Thursday 15th February 2PM – 6:30PM

Join us for the next ‘Taste of Yeovil’ event! We are partnering up with Love Yeovil and Yeovil Country Park to bring you this year’s Lantern Parade with a celebration of the Somerset ‘Wassail’ tradition and many family friendly creative activities here in Yeovil.

2pm – Creative workshops
4.30pm – Lantern Parade
5.30pm – Wassail Ceremony

From 2PM there will be an array of creative workshops to participate in, including charcoal making and print creation, lantern making, drumming workshops, and fireside cooking. These workshops are free of charge and for all ages and ranges of ability so we hope everyone can find something that really makes their night.

At 4:30PM we will hold the popular annual lantern parade, starting at Petters Way and making our way together to Penn Hill community Orchard. Yeovil College art students will be leading the parade with lanterns they have made inspired by food.

After the parade at 5:30PM the wassail ceremony will be held at Penn Hill in Yeovil country park where there will be a blessing of the community orchard.

The term “wassail” comes from Old English wes hál or waes hael, meaning ‘be thou hale‘, which in turn means ‘be in good health’ or ‘be fortunate’, and is traditionally a time to bless the orchards in hope of a good harvest for the year to come! Although historically celebrated on Twelfth Night, modern day wassails are usually held January to February, and we couldn’t resist including this event in the Taste of Yeovil programme!

Don’t forget to dress warm and wear appropriate footwear for a woodland
walk!

Come in to Yeovil Art Space, (Unit 13-15 Vicarage Walk Quedam Shopping Centre, BA20 1EU) OR Ninesprings cafe and collect your free lantern making kit!

This kit includes 10 sticks, tissue paper and an LED tealight, along with a copy of the instructions!

They’re going fast so better be quick!

Of course you may use your own resources to make a lantern for this event, but the kits make the process easier (especially if it’s your first time making one)!

This event has been funded by Abri and Yeovil Town Council and is part of the Taste of
Yeovil programme and the wider Story of Yeovil project which has been generously funded
by National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Story of Yeovil is coordinated by Yeovil Art Space on behalf of the Yeovil Art and Heritage Working Group and aims to gather stories from diverse perspectives in the town’s heritage and history through creativity and storytelling.

25 November – 23 December, 2023

Come and enjoy the ‘Starter’ for Taste of Yeovil at Yeovil Art Space and celebrate our creative community.

Join festive celebrations across both Yeovil Art Space venues in the Quedam this year, get creative and find out more about ‘Taste of Yeovil’.

We would like to invite you to come and pause with us in the gallery at this busy time of year and share your stories. Share with us your favourite recipe for Christmas, perhaps a memorable moment at the Christmas meal table, or stories related to food. We have hot drinks available and a heart warming exhibition to explore.

‘Together’ is an exhibition with a selection of special festive themed objects from Yeovil’s community heritage, including Christmas decorations, photographs, greeting cards and stories to tell around some memorable items in the collection including a special Christmas Pudding recipe and traditional Pudding Pot,

The recipe can be seen in our display, written on the back of a envelope which holds a letter dated November 1943 and is addressed to ‘Miss M.G. Sterry, Wiltown Cottage, Curry Rivel, Taunton, Somerset’.  

In the images above you can also see we have been inspired by a fantastic past Christmas display in Yeovil’s Plummer Roddis Ltd (Image courtesy of South Somerset Heritage Collection), the team have done so well putting together and arranging this giant Christmas cracker above our welcome desk!

The exhibition also includes some wintery favourites from the ‘View of Yeovil’ exhibition earlier this year, a giant paper chain made by the YAS Team and a very special pair of quilts made by the ‘Somerset Scrubs’ during the Covid pandemic and have been kindly loaned to us Yeovil resident Becky Smith (please see image gallery below)

The exhibition is part of the Story of Yeovil public programme, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, delivered by Yeovil Art Space on behalf of Yeovil Heritage and Art Working Group.

‘Share Your Love and Show You Care’

‘Light Hearted’ is now with us in the gallery! Also featured at Yeovil’s Christmas Lights Switch On event and the Sound of Yeovil Silent disco, this stunning LED heart now sits in Yeovil Art Space for the lead up to Christmas and is providing a bright and beautiful centrepiece for our festive exhibition. When you stand in front of it and hold hands the heart lights up! Come in to the gallery and have a go!

This striking and symbolic piece was created by digital media artist Gavin Morris, founder of The Digital Funfair, and has been staged across the UK, including Boomtown Festival and recently at the Arts By the Sea Festival in Bournemouth. 

‘Christmas Creatives’

Alongside our main YAS Gallery the Yeovil Creatives have opened up the members space in the Quedam Shopping centre for some special opening dates this December!

Visit their new Art Exhibition ‘Christmas Creations’, with festive vibes, unique artworks on display and of course great gifts for sale. Take your photo in the ‘Instagrammable’ display, add your Christmas wishes to the tree and join any Christmassy creative activities!

Further open days in December are:

Sat 2 10-4
Thu 7 6-8pm
Sat 9 10-4
Sat 16 10-4
Sun 17 10-1

Our Festive Message is to Celebrate Community, Share Stories and Make Yeovil Creative!   Check out our Instagram and Facebook pages for updates @yeovilartspace

Saturday 18 November / 6pm – 8pm

Come and dance with us in the Quedam! Join us for the finale to Sound of Yeovil – a Silent Disco!  Limited spaces, first come first served.

Partnering with EPS Yeovil, guest DJs local to Yeovil will bring together three channels of music to stream through your headphones. There will be music for all ages, including familiar songs, pop, reggae, drum & bass, techno and more… come and dance with us here in the Quedam Shopping Centre!

Taking place in partnership with the Christmas Light Switch on event, we are inviting you, the Yeovil community, to join us for this finale event to the Sound of Yeovil programme, as part of the Story of Yeovil project and with funding support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund the Silent Disco is free of charge if you book in advance.

On the day of the event please head to EPS Yeovil to collect your headset. Headset collection begins at 5pm, so come early to avoid any queues.  Kindly ensure you bring £20 cash deposit for each headset, which will be promptly refunded upon return of your headset to us after the event.

Light Hearted!

In partnership with Love Yeovil and the Christmas Lights Switch on we are delighted to present the interactive light sculpture ‘Light Hearted’. A large LED heart which lights up when two or more people hold hands. The heart will be on display in the Quedam and then in Yeovil Art Space in the lead up to Christmas. This striking and symbolic piece was created by digital media artist Gavin Morris, founder of The Digital Funfair, and has been staged across the UK, including Boomtown Festival and recently at Arts By the Sea Festival in Bournemouth.

Love Yeovil and Yeovil Art Space are working in partnership to support the Yeovil regeneration project, by bringing art and cultural activities to the town centre that provide a positive impact to local business and community. This is one of many new initiatives in the coming months, including the upcoming Lantern Parade in February. 

The Silent Disco is a Sound of Yeovil event, part of the Story of Yeovil public programme, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and delivered by Yeovil Art Space on behalf of Yeovil Heritage and Art Working Group.  The Christmas Lights Switch on takes place this year in partnership with Yeovil Art Space, EPS Yeovil, Yeovil Town Council and Quedam Shopping Centre.

Story of Yeovil Digital Map & Community Heritage Forum

Friday 10 November 3-5pm, Yeovil Art Space

In this special Sound of Yeovil event we want to hear from you and tell you all about the amazing Story of Yeovil Digital Map. Join us to explore this evolving map which will form part of the legacy of the Story of Yeovil project. Designed by Sound artist Stephen Ives and Digital artist Gavin Morris the map captures stories gathered from our communities through our Community Heritage Forums and the creative workshops we have been doing as part of Story of Yeovil.

Sound of Yeovil producer Stephen Ives will give a demonstration of the map at the start of the session and will share how the map tells the stories of Yeovil with sound, visuals and text and can be accessed from anywhere using your mobile phone or on a computer.

The afternoon is part of a series of Community Heritage Forum events. We welcome community members who wish to share their stories with us. Please bring your objects and photos to share! Light refreshments will be available and we are looking forward to seeing you there.

Pictured here to the left one of the many interesting conversations in out series of Story of Yeovil community forums. These sessions have taken place with support from Dr Rose Wallace and Dr Laura Harrison from the Regional History Centre at the University of West of England and with fantastic input from those who have come along to share their stories. Dr Rose Wallace will be joining us for this Share your Stories event.

This is a FREE event and open to everyone but please book your place. Click on the link below!

Click here to book

More about the Map…

We are really excited to see the development of this audio-visual map developed by Gavin Morris and Stephen Ives for the Sound of Yeovil project.

It is built using Roundware – an actively-developed open-source project developed by Halsey Burgund. Roundware was initially developed for sound art installations, but has since been used for innovative museum audio tours as well as other educational purposes. It lets you collect audio using a smartphone or web access, upload it to a central point along with images and text and then play it back.

This map will serve as a real legacy for the Story of Yeovil project, recording and sharing many stories from our town and accessible to the Yeovil community near and far.

Build your own bluetooth speaker in a festival beer mug from scratch!

Join sound artist/producer Stephen Ives (aka Farmer Glitch) from EPS Yeovil (eastvilleproject.org.uk) to build a hand-held amplifier/speaker sound system in a plastic festival pint mug, with either a Bluetooth or mini-jack connection.

You will learn to solder boards, switches and speakers into place, creating a unique and useful souvenir to take home with you!

No experience is required, suitable for aged 16 and above.

Booking is now for this event – if you are interested in future events like this please sign up to our Mailing list here.

Saturday 21 October / 1-3.30pm at Yeovil Art Space

£15 each, all materials included.

Book here (Booking now closed for this event)

16 September – 18 November, 2023

Part of Sound of Yeovil, we present STORY OF D.I.Y., an exhibition telling the story of Yeovil through a collection of Yeovil-related music memorabilia, such as Fanzines, tickets, posters, original photos, along with an extensive archive of vintage recordings. 

Celebrating the wealth of creativity in Yeovil through home-made music and its visual manifestation, the exhibition brings together a comprehensive collection of music fanzines circulated in and around Yeovil from the 70s onwards, including All the Madmen, Feeding the Fish, Still Crazy, Human Debris, Clique, Screed and other one-off wonders. It also shows original photos, artworks and rare finds contributed by individuals, especially for this exhibition.

Apart from reflecting Yeovil’s rich music heritage and a glimpse of Yeovil’s social history, the exhibition provides insight into the D.I.Y. culture and the experimental spirit that long existed within our community. From a diverse range of music, visual artworks and expressions that amplify the voice of creativity, of those who were on the stage and behind the scenes. Exploring possibilities through collaborations, Yeovil continues to be a breeding ground for D.I.Y. music and art in the West Country. 

Acknowledgements

This exhibition is part of an ongoing archive project started in 2015 by the founder of EPS Yeovil, creative producer and sound artist Stephen Ives, who would like to thank the contributions from the creators and collectors for lending their original materials and sharing their stories.  Story of D.I.Y. is curated by Zoe Li in collaboration with Stephen Ives, with support from Simon Barber and the Yeovil Art Space team. 

The exhibition is part of Sound of Yeovil, a Story of Yeovil public programme, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, delivered by Yeovil Art Space on behalf of Yeovil Heritage and Art Working Group.

Alongside the exhibition, we are bringing together a programme of events for all ages until 18 November:

Make Your Own Pint Mug Sound System (SAT 21 Oct, 1-3.30pm)

Build your own bluetooth speaker in a festival beer mug from scratch! Join sound artist/producer Stephen Ives (aka Farmer Glitch) from EPS Yeovil (eastvilleproject.org.uk) to build a hand-held amplifier/speaker sound system in a plastic festival pint mug, with either a Bluetooth or…

READ MORE

Share Your Stories

Join us on Friday 10 November 3-5pm to explore the Story of Yeovil Digital Map, an evolving map capturing stories from our communities. The event is also part of a series of Community Heritage Forum events.

READ MORE

Story of D.I.Y in conversation

Saturday 4 November, 3pm to 7pm  Join us for an early evening of conversations followed by live music performances!     In partnership with EPS Yeovil we are delighted to present this special event including conversation with an amazing panel of guests, sharing…

READ MORE

– Make your own Zine : Inspired by the exhibition to create a Zine from start to finish using DIY methods. Make a Zine about any subject you like, add images text or anything you feel to make a unique creation. Suitable for all ages. Drop in every Saturday 10 – 5pm to Yeovil Art Space, no booking required.

– Make your own Pint Mug Sound System : A fun DIY electronic workshop to build a Bluetooth speaker in a Festival beer mug from scratch. No experience is required, suitable for aged 16 and above. £15 each, all materials included. Saturday 21 October, 1-3.30pm at Yeovil Art Space.

– Share your stories : Join us to contribute sound and images for our Story of Yeovil Audio Visual Map. The perfect legacy for the Sound of Yeovil, creating a portal for diverse sounds and stories around the town which can be accessed from anywhere; using mobile phones or on a computer. Saturday 10 November, 3-5pm at Yeovil Art Space.