A long-running community arts programme that has supported musicians, performers and creatives across the Burnham-On-Sea area has lost its core funding — but organisers say the work will continue.
Seed Sedgemoor’s Creative People and Places programme, backed by Arts Council England and the National Lottery, has come to an end after six and a half years.
The initiative has helped deliver dozens of local arts projects, from public art murals on Burnham seafront (pictured) to outdoor performances such as a play about the Berrow shipwreck and neighbourhood festivals.
Despite the funding ending, chair of trustees Frankie Smith says the team is determined to keep the organisation alive in a voluntary capacity.
“Though this chapter closes, we remain committed to doing all we can to keep Seed alive,” she told Burnham-On-Sea.com. “The legacy the people of Sedgemoor have helped grow will continue to bloom in homes, streets and imaginations.”
One of the many projects Seed supported was All Hands, an original play about the Berrow shipwreck of the SV Nornen in August 2023, produced by Burnham resident Corrinne Curtis and performed in the Marine Cove gardens.
Corrinne said Seed’s early backing was crucial. “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,” she says.
“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.”
Over the years, Seed has also funded public art installations — including several seafront murals in Burnham-On-Sea — and organised the annual Front Gardens Music Festival, which brought live performances to neighbourhoods across the district, including Highbridge.
The organisation says it will now explore new ways to keep community-led arts activity going, even without major funding.
