Over the last few months, Creative Commissions projects across Adur and Worthing have been well underway. After Adur & Worthing Trust awarded 12 creative projects funding, we’ve had artists and organisations running events, workshops and more across Worthing over the last few months.

Find out what some of the projects have been getting up to as well as seeing what upcoming events you can look out for.

Ainoa is a multidisciplinary artist using sculpture, installation, photography and performance within her creative practice. Her work is varied but is usually inspired by socially engaged subjects such as the environment. 

Her ongoing series ‘Plastic Era’ is a research based project looking at the relationship between humans, waste and the earth. Looking into the use of plastics in our everyday lives, Ainoa held beach cleans across Adur and Worthing, getting the community involved with turning waste into art. The beach cleans provided found material which was then repurposed, giving it another life in the form of cyanotypes. Cyanotypes using the sun as its light source, create images from the objects that are laid onto the paper, resulting in beautiful bright blue prints, where the waste has left it’s mark on the paper.

Anyone was able to get involved with the free workshops that were held in venues across Adur and Worthing, giving anyone the access to be able to create their own cyanotype. The exhibition ‘Optograms of the Sea’ is currently on display at the West Buildings Shelter on Worthing Seafront. Open to the public all hours of the day. The exhibition will be viewable until August 2024. 

If you want to find out more about Ainoa and her work, you can visit her website www.ainoaburgos.com and her Instagram @noa_madethis.

Sam Harper Holding is a Worthing based illustrator and animator. 

As part of the Creative Waves ‘Art in Motion’ project, Sam was commissioned to create a series of animated short films that featured children’s illustrations of sea creatures, bugs and birds all inspired by our natural world. A selection of these drawings were brought to life by Sam, turning them into a series of humorous short films. This was part of a wider project by Creative Waves that was funded by the National Lottery through Arts Council England

With support from Adur & Worthing Trust, Sam was able to commission another six young artists to help with the voice overs and sound to accompany the animations. The animations are featured on Worthing Pier, a new collaborative exhibition which was launched as part of World Earth Day. Sam’s animations are viewable via QR codes on Worthing pier as well and Bug Cycle Garden at Beach House Park.

You can watch the animations in full here.

Worthing Festival kicked off last month with wonderful events and celebrations taking place across the whole of Worthing.

Kicking off the festival celebrations, Drumheads collaborated with local gospel choir, Spring into Soul and two local dance troupes to put on a free performance for passers by to celebrate the launch of the second year of Worthing Festival 2024. Starting off their performance outside Pavilion Theatre, they made their way through the town to AudioActive and Spun Records, encouraging passers by to put on their dancing shoes and enjoy the performance. 

Bringing the festival to a close, they held another performance where onlookers could get involved and make their own noise, seeing out Worthing Festival for 2024. 

Worthing Dance and Music Trail hosted a day of musical events across four independent venues in Worthing to celebrate the talent of local musicians. 

The immersive trail kicked off on Sunday. Viewers joined the trail, seeing unique performances from four individual artists as they were led around four independent venues across Worthing. The audiences could see performances from belly dancers, harpist Heather Wrighton, soul singer and guitarist, Romany Gilmour as well as an exciting salsa show from Worthing Latin Dance Performance Group. 

Bringing the local community together, it was a busy event that introduced people to the wonderful artists and musicians that make up Worthing. 

Upcoming events & projects to come…

Photographers Barry Falk and Paul Kemp will be joining us in the gallery in August for their joint exhibition ‘Home’. Sharing their work in their week-long exhibition and hosting some free workshops for everyone to get involved with. All of the workshops are free but booking is essential.

Documenting your hometown photowalk with Paul Kemp // 03 August // 10.00 – 12.00

Join Paul Kemp for a guided photowalk around Worthing where you can explore new places, or return to your favourite spots to uniquely capture Worthing from your own viewpoint. At the end of the workshop, participants can select their favourite photographs to be included in the exhibition. To find out more, you can book your free spot on the workshop here.

Archive workshop with Barry Falk // 17 August // 10.00 – 12.00

Join Barry Falk for an archive workshop, taking the idea of the family album and reframing it as a piece of art. Through sequencing images, you will explore ideas such as nostalgia, memory and how images can frame both authentic and false narratives. This will be a fun workshop where you can play around with images and share family stories. 

To participate in the project, bring along copies of family photos or other images (no larger than A5) that are connected to personal memories to be used in the workshop. 

To find out more about what’s involved, you can book your tickets here.

Becky Edmunds: Those Forgotten
Call out for old photographs

Experimental embroiderer Becky Edmunds is on the look out for photographs of unknown individuals for her project Those Forgotten. Ten of these photographs will be transformed into contemporary artworks using embroidery thread and will be exhibited at Worthing Museum & Art Gallery in Autumn 2024.

Be a part of this creative project by donating any old photographs of strangers that you may have at home to help bring their forgotten faces to life. After the exhibition, the transformed photographs will be returned to those that donated them.

The deadline to submit any photographs is 31 July.

To get involved with Becky’s project and to submit your own photographs, follow the link here to find out more.

The Friends of Old Shoreham are inviting artists to create and submit artworks to their open call to take part in an exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Old Shoreham conservation area.

The aim of the exhibition is to showcase original artworks from people of diverse ages and backgrounds, working in a variety of different mediums including but not limited to collage, painting, photography  and sculpture. Following the theme of Routes-Networks-Connections, artists are encouraged to submit their works to celebrate the local community.

The deadline to submit is 31 July.

You can find out more information about the open call here.

You can make a submission via Google Form here or download an entry form here.

If you want to be the first to hear about upcoming events and to find out more about Creative Commissions, you can sign up to our monthly newsletter here.