Inside Out Dorset 2023: Created no negative environmental impact through our rigorous event planning and management Provided drinking water points where visitors could 昀椀ll up their own bottle Encouraged our artists to travel in more environmentally-friendly ways Printed our festival brochure on 100% recycled paper Printed our outdoor information boards on 100% recyclable Triaprint Offered a free bus service from Poole and Dorchester to the festival site at Bere Regis Promoted travelling to Inside Out Dorset by public transport, car share, cycling or walking
CrI e m d a i g t e : M: i S k e e a昀氀 Po e d t i , td A emar t m n u g s e ic CrI e m d a The Inside Out Dorset 2023 i g t e : : ML i a k c Artistic Programme e hr P e y t m i a tde ema, This year was strongly themed around A r t n mus the environment and climate change. g e i c As producers of the festival, Activate Performing Arts joined the Culture Declares Emergency movement in 2020 and we continue to work with land stewards and other partners to raise awareness about protecting our planet.
Funders and Partners Activate is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation and is core funded by Dorset Council and BCP Council. We seek other funding opportunities on a project-by-project basis, including for Inside Out Dorset. We work with many partners including DTPC, LAND, Green Carpet, Flavours (with Dorset AONB and Dorset Race Equality Council), We Live Here, Cultural Hub and the National Association for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. For Inside Out Dorset 2023, we worked with many partner organisations and funders and thank them for their continued support. Core Festival funders 2023 Headline Sponsors 2023 Individual site/co-commissioning funders 2023
CI rm ea “Providing essential funding to Activate Performing Arts dg ie t: : RP oou has helped the festival reach broader audiences and y Rp ié les e y g expand its offering, so we've been incredibly pleased é a n t es , to support the team and Inside Out Dorset this year." T r a n s e Caroline Cooban, CEO of Talbot Village Trust E x pr es s
33k OVER 10 80 VISITS ARTISTS DAYS 5 947 75 FESTIVAL KEY STAGE KEY STAGE LOCATIONS 1 & 2 PUPILS 3-5 PUPILS 59 27 VOLUNTEERS STAFF & CREW
“My son is neurodiverse, ASC, and this is the 昀椀rst festival he has been fully engaged in since lockdown. Very positive festival for families, and has had a positive effect on his mental wellbeing." Audience member The oven built by Increased access De Chair et d'Os and provision including 'This Woven O' by community members BSL interpreted disabled artist Oliver will remain at Wild performances, audio Macdonald will remain Woodbury for future description and at Wild Woodbury. use by community Changing Places groups. toilets. Press coverage in: The Times, BBC South Today, BBC Radio Solent, Dorset Magazine, Dorset Echo, Stage Audience, West Dorset Magazine, Great British Life, BBC News Online. I m a g e : A ud i e nc e me C m r e b d e i t r : s E i l n l W i oti t m Fb r a or nkne s
“The best performance I have ever seen.” Audience member "Events like this in Weymouth mean locals and visitors experience our town in a really special way." Dawn Rondeau, Chief Operations Of昀椀cer, We Are Weymouth "Inside Out Dorset offers a diverse range of awe-inspiring spectacles that captivate audiences across our region." Caroline Cooban, CEO of Talbot Village Trust "Thank you so very much for a wonderful workshop and spectacular event, we all had a great time." 15 Days in Clay "I really enjoyed this experience so much it reminds me so much of how much fun I was missing while being stuck on devices." Workshop participant at The Waverley Club
Image: The Air Between Us, Chloe Lo昀琀us and Rodney Bell Credit: Elliott Franks
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