Community project to continue despite lack of funds

A community arts programme that has supported musicians and artists is no longer being funded.

After six and a half years, Seed Sedgemoor's Creative People and Places programme, funded by Arts Council England and the National Lottery, has come to an end.

However, chair of trustees Frankie Smith said the project will continue as a voluntary organisation.

"Though this chapter closes, we remain committed to doing all we can to keep Seed alive. The legacy the people of Sedgemoor have helped grow will continue to bloom in homes, streets and imaginations," Smith said.

Alan Hardcastle took part in the first Clashmob event in Bridgwater in 2021, put on by Seed Sedgemoor.

He said: "I have loved being a part of this. I had been out of music performance for 20 years and had struggled to get involved - it's so much harder when you are over 30.

"Seed's Clashmob and guitar and bass group activities were the springboard to help me get back into music performance and creation."

Corrinne Curtis, from Burnham-on-Sea, was the driving force behind All Hands, an original play about the wreck of the Nornen.

"Seed's initial commission of the project gave me hope, and the means to make the play not just a reality, but a huge success," Curtis explained.

"But much more than that, the relationships and networks Seed fostered here, and the belief shown in me have made a world of difference. I felt so supported, and enabled to thrive as a person and an artist."

The group also funded public art projects, including murals in Highbridge, Burnham-on-Sea and Bridgwater.

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