A bid has been made for Swanage to become the Dorset Town of Culture in 2026, following in the footsteps of Bridport, and Weymouth and Portland.
This is an opportunity for Swanage and the surrounding villages to work together to deliver what the organisers call, “a year’s worth of extraordinary cultural activity” boosting new and existing creative events and projects.
The Mowlem and its expanding event programme will be key to the success of the bid
Key cultural organisations
Swanage Town Council has submitted an expression of interest following a positive informal consultation with a number of key cultural organisations including The Mowlem and Purbeck Art Weeks, as well as discussion with local parish councils.
It’s in the early stages at the moment and Swanage will have to compete against other towns in the Dorset Council area.
The town will know if it has made it through to the final four at the beginning of December 2024, with the winner announced on Monday 3rd March 2024.
In 2024, Bridport was the first town to take the title and for 2025 a collaborative approach is being taken by Weymouth and Portland.
There’s no shortage of creativity in Swanage, whatever the weather!
There’s often something arty popping up in town or on the beach
Burgeoning arts scene
Swanage is well placed, both by geography and due to the burgeoning arts scene across Purbeck. With the accolade going to the west of the county in previous years, it would make sense to allow the east of the Dorset Council area to benefit as well.
The area already has plenty going on creatively, including lots of artists with studios and galleries in Swanage and at Sandy Hill Arts in Corfe Castle.
There’s also an expanding programme of theatre, film and music at The Mowlem, plus the impressive calendar of exhibitions at the Fine Foundation Gallery at Durlston Country Park.
Nothing more classic than the heritage railway
Victorian splendour on Swanage Pier
Heritage and culture
As heritage is classed as culture for the purposes of this initiative, Swanage has plenty to boast about including Swanage Railway and our Victorian pier.
There’s also all the festivals including the art weeks, film, jazz, folk, and blues, not to forget Swanage Carnival which has its cultural moments!
It’s expected that all the local art, music and creative groups and schools will be invited to get involved.
The Isle of Purbeck Arts Club encourages everyone to participate
Swanage artist Josh Hollingshead brings vibrant colour to the town
Inclusion and diversity theme
With so much already happening, it was agreed that the theme of the bid would be focused around inclusion and diversity.
In a briefing note to Swanage town councillors at a meeting on Monday 18th November 2024 it said:
“There is a recognition that the area has a wide range of quality cultural events and activities taking place throughout the year.
“However, many of these are not accessible by a range of people, maybe because of a disability or they come from a hard-to-reach section of society, such as those living in socially deprived areas.
“The town council is working to improve accessibility across the town, therefore this theme would strongly support this council priority.
It added:
“This is an exciting opportunity to really put the area onto the cultural map and support a range of council priorities including increasing out of season visitors and supporting hard to reach groups through cultural activities.”
Swanage Folk Festival mixes dancers with beachgoers
Swanage Carnival proves how important visitors are to the town’s economy
Bring in extra revenue
If the bid is successful, Swanage would be given a grant of £30,000 from Dorset Council to help deliver the project, although that will have to be matched by local council money over two years.
At the council meeting it was pointed out that the delivery of the project should encourage more visitors to the town and bring in extra revenue to all the shops and businesses, as well as increase car parking income, especially out of the main visitor season.
As the Dorset Town of Culture, there’s also the potential to attract additional grant funding for events.
The bid will embrace culture across Purbeck including locations like Sandy Hill Arts at Corfe Castle
There’s nothing more arty in Purbeck than the two weeks of art at Rollington Barn near Corfe Castle as part of Purbeck Art Weeks
Further information
- More about Dorset Town of Culture
