BN9 Arts Growth Fund 2024

The BN9 Arts Growth Fund returns for its third year supporting creative projects in Newhaven. Find out more about our awardees and what they’ll be doing with the support of the fund.

Funded by Newhaven Enterprise Zone and supported by Towner Eastbourne.

Edgeland Modern

Ebb and Flow is an experimental film project by artists Littleford+Adams of Edgeland Modern, a Newhaven based art collective.

The film will feature the River Ouse and people of Newhaven and explore connections between the river, industry, history, folklore and climate change told through local voices, with community screenings later in the 2024.

Haven Young Creatives

Haven Young Creatives will return with their lantern parade, Harbour Lights- Spirit of the Cormorant, with a consecutive year of support from the BN9 Growth Fund.

This year will be bigger and better than before, and include the switching on of Newhaven’s Christmas lights. Local artists, musicians and residents will all be involved, with workshops for people to make their own lanterns.

Ignite Theatre

Ignite Theatre will return to Meeching Hall this December for a festive telling of beloved Roald Dahl classic, The Twits. With support from the BN9 Growth Fund grant , this year promises to be bigger and better than before!

Ignite will be teaming up with celebrated local artists Daisy Jordan and Orlando Black to run puppet making workshops for Newhaven residents, to create characters who will inhabit the show’s immersive theatre space.

KP Projects

The BN9 Growth Fund will bring KP Projects’ Sussex Blazing Saddles to Newhaven Festival in Sep 2024. The Sussex-wide, two-year National Lottery Heritage Funded project, uncovers the revolutionary impact of the emergence of the bicycle on women and society.

There will be many opportunities to get involved including free access to bicycles, costume making workshops and a chance to get involved in creating choreography for the final performance at The Sidings.

Play On Productions

Play On Productions are a young people’s theatre cooperative who create accessible, inspiring and empowering opportunities for young people and new audiences to connect with classical plays, through the lens of contemporary social issues.

The grant will fund an immersive theatre event at Newhaven’s outdoor events space, The Sidings, this September. They’ll have lots of opportunities for young people to get involved, both onstage and behind-the-scenes.

Harbour Lights lantern procession © Phoebe Wingrove

See all the extraordinary projects we’ve supported in previous years

→ 2023 projects

→ 2022 projects

Following Ravilious

August – October 2023

FOLLOWING RAVILIOUS – NEWHAVEN VIEWS WAS A FREE PUBLIC ART TRAIL OF GIANT BILLBOARDS, PLACED AROUND NEWHAVEN, EAST SUSSEX, FROM AUGUST TO 29 OCTOBER 2023.

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Newhaven Arts Growth Fund 2023

Meet the fund awardees for 2023

Theatre, music, heritage, young people and community: The Newhaven Arts Growth Fund seeds culture and creativity with grants for five local projects.

This is the second time that the Newhaven Enterprise Zone has funded an open access arts award and this year there were twice the number of applicants compared with last. The five successful grantees are some of the most exciting arts organisations working in Newhaven today.

Community arts organisation Hospitable Environment uses food and creativity to connect with local people through projects like the woodfired bread oven, and Soup & Social – their free shared meal and community conversation. Their award underpins the delivery of more opportunities and events in Newhaven through 2023 and beyond.

Ring in the New celebrates the restoration of Piddinghoe’s historic church bells. Composer Chris Moore (VOCES8) will collaborate with Tidemills Choir and Harbour Primary School to create a piece of music drawing on Piddinghoe’s stories gathered by student oral historians from Seahaven Academy. Project lead Ben May promises “a world premiere of aspirational and beautiful music” in Piddinghoe this July.

Ignite Theatre will fund their Christmas production of Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach. “Over three years the Ignite players have worked hard to bring professional productions to the local community at affordable prices” says artistic director Lisa Fairfield. This award allows them to build on their success.

This November, youth theatre group Haven Young Creatives will create Newhaven Lights, a one-day family festival which director Siou Hannam hopes will become an annual fixture. “This funding gives us an opportunity to come together as a community to celebrate winter time. Local artists will co-create a day of making lanterns and music, ending in a lantern procession that will light up the streets of Newhaven.”

Newhaven Festival is now in its 6th year. Together with funding from Newhaven Town Council, Festival Director Rhoda Funnell is curating another diverse line-up including Bicycle Ballet, music at the Bandstand, and a Glyndebourne Youth Opera event, plus a monthly What’s On guide.

Download a press release