About the working group

A working group has been established in May 2021 to look at ways to create designated cultural and heritage facilities and activities in Yeovil, for the Yeovil community and visitors. The group meets regularly and is currently putting together an action plan to develop an arts and heritage programme for the public, as well as exploring options to create a designated space in the town centre.

We have secured funding from the Architectural Heritage Fund to allow a 12-month project viability study based on the Vicarage Street Methodist Church in the centre of Yeovil at the bottom of the Quedam Shopping Centre. Architects BoonBrown and You&Me have been commissioned to provide design options for the use of the building, along with detailed structure and quantity surveyor reports. The initial plan is to bring the functions and services of Yeovil Art Space, Eastville Project Space and a Yeovil Museum & Heritage together in a single accessible building in the town centre.

If you would like to get in touch and find out more, please email Zoe Li, Project Director zoe@yeovilartspace.uk

VISION

Celebrating Yeovil’s culture and heritage in the heart of the community, with everyone, for everyone.

MISSION

We provide space and opportunities in the centre of Yeovil, where everyone can experience creative arts and explore stories of Yeovil’s past, present and future.

AIMS

• Work together and with others to deliver a programme mixing between arts and heritage that is imaginative, innovative and inspiring
• Bring identity and pride to our town that is relevant through creativity, sense of place and people
• Support nurturing young people and learning of all ages and all backgrounds, inspiring visitors from elsewhere
• Put Yeovil on the map of where quality arts and heritage activities can be explored, including loans from regional and national collections and artists at national and international levels.
• Contribute to the town’s regeneration through the voice of the community, and build reputation.
• Embrace environmental sustainability and digital innovation in all aspects of our work

OBJECTIVES

• Deliver a programme of activities in 2022-23 to build audiences and partnership

• Create a designated space and facilities by 2023 as part of the regeneration plan

• Share investment and resources for arts and heritage that is sustainable

• Embed our shared values, gather evidence, and to evaluate and capture the impact

• Be a core part of the wider cultural strategy of Yeovil and beyond
  

MEMBERS

Bob Osborn, A-to-Z of Yeovil’s History

Councillor Mike Best, South Somerset District Council

Ian Timms, Yeovil Refresh

Katy Menday, South Somerset District Council

Steve Sowden, Yeovil Free Press

Sally Freemantle, Yeovil Town Council

Rachel Bellamy, South West Heritage Trust

Stephen Ives, Eastville Project Space

Natasha Rand, Yeovil Art Space

Zoe Li, Yeovil Art Space

OBSERVER

Rev Kate Konrad, Yeovil Methodist Church