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

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

Artists' Open Houses Trail in Herne Bay

Now in its 12th year, the popular Artists' Open Houses Trails, features 53 houses with over 182 artists, offering a rare opportunity to experience a diverse array of high quality work in a relaxed setting. With so many venues to choose from there should be something for everyone, so plan your trip and prepare to be inspired and surprised.

For further information on each individual trail, please contact:

• HERNE BAY Mandy Troughton 07890 065046

• CANTERBURY Tessa Mangiavacchi 07729 156953
• FAVERSHAM Anne MacLaren 01795 591555
• WHITSTABLE Paul Elliot 01227 282462

DOWNLOAD THE OPEN HOUSE TRAIL LEAFLET

Select the link above to download the full trail leaflet with details about each house included in the event along with maps of each trail. All houses are open weekends during the Festival 15th/16th, 22nd/23rd, 29th/30th October 2011 11am - 5pm (unless stated).

Here are the details for the Herne Bay Trail. Click the pictures to enlarge them...

EKOH

War tribute at Bay Art Gallery

Artist pair's 30 years together

Two artists who met more than 30 years ago are celebrating three decades of working together. Clive Soord and Patrick Crouch held their first show together in Canterbury in 1981. They remained firm friends and now have taken over the Bay Art Gallery. The exhibition in William Street, Herne Bay, runs to this Saturday although the pair are hoping to get this extended.

Sculptor Clive, 53, a Canterbury College lecturer, specialises in bronze statues and ceramics. He said:

“Visitors will see there is a bit of both humour and satire here. One of the pieces is an anti-war memorial.”

One exhibit features a column made of skulls with the “Dogs of War” - men in grey suits selling arms - around the bottom.

Both artists will be opening their houses as part of the annual artists’ open house weekends on October 15-16, 22-23 and 29-30. For details of the open house scheme call Mandy Troughton on 07890 065046 or Tessa Mangiavacchi on 07729 156953.

HB Times 6th Oct 2011 ed.targett@KRNmedia.co.uk

Bay Art Gallery 10th Anniversary

Happy birthday: Ron Woodward, Mandy Troughton, Paul Mitchell, Karen Simpson and Dai Griffiths at the galleryArtists are celebrating a decade of providing affordable gallery space in the town. The Bay Art Gallery was originally opened by sculptor Patrick Crouch in June 2001 and he returned for the 10th anniversary earlier this month.

Mr Crouch was joined by more than 60 artists who had previously exhibited there, as well as founder Ron Woodward. Mr Woodward said the gallery's ethos of providing space for students and upcoming artists, had not changed over the years. He said:

"We charge just £10, whereas at other places the costs of putting on an exhibit can run into the hundreds. It gives more people a chance."

One of his favourite exhibits was Siobhan Timoney's sculpture of a piano that had been dismembered and reconstructed using hanging wires. Mr Woodward said:

"It was a great interactive feature because people could throw marbles off the strings to make sounds."

Another artist from Warwickshire managed to raise £15,000 in one week at the gallery. Artists group CT6 Contemporary manage the day-to-day running of the not- for-profit space and also champion local arts. Booking officer Mandy Troughton says BAG has gone from strength to strength and represents a great place for community use in Herne Bay. She said:

"It really has been very popular and I think the fact that it's been there for ten years proves this. Herne Bay is often overlooked for its artistic output and people think more artists are from Whitstable but actually there are a lot of creative people in the town."

The next exhibition at the Bay Art Gallery will feature digital photography from Canterbury Christ Church University student, Jack Bushell.