The Oradour 70 Exhibition

Oradour Poetry Evening Saturday 7 June 7.30pm

As part of the Oradour 70 exhibition at Beach Creative Galleries, Beach House, Beach Street, Herne Bay, CT6 5PT (June 4-17) there will be an evening of poetry, music, humour and drama.

The event is free (limited seating) and will last approximately 2 hours, with an interval, starting at 7.30pm.

The emphasis will be on war related poetry and will look at many aspects of war from different viewpoints and different poets - some famous, some not. Among the poems being read will be some by Ian Sabey, an Australian born in England, he served in the allied forces in World War II. He wrote his poems while a prisoner in Austria and they give a rich and moving account of that experience. His daughter, Christina Carr will be In the audience on June 7.

Oradour 70 is a collection of photographs, by Alan Porter, of the French village Oradour-sur-Glane, the scene of a massacre on 10th June 1944 that left 642 villagers dead. The ruins of the village now stand with poignant dignity and a strange beauty as a permanent memorial. The exhibition explores what we can learn from such war crimes.

Alan's photographs are accompanied by poems by John Grant and artwork and an installation by Mandy Troughton.

June 4 - 17 2014

Open every day from 10am - 4pm

Herne Bay needs Duchampions!

The organisers of the Marcel Duchamp Centenary in Herne Bay are holding a public meeting on Thursday 23 May at 6pm at Beach Creative, Beach Street, Herne Bay (the building on the corner of Kings Road and Beach Street). 

With only 2 months to go before our first exhibitions open, we are inviting everyone in the district to come and hear more about our exciting plans and find out how they can be a festival Duchampion.

The list of events and activities grows by the week and it will be the biggest celebration of the town in years. It is inclusive and fun and there will be something for everyone, whatever your age or taste in art.

Apart from the International Symposium, about 40 recognised artists are contributing original works inspired by Duchamp’s moment in Herne Bay. As are a host of local artists.  There will be chess and music and philosophy in pubs and art bike trails and films and workshops and pop-ups and ready-mades and exhibitions about Herne Bay, both then and now. 

So we need people to Duchampion Herne Bay.  Lots of people. Perhaps you want to Duchampion the music at the bandstand or the cut-outs on the beach.  Maybe you want to Duchampion visitors around town, or pedal the bike cinema for a couple of hours, or put up cartoons in pub lavatories or Duchampion an exhibition or a workshop.  We need Duchampions at the station, Duchampions on the phone and Duchampions to organise other Duchampions. 

So if you’ve got any free time from now until August come and help celebrate Herne Bay’s unique contribution to the fun of Art and the Art of Fun.

If you can't come to the meeting next week, here are details of how you can contact us to find out more:

• Have a look at the Duchamp website: www.iamnotdead.co.uk​
• Contact Sue Austen at: sue@bayguide.co.uk​

Pebble, pebble, pebble. That's treble pebble!

Hut 136 West Beach Herne Bay CT6 8RN

23rd-28th May 11-4pm daily

​Resident marvel Karen Simpson is at it again! Simple, creative fun for anyone and everyone - read on...

Please come along and Decorate a 'Pebble' for Karen's Community Art Installation "The People's Beach" which will be going on display at Reculver Visitor Centre in August.

​People will be invited to paint or draw on a Plaster of Paris "Pebble" on the theme "what the coast means to me".

All the Pebbles will form an Art Installation at Reculver Visitor Centre (Reculver Lane Herne Bay CT6 6SS) in August 2013 and Beach Creative (Beach Street Herne Bay CT6 5PT) in October 2013.

To find out more about Karen and marvellous works, visit: www.shoreisaloadofrubbish.com

Open Day at Beach Creative - 23rd March

Here's a date for your diary.  Beach Creative, Herne Bay's newest art hub, will be holding an Open Day on Saturday 23rd March from 10am - 4pm.

Beach Creative houses Galleries, Artist’s Studios and Workshop Rooms. This is an opportunity to see some of the activities that take place behind the scenes, chat with artists and workshop leaders and have a go at some taster sessions.   

Beach Creative galleries are open daily 10am-4pm Monday-Saturday, and 10am-1pm Sundays.

Easter Colouring Competition

The shops are full of bunny-shaped Maltesers, so it must be Easter soon. To prove it, the splendid Karen Simpson has invented a colouring competition for anyone aged 11 or under. I'm gutted to find I'm just a couple of months too old, but never mind.

You can download your colouring in sheet here, or you can pick up a copy from any of these fine people:

• Beach Creative - Beach Street Herne Bay CT6 5PT
• Council Offices - William Street Herne Bay CT6 5NX
• Herne Bay Library - 124 High Street Herne Bay CT6 5JY
• Herne Bay Museum - 8 William Street, Herne Bay, CT6 5EJ
• Kids Korner toy shop - 98 Mortimer St, Herne Bay, Kent CT6 5EB

Entry forms are to be returned by Saturday 23rd March 2013 to: Beach Creative, Beach Street, Herne Bay CT6 5PT.

There will be three prizes of £10, £7 and £5 vouchers in each age group 6 and under and 7-11. Prizes will be awarded at 9.50am on Friday 29th March at CO-OP 160 Mortimer St Herne Bay CT6 5DU.

This bundle of fun is being sponsored by Herne Bay Community Groups Project Ltd and supported by Beach Creative.

You can find out more about Karen on her website www.shoreisaloadofrubbish.com

​Click the picture to download your copy

Inspirational Herne Bay

Marcel Duchamp having a bit of a think

How Herne Bay reinvigorated a famous French artist

When influential French artist Marcel Duchamp arrived in Herne Bay, he was considering giving up art, but after four weeks in the town he returned to Europe full of new ideas.

His time in Herne Bay will be celebrated with a three-week festival starting at the end of July, featuring exhibitions, talks, and a schools programme in which Bay youngsters produce their own works of art to display. Organiser Sue Austen said:

"Marcel Duchamp has been voted the most influential artist of the 21st century but when he arrived in Herne Bay at the beginning of August 1913 he was just 26 and deeply depressed by the reception his last major painting, Nude Descending a Staircase, had received at the Armory Show in New York.

He was here to chaperone his sister Yvonne who was studying English at Lynton College. He contemplated giving up art forever, but after four short weeks Duchamp returned to Europe, refreshed and intellectually invigorated. Later that year he produced the first kinetic sculpture, Bicycle Wheel, published his ideas on objets trouvés and created the totally unique Three Standard Stoppages.

The art world reeled from his new ideas – our town often has this effect on people."

Sue, who together with Jason Hollingsworth make up the BayGuide team behind the festival, said the aim was to show that Herne Bay was still a special place.

An exhibition of work by invited local artists will be curated by David Cross and staged at Beach House, the Bay Art Gallery and the King's Hall, along with outdoor exhibitions and pop-up galleries.

There will also be a talk by Mike Bundock of Herne Bay Historical Records Society on what the town was like at the time, a sculpture trail curated by Karen Simpson and a symposium at the King's Hall curated by Duchamp expert Francis M Naumann.

For more information visit iamnotdead.co.uk or their Facebook site. The team will also tweet from @Duchamp_HB

Half-term FUN for FREE!

FREE Half–Term Craft Workshop for families on Thursday 21st February 2-3.30pm at:
Beach House, Beach Street, Herne Bay CT6 5PT
www.beachcreativecic.co.uk

Come and create a Collage to go on display at Beach Creative and help make items for an Art Installation at the CO-OP High Street Herne Bay as part of FAIRTRADE FORTNIGHT.

For more details visit Karen's website: www.shoreisaloadofrubbish.com

To book a place please contact
Karen Simpson
07525 832 875
karentribe@hotmail.com

Local artists support Fairtrade fortnight

Those smashing people at Beach Creative are running an exhibition to support the excellent Fairtrade initiative.

If you're an artist (even if only in secret!) you need to hand in your work on 23rd February, between 10am and 4pm.

The exhibition itself will run from 27th February until 16th March.

Unleash the creative writer within!

Creative Writing Course

This is a six week course for those who have always wanted to write but don't know where to start. The programme looks at several aspects of creative writing, autobiography, short stories, poetry etc.

What you will need: A4 pad, a pen, access to a word processor or photo copier (you will need several copies of your work for the class to function).

Aim: To write something you are proud of!

The course costs £39 to be paid in the first session, and starts on 15th of January 10.30AM - 12.30PM at Beach Creative, in Beach House, on the corner of Beach Street and King's Road near the William Street car park.

Please book your place by email at jen.cross@talktalk.net.

Piratical display lights up the pier

People power – and a pinch of piracy – is behind a festive lights display erected more than a kilometre out to sea. A Christmas tree of light, made from around 1,000 lights, appeared on the stranded head of Herne Bay pier just before Christmas.

Pier Pirates claimed responsibility for the seasonal display and said the lights were a symbol of the town's future. A spokesman said:

"Ahoy! Me 'n' me hearties have put these lights up as a symbol of the unity that Herne Bay needs to display to overpower the tyranny of our current rulers. We believe that this be necessary to get our fair share of the treasure includin' gettin' the pier rebuilt to its original length smartly. There be many lubbers 'bout who have chosen to ignore the hopes 'n' aspirations 'n' determination of the people."

He said the project was inspired by the volunteer groups working to improve the town, including the Bay Promo Team, Beach Creative and the Kent Pier Marina Team from the Herne Bay Pier Trust as well as the people of Herne Bay themselves. He added:

"The town Christmas tree lights was voted the worst in the land 'n' news spread far and wide. Me and me hearties thought we should step in and gift the town the best offshore Christmas tree lights in the UK. All ye pirates mucked in and helped, including local suppliers."

Partygoers at the BayPromoTeam's Christmas ball were impressed by the lights and a spokesman said:

"They look fantastic and everyone was saying how impressive they were. We can only sum them up as a festive delight."

Jason Hollingsworth, of the Kent Pier Marina Team, which is working on plans for a marina around the old pier head, added:

"I think this shows that the people of Herne Bay are proud of their town and are willing to get involved in the Government's Big Society. This is truly a beacon of hope for the future of the town and for the pier. I think the sense of community is at an all-time high and this shows beyond reasonable doubt that Herne Bay is powered by its people."

HB Times 4th Jan 2013

Herne Bay volunteers given £10k for lights

Herne Bay's most recent Christmas tree (photo by Alan Porter)

A  group of volunteers hailed as "stars" will make the town shine next Christmas thanks to a grant from a Bay county councillor. Jean Law, who represents the town on Kent County Council, is gifting the remainder of her member's fund to four community groups in a bid to make Christmas 2013 the best ever.

She hopes the £10,000 will help Herne Bay Town Partners, Herne Bay in Bloom, Beach Creative and the BayPromoTeam attract more cash in match funding to pay for a spectacular lights display. Mrs Law said:

"These are all groups I have worked with in the past and they work brilliantly together. They are all stars and I know that working together they can make up for this year and all the negative publicity. I have lots of ideas and I would like it to be like Herne Bay in Bloom, where the whole town comes together to make it great."

This year's tree was slammed as the "worst in the country" by national newspapers, and its replacement was also panned by critics. There were complaints about the lack of lights in the High Street and that crossover lights used in previous years were missing. Mrs Law said:

"I was desperately disappointed with this year's display and there was a lot of negative feeling about it. It was supposed to be so magical and it didn't quite work like that. But I know next Christmas will be better than ever, and I want to see really inventive displays, not just common or garden lights."

Among the ideas being considered are trees for over shops, projected images of moving snowflakes on buildings, and a mini forest of Christmas trees, donated from different sources. Mrs Law said:

"We also need shopkeepers to get involved and do their bit in brightening up the town and that's where Beach Creative can get involved. It is a long-term project. We don't need bling, we just need it to be magical for the children and it is a real privilege to be involved in it. I hope that this year we can invite all those who criticised us to come back and see what Herne Bay can really do."

Former town trader Geoff Wimble has also set up a Christmas lights group made up of residents and shopkeepers, and they are planning fundraising events.

Christmas Fair at the Bandstand

Beach Creative, Herne Bay In Bloom, and Herne Bay Pier Trust have all got together to bring you a fantastic Xmas fair, starting this Saturday 15th December from 11am, at Herne Bay Bandstand.

It’s a chance for the residents and visitors of Herne Bay to do something positive this Christmas and enjoy the festive atmosphere too.

Bring the kids along to see Santa in his grotto and they’ll receive a FREE gift! All that is asked is a small donation of tinned/non perishable food that can be put towards making a number of small Xmas hampers for the less fortunate in the area.

Beach Creative

A new and good thing is happening in Herne Bay.

A group called Beach Creative is taking up residence in Beach House, just off the William Street car park.

They are a new creative community who will be using the space to provide artists' studios, exhibition spaces, meeting rooms and workshops.

They are having an open day on Saturday 7th July from 10am until 8pm, so go along and have a look at what they're up to. These are nice people, doing a good thing, and they would love to see you.

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Beach Creative founders Mandy Broughton, Gill Wilson and Mandy Troughton

A community interest company looks set to convert an empty building into a thriving centre for the arts.

Beach Creative, set up by the University for the Creative Arts, will take over Beach House and turn it into a hive of painting studios, writers' rooms and community space. UCA will lease the building after plans to demolish it to make way for town development stalled. The council-owned building will be leased to the group for a yet-to-be-agreed rent, expected to be a nominal sum.

University outreach coordinator Gill Wilson is heading the new community interest company. She said:

"At UCA we are excited to build upon existing relationships with local schools and community groups to enable more people to become involved in the arts."

Fellow director of the new group and artist Mandy Broughton said:

"This is an exciting new initiative for Herne Bay. In addition to providing much-needed studio space for local artists, we're committed to playing a positive role in the local area."

thisiskent 17th Feb 2012

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Beach House in Beach Street was due to be bulldozed as part of town centre regeneration plans, but they are on hold after council bosses struggled to find investors. Charities that were based in the building, including Herne Bay Volunteer Centre, Volcare, Shopmobility and Epilepsy Here, were forced to relocate to make way for the plans and many of them ended up forking out for higher rents.

The building has now been empty for almost a year and officials plan to rent it to the University of Creative Arts. One volunteer working with the affected charities – many of which moved to Age UK's new centre in Reculver Road – said:

"It's a bit of an embarrassment for the council. It was rushing to get people out of it and now is worried about leaving it empty. It looks like it will be handed over to the University of Creative Arts to use as studio space."

Council spokesman Rob Davies said:

"The former leaseholder's tenancy of Beach House was due to end in December 2011 anyway, but early last year three of the organisations were offered alternative accommodation by Age UK, providing the opportunity to move. The other users of the building were also able to find a new home, and the council paid the moving costs of all the organisations. We would still like to have Beach House occupied, but the majority of users would want to have security of tenure, which the council is unable to offer. We are in discussions with the University of Creative Arts about their use of the building and the terms of a possible lease, which we hope to finalise in the near future."

thisiskent 14th Feb 2012

HB Exhibition at King's Hall

There was commerce, campaigners, councillors and charities crammed into Herne Bay's Kings Hall for the town's annual business expo exhibition. It was opened by the Lord Mayor of Canterbury Ian Thomas on Wednesday. The city council's senior projects manager, Patrick Rynne, who helped to arrange the event, said:

"There were 46 businesses and 22 projects represented in the hall, with more than 500 visitors at the exhibition. Herne Bay should feel justifiably proud of the interest the town is attracting. This really highlighted the success stories we are seeing."

Herne Bay Pier Trust unveiled a multicoloured model of an extended pier. The trust's deputy chairman, Andrea Leach, who works tirelessly to raise funds for the charity, said:

"We are very excited about the summer on the pier platform and have some good events lined up. It was great to see the public's enthusiasm."

Herne Bay Coastwatch members, who scour the seas from the Old Bathing Station at weekends, were among those scouting for volunteers. They need spare hands to man the station on Fridays as they prepare for the summer season.

But there were also awkward moments. Coplan Estates, which is managing the stalled Herne Bay Central Development regeneration plan, was placed opposite new group Beach Creative. Beach Creative is dedicated to turning Beach House into a thriving artists' colony after the building – earmarked for demolition under the Coplan scheme – was given a reprieve.

The developer's Colin McQueston admitted:

"Three months ago things looked like they were stuck but we are tweaking the proposal and are at last beginning to have some renewed interest."

The artists looked on politely, wondering whether their new home will survive the summer.

thisiskent 30th Mar 2012