'Create To Recover' artists are announced

Artists in Torbay are being supported to make work again in local communities after the lockdown. With the culture sector being hard hit by the pandemic, many creative practitioners and cultural organisations have faced particular difficulty. Some venues remain closed, performances cancelled, and there are ongoing limitations about what is permitted under social distancing guidelines.

Thanks to National Lottery support from Arts Council England’s COVID-19 emergency response fund, Torbay Culture has set up the Create To Recover programme. This is designed to support local creative practitioners to make work for local communities to enjoy in cultural spaces. A range of creative projects will run from August to October 2020 across Torbay, and you can read more about these at the dedicated Create To Recover pages.

The Create to Recover programme will include a diverse mix of open air music, dance and documentary film, participatory circus and visual art. Local people will be invited to take part in a range of ways, including helping artists uncover local stories, and contributing to a giant willow outdoor installation at Torre Abbey. Artists were selected following an open call during July, which received a great amount of interest, and supported by a Creative Producer, Clare Parker, who was engaged following an open tender process.

Creativity and imagination has a particular role to play in bringing people and places together, responsibly, to aid recovery from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Swiss artist Walter Bockhorn said that ‘you must create beauty in dark times’, and Torbay’s creative talent is doing just that.

Create to Recover Press Release

(Image credit: Sophie Amos, Outside The Fox)