In late December 2019 we supported the Portsmouth Culture Education Partnership (CEP) in a bid to the Better Lives Through Culture programme administered by Artswork. Working with the Portsmouth CEP & PCC Libraries and Archives Services, a bid was devised to unlock the opportunity to collaboratively deliver a variety of activity programmes for children and young people, especially those in hard to reach areas across the city, that would then feed into ‘We Shine- Portsmouth’ light festival.

December saw the start of our ‘Search for a Star’ campaign as we announced we are looking to appoint an inspirational Chief Executive Officer and a diverse board of volunteer Non-Executive Directors to share their experience and expertise and drive our vision forward. We want a fabulous team who share a passion and ambition to make Portsmouth a significant cultural player! Head to our careers page if you think you might be the star we are searching for.

We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who came and supported Portsmouth Creates at our official launch event! Crowds witnessed a captivating light installation, which was a creative culmination of local designers, Pompey Banana Club, Foursandeights, and local builder, video and sound artist Jez Stevens. On a building behind the main stage a series of unique Pompey Vernacular such as ‘Cushty’, ‘Dinlo’ and ‘Squinny’ took shape in a series of animations from re-branded household fruit labels to typography based optical illusions.

The countdown is on……We are super excited to announce that our first major project pledged to the city comes in the form of Portsmouth’s first major light festival, ‘We Shine Portsmouth!’  Planned for November 2020 this large-scale collaborative project will harness the vast array of awesome talent that exists within the city and provide opportunities for local creatives of all disciplines to get involved.

We’re thrilled to officially announce Portsmouth Creates will launch at the Commercial Road, Christmas Light switch-on on Thursday 21st November. Head down to the Christmas light switch on between 4-6pm and behind the stage towards the sky, you will see a captivating light installation. An exciting creative culmination of local artists, Pompey Banana Club, a collective influenced by the culture, habitat and language of the city and local tour de force, Fours and Eights, a Portsmouth based print collective. Local digital artist Jez Stevens will be digitally mapping the work to create the perfect piece for the launch. We can’t wait to see you there!

After a lot of hard work, long discussions, planning and structuring, we’re excited to tell you that on Thursday 21st November, Portsmouth Creates will officially launch. Existing to help ensure everyone gets to take part and enjoy what Portsmouth’s dynamic cultural scene has to offer, Portsmouth Creates will announce itself formally to the city during the cities Commercial Road Christmas Lights Switch On event. We recommend those in attendance keep their eyes peeled to the skies for a surprise as we announce our first exciting pledge to the city.

We’re thrilled to announce the formation of Portsmouth Creates – a group funded by Arts Council England, Victorious Festival and Portsmouth City Council, tasked with developing a cultural strategy for Portsmouth. To get the proposal off the ground, The Arts Council & Victorious commissioned a report into Portsmouth’s current cultural prospects. Around fifty of the city’s top arts and heritage leaders, politicians and education leaders were asked about areas that needed to be addressed or improved.