Arts by the Sea calls for artists to create big-scale festival spectaculars

Arts by the Sea festival, Bournemouth’s annual celebration of art, culture, people and places, has opened applications for artists to stage two of the largest spectaculars at the 2022 event.

Running from Friday September 30 to Sunday October 2, Arts by the Sea takes over Bournemouth town centre including The Square, Lower Gardens and Pier Approach, filling it with a diverse mix of art forms by artists from across the UK and beyond.

Applications are now open for expressions of interest to deliver both the opening night projection mapping spectacle on Bournemouth’s Town Hall, pictured, and the large-scale carnival closing parade.

Those wishing to find out more information surrounding the creative brief and application process should visit artsbythesea.co.uk.

The final deadline for Stage One applications is Monday March 28.

With a footfall of 100,000 people across the festival weekend and with an audience spanning all ages, many eyes are set to be on the high-profile productions.

Following the pandemic where Arts by the Sea had to scale down its closing carnival spectacular, this year will see the processional parade return with a bang.

The festival is looking to commission a carnival specialist to curate and deliver the parade.

It should engage with the 2022 theme and give opportunities for participation to community groups across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole as well as individuals from the Arts by the Sea audience.

The carnival should also look to incorporate a short spectacular finish.

As part of the brief, the carnival specialist will incorporate the festival’s mentoring programme, this year supporting the Bournemouth-based Director of the World of Love Festival, Bea Sieradzka.

Interested applicants are invited to visit the website at artsbythesea.co.uk to read the full brief for both opportunities before applying.

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savvy navvy founder showcases own ‘innovation to succeed’ journey

Jelte Liebrand, CEO and Founder of marine technology company savvy navvy, was among the speakers at this year’s British Marine Conference.

He showcased how the first all-in-one navigation app is innovating the industry in the UK and across the globe.

As part of the ‘Maximising revenue through disruption’ session of the inaugural national conference, Jelte was one of three speakers showing real examples of how existing marine products have been enhanced and brought to market to attract a new customer base.

savvy navvy, often referred to by users as ‘Google maps for boats’ has grown from strength to strength since launching almost five years ago, with more than a quarter of a million users in over 100 countries globally.

Avid sailor and ex-Google Software Engineer Jelte, pictured, from Poole, spent three years researching and building the foundation for savvy navvy.

He got the idea mid-Pacific during the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, when spending hours planning the best racing routes.

Jelte founded the navigation app company in 2017 with Kevin O’Neill wanting to bring marine technology in line with the technical advances in other industries, such as the automotive industry.

As reported on Dorset Biz News, a crowdfunding campaign on the investment platform Seedrs for savvy navvy raised just over £1.35m from 832 investors last month.

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The CRUMBS Project to offer digital skills training

Bournemouth-based disability training charity The CRUMBS Project has announced the launch of a new project through the Power Up initiative.

Known as ‘Digital PATHS’, it will create digital skills training, enhancing the professional training already provided.

Power Up is run by Good Things Foundation with financial support from J.P. Morgan.

It aims to drive economic and social inclusion through digital skills, powering up people, provision and places.

The challenge of obtaining and sustaining employment and gaining social inclusion is even greater for a person with learning disabilities who is more likely to be digitally excluded and lacking in both the opportunity and confidence to bridge this gap.

Research by the Good Things Foundation found 32 per cent of people with an impairment do not have even the most basic digital skills.

Power Up projects will take place in four areas of the UK – Bournemouth, East London, Edinburgh and Glasgow – and will help organisations to embed digital skills into support for employability and financial inclusion.

Professor Peter A Jones, Chair of The CRUMBS Project, pictured left, said: “Our new Digital PATHS training will help our trainees to understand how they can control their financial health, as well as using digital tools to access the local and national services they require.

“We recognise that digital skills are essential in supporting our trainees and enhancing their professional and life skills is our charity’s focus.

“Power Up aims to support local communities and this is a great opportunity to work with and for people in Bournemouth to develop digital skills, be better equipped and less digitally isolated.

“I would like to thank the Good Things Foundation and J.P. Morgan Chase for their support of The CRUMBS Project and our new Digital PATHS training”.