HASTINGS TOWN OF CULTURE

Hastings to make Town of Culture bid

Arts Hastings CIC has announced its formal bid for the UK Town of Culture 2028 title, setting out a bold vision for a town-wide cultural programme rooted in community, creativity and social transformation.

Arts Hastings CIC will lead delivery in partnership with Hastings Borough Council as the Accountable Body, supported by a wide network of cultural organisations, community groups, businesses and public sector partners.

Read the latest press release here

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What is the Town of Culture?

Town of Culture is a new government competition, which towns across the UK are invited to enter. The winning town will be awarded £3 million to deliver a cultural programme in 2028, and the two runners-up will receive £250,000 each to deliver elements of their bid.

Hastings’ bid will be project managed and written by Arts Hastings CIC with input from across the cultural community and creative industry sectors. The council will remain the accountable body for the bid, providing governance, oversight and strategic support throughout the process.

For the initial expression of interest phase, the focus is on answering three questions around how we want to tell our Hastings story, how culture can be used to build on local strengths and look to the future, while addressing local priorities, and finally how we will empower communities to shape the eventual programme.

To ensure that we can create a strong, inclusive, forward-looking and ambitious bid that reflects the breadth and diversity of cultural activity in Hastings and St Leonards we asked for input from across the cultural and community sectors.

We are drafting an Expression of Interest (EOI) based on the views, hopes, beliefs, and aspirations of the people of Hastings.

To help inform the EOI two public meetings were held, with more than 200 people signing up. Attendees included representatives from our talented and expansive community of artists, creative practitioners, and craftspeople, as well as cultural and creative organisations, businesses, and entrepreneurs. People from our respected and valued voluntary and community organisations, reflecting communities and interest groups across the town, also attended, alongside developers, entrepreneurs, and public sector service providers.

To supplement their contributions an online questionnaire was made available to all residents, asking them what they want for Hastings Town of Culture. More than 400 responses were gathered with special efforts to encourage young people, the elderly, and those with comparatively limited engagement with culture to share their views.

The consultation findings will guide the core themes and objectives of our bid and provide a framework that centres on our communities’ needs. The responses are passionate, vibrant, and multifaceted reflecting a town proud of its unconventionality, its sense of independence and its commitment to its communities.

There is a widespread and universal belief in the town that it possesses all (and more) of what is needed to be recognised with the honour of being named the UK’s first Town of Culture.

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