A Year at Super Culture

Thank you to our artists, audiences, volunteers, and funders for joining us on some amazing creative adventures in 2025 – 86 events which have reached over 220,000 people. 

It’s been a challenging year for many, and shared experiences have felt more important than ever. Before we wave goodbye to the year, here’s a snapshot of some of our highlights.

Circus & Play

The Whirligig Festival brought circus, dance, and street performance to Weston town centre in June. From Catalan clowns Los Galindos to local favourites Farmyard Circus, Weston was buzzing with high-wire energy. Thanks to Weston BID, the fun continued with free weekly Summer Circus Daze holiday sessions from Circomedia and Tiny Circus, giving everyone a chance to “run away to the circus” without leaving town.

 

Visual Spaces

Weston’s streets were alive with colour thanks to Upfest’s Weston Wallz, which has produced over 70 artworks from UK and international artists over five years.  Super Culture’s support has focused on community involvement through workshops, a spray-jam weekend and co-created murals. This year, Refugees Welcome North Somerset and the Youth Justice Service collaborated with artists to create two new artworks, now part of the trail – perfect for a festive walk!

Worle also got in on the street-art act with the culmination of the year-long Art Activists project. Young people explored public art through trips, skills sessions and collaboration, before commissioning and helping to create a mural for their own community. Watch their journey with street artist Sarah Dicks here.

Body and Mind

The Weston Arts + Health Festival,  co-produced by Super Culture and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, returned for its sixth edition, exploring the theme ‘Learn’, one of the Five Ways to Wellbeing. Three days of creative activity across the hospital and at our beachside hub brought communities together through mindful, imaginative experiences.  Thanks to Diverse Artists Network, Alive Activities, Alliance Homes and The Other Place for their involvement in programming.

The Festival included the launch of a Creative Health Board for North Somerset, in partnership with the Integrated Care Board, strengthening the future role of creativity as a player in health prevention and treatment. 

It was also the debut for the exhibition “Life in a Coastal Town: a creative exploration of community and belonging” at Weston Museum.   Part of the Coastal Communities and Creative Health programme, the exhibition featured artwork by local people, including young refugees, those in recovery, and the bereaved, sharing rarely-heard stories of resilience, identity, hope, and belonging.  

Beyond Weston Arts + Health Festival and as part of an ongoing commitment to fostering creative conversations around grief, Grief as Grace: A Black Women’s Audio Archive, was an intimate listening event centering the voices of Black women as they reflected on grief in all its forms. Curator Louise Hill-Davis reflected, “Weston came together as a community to create space for voices too often silenced… In the midst of grief, we discovered joy, laughter, and connection.”   Listen to some of the stories shared here and look out for the next iteration at Good Grief Weston 2026. 

 

Creating Together

In 2025 Super Culture provided free to access, weekly creative opportunities for around 150 adults and young people every week, across artforms and engaging many different adults and young people who may face barriers to accessing the arts. 

Participants contributed to public-facing events, including National Poetry Day, including  our adult Chapter One creative writers revamping the traditional poetry crier on the streets and launching their second publication.

Ceilidh Bardsley, a member of Open Door Drama Group and Youth Theatre assistant, reflected on the superpowers that creativity has given her in The Guardian’s Against the Tide series: “I am proud that I went out there and have actually become part of that change.” 

Year-round one-off events have brought people together creatively, including November’s performance of Kizlar by Ceyda Tanc Dance. The show, presented with Loves Cafe, celebrated femininity through Turkish folk dance and contemporary movement, bringing together women from different communities to enjoy Turkish tea, baklava, and an after-show dance party.

Weston’s artists have also been memorably supported to collaborate in playful ways with the local community.  Paul Blakemore’s Superdog exhibition at Weston’s small but perfectly formed gallery space The Common Room included live dog portrait + zine-making opportunities.  Because people love their pets…

Building Skills

Throughout the year, young people took part in skills workshops, developed creative commissions, and completed placements across North Somerset, thanks to the West of England Combined Authority’s Culture West programme. From photography exhibitions to festival production and musical composition, it has been inspiring to see such a wide range of talent, and we look forward to the next steps of their creative journeys.

Over to the practitioners,  North Somerset Creative and Community Educators Network has proved to be a fantastic forum for the region’s educators to swop skills.  This is back in the New Year on 20th January, 10.30am in Nailsea – check out our website for more information.Festive Spirit

Festive Spirit

And to end on a festive note, we have loved partnering with the National Trust for a second Christmas extravaganza Once Upon a Christmas Time at Tyntesfield. 16 regional artists and over 400 community members have worked with National Trust staff and volunteers to transform the estate into a dazzling, living storybook that does justice to the tradition of fairy tales as an oral tradition and people’s form.    Running until 4 January, usual admission charges apply. 

Whatever you are doing this Winter break, we hope you have a peaceful time – see you in 2026! 

Photography Paul Blakemore