Special Events
Projects - Visiting Companies - Workshops
Arts Dream Selsey creates, designs and organises cultural events with and for Selsey
Some Of Our Most Memorable Events:
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Since our inception in 2012 Arts Dream Selsey has worked to develop a variety of artistic events for Selsey.
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Workshops in theatrical skills or drumming.
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Art works to help recover lost memories.
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A World premiere musical composition inspired by the sea.
Invitations to many touring performers in theatre, opera, dance and story telling.
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One of our most cherished projects was remembering the fallen of Selsey from world war one - Selsey 57.
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Scroll down to find out more about the many events and ventures Arts Dream Selsey has been involved over the years.
2024
September
Bruce Ncube a Zimbabwean musician who specialises in teaching songs from his native country came to Selsey to run his acclaimed Harmony Singing Workshop.
We welcome around 60 people across the county to Selsey Academy and learned 4 or 5 songs in the traditional manner.
Everyone left with a smile.
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Bruce Ncube has over 15 years of traveling the UK teaching & performing in some of the world's biggest platforms such as WOMAD (England), /African Drum Village (Scotland), Edinburgh International Festival (Scotland), Aberdeen International Youth Festival (Scotland), Lancaster Music Festival (England) World Music Workshop Festival (England), Skye Music Festival (Scotland)...
https://www.facebook.com/QhubekaBruce
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2023
Three visiting companies brought performances to Selsey
October 15th – Supersonic Opera
In collaboration with Arts Dream Selsey, the multi-talented Elizabeth Pow brought together a group of five vibrant young performers to create an afternoon of selected opera favourites at Selsey Town Hall. With standards from Bizet to Walton, sharing some of opera’s most accessible pieces with a delighted audience.
March 25th – The Little Prince
Arts Dream Selsey worked with Applause Touring to bring this enchanting piece, created and performed by Luca Silvestrini’s Protein Dance Company to The Academy to rapturous attention from the children in the audience. We wonder how many youngsters were inspired to start their own performance careers?
March 5th – The Diva the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
Bringing together the talents of Alison Pearce (soprano), Martin Elliot (baritone) and Stewart Taylor (pianist) we enjoyed a 70 min rollercoaster ride through the theme park of life with songs to suit every taste from folk to spiritual and classical to musical theatre at Selsey Town hall, to a sold out audience.
2022
Drumming,
Story Telling and a World Premiere
November – 26th – Family Drumming Workshop
Arts Dream Selsey invited https://www.drumwithus.com
to put on a workshop for local residents at Selsey Academy which proved very popular.
November – 13th – Learning to Fly by James Rowland
Learning to Fly was a touring show that saw James tell the story of a remarkable friendship he made when he was a lonely, unhappy teenager with the scary old lady who lived in the spooky house on his street.
June 5th – Selsey Jubilee Jamboree
Arts Dream Selsey, The Victory Club and Selsey Festival joined forces to create a special event celebrating the late Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee.
There were events throughout the day, starting with a parade through the town passing lots of special activities along the High Street put on by local businesses. A stage was erected at The Recreation Ground and a full programme of events were planned throughout the day, including the world premiere of Shifting Shingle. The whole town and many visitors attended the day.
June 5th – Shifting Shingle - world premiere performance
Inspired by the climatic conditions of Selsey written by international composer Howard Moody, conducted by musical director Martin Elliot, managed by Chris Butler, Coordinated by Belinda Gannon. Commissioned by Arts Dream Selsey for HM Queen Elizabeth â…¡’s Platinum Jubilee Celebrations 2022.
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From the composer Howard Moody:
Shifting Shingle is a musical reflection of the tidal landscape of Selsey. It also raises some of the big environmental concerns of the local residents with particular reference to the “sleepy lagoon” that has now disappeared, let alone its challenged fishing industry. It is a piece about transformation and change, so it has been fitting that over the last two months Shifting Shingle has become so much more than just an interpretation of physical reality. It is now difficult to hear the lyrics without feeling that they also reflect our own shifting emotional experiences in a changing world, with images of disappearing lagoons, moving borders and crumbling shores. Arts Dream Selsey has visioned something truly beautiful. Thank you.
Howard Moody
May 28 2022
https://www.howardmoody.co.uk/home/instrumental-and-vocal-works
2019
Immersive Exhibition
& Touring Theatre
July to October – Out of the Ashes – Immersive Exhibition
In August 2016 Selsey Academy was devastated by fire, losing amongst other things its archives of the previous 50 years. Arts Dream Selsey wanted to help recreate those memories so undertook a Lottery funded large project, working with internationally renowned artist and local resident Pamela Howard OBE. A 3D collage was created by Pamela for display, to form a new narrative of the effects of the fire on our memories.
http://www.pamelahoward.co.uk/public---fine-art-projects.html#ashes
Arts Dream Selsey put a call out to locals to share their stories, photographs and their feelings about the fire here https://www.facebook.com/groups/353350445088311
Selsey responded magnificently. Arts Dream also enlisted the help of a researcher from West Sussex Records office who uncovered many more items for the project. 150 students at the academy produced their own “Out of the Ashes paintings and sculptures these were displayed on line. Over 15000 people engaged with this project.
The final physical artwork was seen by over 5000 people, touring the Manhood Peninsular and exhibited for 3 months in the Novium Museum.
July 6th - Whadd’Ya Know
The FOUNDRY Professional Theatre Group touring Production
of an hilarious musical comedy by songwriter Jerry Ruff and playwright Brian Mitchell starring Radio 4's David Mounfield.
2018
Selsey 57
October 13th & 14th - Selsey 57
Still one of our most ambitious project, it started in 2013 with a Heritage Lottery Fund allowing us to research and deliver a website based on the 57 men and women who lost their lives in WW1 and create an exhibition to celebrate those lives.
Over five years, using stories uncovered by volunteer Marilyn Smith the Selsey 57 website was assembled. The project culminated in an exhibition in October 2018 attended by 300 people from all over the south of England.
Selsey can be secure in the knowledge that the men and women from Selsey who were involved in WW1 will never be forgotten, and their histories will live on in our hearts and minds. Our ‘Selsey 57’ website and project has since been used in numerous research journals and academic reports.
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Some of the comments received from visitors:
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‘Absolutely stunning research by the lead research Marilyn Smith. It all must be made into a book ‘
‘Excellent Exhibition. Extremely interesting thanks to the organisers and Arts Dream for uncovering such amazing memories’
‘A moment of history for Selsey’
‘Jan Allan’s art work, wow what a tribute, thoughtful and
contemporary, yet capturing the essence of the Selsey 57 ‘
2016
Theatre Skills
July 18th to August 6th - Selsey Summer Skills
In collaboration with Bognor based company,
Making Theatre Gaining Skills,
Arts Dream Selsey organised two courses for local residents of all ages to learn many creative techniques from playwriting through stage design to crafts such as light and sound.
https://www.makingtheatre.co.uk
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It was aimed primarily at young people 16-25 who were not in full time education, employment or training. The 20-young people on the project came from troubled families linked to crime and drug abuse. The project was a three-week intensive course developing theatre training, and audio-visual skills and aimed to promote and expand the availability of activities currently on offer to the disaffected young in Selsey helping them develop skills and create opportunities for further training and employment. Three of the young people got part time jobs as a result of the training.