Blog – Brighton & Hove Arts Council

Farewell by Outgoing Chairman, Nicolas Chisholm, MBE

Brighton & Hove Philharmonic Society (14 January 2020) Nicolas Chisholm at the Society’s AGM, Sunday 1 December 2019 “As I come to the end of nine years as a member of the Board of Management of the Brighton Phil I can look back with pleasure at some extraordinary highlights: Holst’s The Planets, Stravinsky’s The Rite of […]

Brighton & Hove Arts Council (6th October 2019) Enthusiastic volunteer required! Are you interested in running the best annual art show in Brighton (well, we think it is)? Our committee member and ex-Chair, John Hird, has been organising this event for many years but is now planning to step back a little, although he will […]

Brighton & Hove Arts Council (6th October 2019) Do you have expertise in marketing, PR, and social media? Could you spare a couple of hours a week to help us? BHAC now have approximately 80 group members covering all areas of not-for-profit arts, including theatre groups, choirs, orchestras, art clubs, poetry, radio and dance – […]

The online entry system is now open for Springboard 2020. Please take a look at our syllabuses, which are all available on the web pages of the relevant section. New for 2020: Singing: The Dame Felicity Lott Recital Competition We are delighted to offer two new recital classes (436 and 437). Discretionary awards include […]

Brighton Philharmonic (29 July 2019) Every year the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra awards prizes of a pair of season tickets to two talented young musicians who have taken part in the Springboard Festival. In 2018 the recipients were pianist Tyzer McAllister & flautist Lucy Leete. Tyzer (then aged 13) won the Brighton Hammond Organ Society Challenge […]

BHAC (4th July 2019) 2019 Contribution to the Arts Award Andrew Sherwood (Member group: encore) At the BHAC Annual General Meeting on 3rd July, we were delighted to announce that this year’s recipient of our annual Contribution to the Arts Award , presented by our Chair, Jane Osler, is Andrew (Andy) Sherwood nominated […]

St Mary’s Kemptown (12th May 2019) Art & Inspiration Discussion Group Monday afternoons, 2.15pm Returns 13 May – FREE Our Art & Inspiration Group is back on Mondays at 2.15pm. It’s a small, friendly discussion group, open to all, which is led by a different speaker each week exploring a work or theme […]

BHAC (1st May 2019) Brighton & Hove Arts Council (BHAC) is delighted to invite its group members to nominate an individual for its annual Outstanding Contribution to the Arts Award. Each year BHAC has selected an individual who we believe has made a difference to the not-for-profit arts scene in the area and presented them […]

Coastline Harmony (24 April 2019) Southwick-based singing group Coastline Harmony is looking for a new MD as they sadly bid farewell this summer to their encouraging, funny and patient leader, Miguel Fernandes. **** As Oscar Wilde almost said: “To lose one MD may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose two looks like […]

Southwick Players – 2nd March 2019 Around a year ago I directed “The Turn of the Screw” (an adaptation of the Henry James ghost story) for the Southwick Players. Working with a dream cast and crew, this dark, ambiguous story came together wonderfully and played to great houses for its 4 night run at the Barn […]

Forum Society (23rd January 2019) The Forum Society, which has been running now for 61 years, urgently needs a new Chair and Talks Secretary . A social society formed in 1958 to arrange talks, social functions and other activities, our members are mostly 60+. We meet on the first Wednesday of the month (usually at […]

Sussex Chorus – 9th January 2019 One of the county’s best-loved choirs, Sussex Chorus, is looking forward to an exciting 2019 under the baton of new Director of Music, Jack Thompson. Jack begins rehearsals with the choir on Monday 7th January as they start preparing for their first performance together in March. Keen supporters of the […]

Springboard Festival 2019 The festival is held annually during weekends in March at Brighton & Hove High School GDST, Montpelier Road, Brighton, BN1 3AT. This year’s dates are: Speech & Drama 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 23 March 2019 Singing 2, 3 March 2019 Strings 9, 10 March 2019 Guitar 16 March 2019 […]

Jane Collins – Adjudicator – BHAC 2018 Drama Awards (12th December 2018) First of all I would like to say a big thank you to Brighton and Hove Arts Council for inviting me to be the adjudicator for this year’s drama awards. I had no idea what to expect – but if I am honest […]

BHAC – 28 November 2018 Brighton & Hove Arts Council (BHAC), a local charity run entirely by volunteers, is looking for an experienced marketing executive to join our team. The time requirement is for a few hours a month, plus around six meetings a year. This is an opportunity to join an expanding and developing […]

Resound Male Voices (27 November 2018) Foggy Friday – taking our lives in our hands on a wintry, darkening and dense foggy Friday evening Resound ventured over to Eastbourne Youth Hostel on the edge of the South Downs. Our Annual residential is an opportunity for the group to spend an intensive weekend to fine tune […]

Brighton & Hove City Council (15th November 2018) THE ART OF GOOD HEALTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH 2018 Foreword by Alistair Hill Should we look closer at the role of arts in health? I argue that that we should, especially in our highly creative city. The Director of Public Health’s annual […]

Brighton & Hove Arts Council (14 November 2018) Are you interested in the wider arts? Would you like to join a group and take part yourself? Or not miss out on their events? Well, here is a list of our current Group Members. (Full details are on the Members list on this website.) Just click […]

South East Dance (25th October 2018) An inspirational leader and passionate advocate for dance, former Artistic Director/CEO Jamie Watton’s tireless tenacity and vision has for more than a decade been the driving force behind the creation of The Dance Space: a home for dance in the south east. So, when Jamie passed away after […]

Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra (11th October 2018) We asked our musicians which pieces of music they were particularly looking forward to playing this season: “This season is offering several things that are new to me, and that in itself is a rare treat. In the first concert, the Parry and the Elgar Bavarian Highlands are both going to be pieces […]

Dupont Art Club (21st August 2018) This year was a successful year for the Dupont Art Club’s annual art exhibition. We saw close to 500 people attend with over £1000.00 in sales. We were pleased with these numbers considering the poor weather for half of the days. This year we set up a separate area […]

Brighton & Hove Quill of Poetry (1st July 2018) The National Health Service is 70 years old on 5 July 2018. Terry Godwin of Brighton & Hove Quill of Poetry has written two poems to celebrate this event and will be giving public readings of them both within the NHS (at the Royal Sussex […]

Wick Theatre Company (30th May 2018) Back in 1948, a stage-struck young lass named Betty Carpenter persuaded the leader of the Unity Youth Club to invite two members of the Southwick Players – Elizabeth Penney and Peter Elder – to speak on the subject of drama. This generated such interest that a group called the Unity Players was formed, soon to become the Young Wick […]

Sussex Symphony Orchestra (30th May 2018) It is very hard for many of us to believe that we are this year celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Sussex Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra has gone from performing just two concerts in its first year, up to nine at our peak and now we have a […]

encore (30th April 2018) encore with Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival present MUSIC MARATHON A joint fundraising event for encore and Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival, supporting the next generation of musical talent on Saturday 17 November 2018, Brighton Dome Foyer from 10am-6pm Performer registration is open from Saturday 5 May and closes on Monday 17 September […]

BHAC – 21st April 2018 The 2018 Spring Exhibition by Brighton & Hove Arts Council ended today, 21st April, with our Trustee, Mr John Hird, announcing the winner of “The People’s Choice” for the public’s favourite exhibit. This year, the cup was awarded to Vanessa Reynolds of Adur Art Collective for her painting entitled […]

Brighton & Hove Philharmonic Society (1st April 2018) As part of their prize from the Brighton Phil, last year’s Springboard Festival winners Berniya Hamie and Natasha O’Flynn chose to attend the Brighton Phil’s rehearsal at Brighton Dome on Sunday 11 February and met guest conductor Howard Shelley. Natasha was accompanied to the rehearsal by her […]

Coastline Harmony (20 March 2018) Coastline Harmony, a local women’s a cappella chorus, competed on Saturday 10 March 2018 at the Chichester Music Festival. This is the first time they have taken part in this event and it was a fun day out. Competing in 3 different classes, the chorus were delighted to be placed first in […]

Forum Society (28th February 2018) The members of The Forum Society are proudly celebrating its 60th year since its first meeting in the Royal Albion Hotel in 1958. Despite all the changes and innovations in life, the members still enjoy regular meetings in the English Language Centre, social events and visits to places of local […]

Hove Civic Society (20th January 2018) This is the year when the Hove Plinth becomes a reality after all the hard work to reach this stage. From next month, you should see work beginning on the sea front just south of the Queen Victoria statue on Grand Avenue. The fencing will go up first to […]

Embroiderers’ Guild – Brighton Branch (18th January 2018) We celebrated our 35th anniversary last year, with many members producing a wide range of pieces. The common theme was using the colour coral in the work. (Janet Summerton) (See their Members’ page here or visit their website here for further information on the Embroiderers’ Guild)

Brighton Unitarians (21st December 2017) Many people see our building in New Road, with its giant columns and large red doors, and wonder what such a place could stand for and what its services might be like. So what does happen behind the red doors? We have services every Sunday at 11am. We are an […]

BHAC (16th December 2017) “Oh would some Power the gift give us, to see ourselves as others see us” – Robert Burns This article was included in the recent edition of “Comment” – the in-house magazine of one of our sponsors, Coffin Mew Solicitors. “A champion for amateur artists” The Brighton and Hove Arts Council […]

Coastline Harmony (23rd November 2017) Coastline Harmony, an acapella group from Southwick, love to sing all over the world. In 2013 they visited Cyprus, in 2015 they took a trip to their Musical Director’s home town of Porto in Portugal and this year they spent a long weekend in Prague. ** Imagine standing in […]

Brighton & Hove Philharmonic Society (22nd November 2017) We asked the orchestra which pieces of music, and indeed concerts, they are most looking forward to this season, and our next concert, on Sunday 3 December*, ranked particularly highly in their responses (see below): “The Ravel is one of my favourite piano concertos as it […]

Brighton Early Music Festival (26th October 2017) I feel very privileged to be one of four trainees at the Brighton Early Music Festival (BREMF) this year. I have been working with BREMF officially since July and have relished every second. I have been involved with a wide variety of areas within the organisation […]

Brighton & Hove Arts Council (24th October 2017) Now that the BHAC Poetry Competition has closed with a record six hundred entries all eyes and efforts turn to the Poetry Festival itself which takes place at The Old Market, Upper Market Street, Hove on Saturday November 18th. We have been extraordinarily lucky and honoured to […]

Brighton Philharmonic (24th October 2017) By Richard Watson – double bass The first time I came to the Dome was in the very early ’50s when as a small child we were on holiday with some relatives who lived in Hove and I remember Douglas Reeve playing the organ. Little did I realise then that I […]

South East Dance (21st September 2017) Announcing the Dance Space…on the cusp of South East Dance’s 20th anniversary Fanfares and bunting! It’s with enormous excitement that we are finally able to announce that construction has begun at Brighton’s Circus Street where South East Dance’s new home, The Dance Space, will open its doors in early […]

Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra (19th September 2017) Our recent story about Barbara & Samuel Burston, who met playing the violin in the Brighton Philharmonic in 1948, got us thinking about how many musical partnerships the orchestra has benefited from over the years. Those audience members with long memories may recall another husband and wife duo […]

Rottingdean Preservation Society 8th September 2017 Over the last few months, the Society has worked closely with the Whiteway Centre to renovate the Nicholson Studio, which was once part of the Grange Gardens, but now lies in the grounds of St Margaret’s School. It was built in 1912, and was designed by their friend, […]

Dupont Art Club (6th September 2017) Victor Perkins was the winner of the Peoples Choice award at this years Dupont Art Club annual Art Exhibition, which ran from 24th to 26th August. The lovely pencil drawing titled SHH is shown here with Victor and Dupont Chairman, John Hird. Victor received the Dupont cup […]

Music & Wine at St Luke’s (2nd Sept 2017) Since the church purchased the Steinway piano in the 1990s it has hosted occasional concerts. As a local resident who had performed there, Rachel Fryer decided to work with the church and began a regular series in 2007. The first concert was attended by just 1 […]

Brighton & Hove Philharmonic Society (1st Sept 2017) The Brighton Philharmonic was contacted earlier this year by Lancing College who are researching the history of their Steinway Model D concert grand piano. Graduate Music Assistant Fraser Harrington spent an afternoon in the Brighton Phil office looking through papers as far back as 1936 trying to […]

Brighton & Hove Arts Council (23rd August 2017) Brighton and Hove Arts Council (BHAC) is a band of keen volunteers whose aim is to support and promote our local not- for- profit Arts community. We have 65+ (and growing) group members, representing a wide range of art forms and a similar number of individual members. A small Executive Committee […]

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on Tuesday 27 June 2017 at The Brunswick Room, Cornerstone Community Centre, Church Road, Hove, BN3 2FL Welcome and Apologies Those present were welcomed by Vaughan Rees, the Chairman, to the 43rd Annual General Meeting of the Brighton and Hove Arts Council (BHAC). Apologises have been received from […]

Brighton & Hove Philharmonic Society (9th August 2017) For My Mother by Keith Burstein The Brighton Philharmonic were recently contacted by local composer Keith Burstein who was arranging a memorial performance of a piece of music he had written in memory of his mother, Barbara Burston, who died recently at the age of 97. He was […]

Brighton Unitarian (9th June 2017) Unitarian ideas might sound startlingly modern to people who associate us with mainstream church traditions, but the Brighton Unitarian congregation has been around in various incarnations for more than two centuries. It has a long history of dissent and refusal to conform to outdated ideas. The congregation dates from 1793, […]

Do you want to volunteer with Brighton & Hove Arts Council? We are always on the look out for talented and enthusiastic volunteers for BHAC. Whatever your talent there is something that you can try your hand at – from organising events and setting up new art galleries to strategic insight to further develop […]

Hove Civic Society (24th May 2017) Hove Civic Society has planning permission to install a stone plinth on the King’s Esplanade at the foot of Grand Avenue. The plinth will be used for changing displays of sculpture, inspired by the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. It will have technological capabilities to make viewing the […]

Brighton & Hove Philharmonic Society (17th May 2017) A request from The Park Centre Wives group in Burgess Hill to give a talk about the history of the orchestra set Brighton & Hove Philharmonic Society chairman, Nicolas Chisholm, MBE, the challenge of finding out some fascinating details. The Brighton & Hove Philharmonic Society is fortunate […]

Springboard – Brighton & Hove Performing Arts Festival (9th May 2017) Congratulations to everyone who took part in the annual Springboard Festival and thank you to everyone who took part in the Highlights Evening and Musicians of All Saints Tea Concert. Highest mark in the Festival Hazel Nguyen – winner of the Roedean Cup Classical […]

The Southwick Players (5th May 2017) Sadly recently ‘Smudge’ Roberts passed away. Smudge was a long standing member of The Southwick Players and, as many of you will know, one of her stock phrases was ‘in the old days’ . Smudge was around ‘in the old days’ of The Players, and would relate stories of […]

(4th May 2017) Reputed to be the biggest children’s parade in Europe – but certainly the best – the annual Children’s Parade through the streets of Brighton will start off the 2017 Brighton Festival this coming Saturday, 6th May 2017. Starting off at 10.30am in Kensington Street in the North Laine, it will move on […]

Brighton & Hove Arts Council (29th April 2017) The Brighton & Hove Arts Council’s Spring Exhibition is over for another year. Six art groups took part this year – Adur Art Collective, Dupont Art Club, Embroiderers’ Guild, St. Thomas More Art Group, Society of Catholic Artists, and the Society of Sussex Painters. Hundreds of visitors […]

Dupont Art Club (26th April 2017) Recently my friend and fellow artist Tina Stiles arranged to visit the Dane House seniors’ home to teach art. This was initiated by Brighton and Hove Arts Council who arrange for outreach to the community to enrich the lives of others through having some of their many member organizations […]

Kate Tempest (24th April 2017) “The arts should be social, not elitist. They should be part of our everyday life. They should be in our communities, not only on elevated platforms or behind red velvet ropes. Music, literature, theatre, film – these things are so important, they bring us together into the same space, they […]

New Venture Theatre (19th April 2017) In Eugene O’Neill’s ‘Hughie’, New York is on the cusp of the Great Depression; in its seedy underbelly, small-time gambler Erie is crawling back into his hotel after nights of drunken mourning. The Night-Clerk would rather be somewhere (and someone) else, but to his horror he finds that Erie […]

New Venture Theatre (19th April 2017) ‘The Real Inspector Hound’ is one of Stoppard’s funniest plays, a surreal comedy set in a theatre, where an Agatha Christie style whodunit is being performed and watched by two critics, Moon and Birdboot. The play within a play is a take-off of ‘The Mousetrap’, in which – in […]

Coastline Harmony (14 April 2017) Five years ago I was singing with a local classical choir and a small a cappella group based in Crawley but I had always wanted to sing close four-part harmony in Barbershop style. Friends in the Crawley group mentioned that Coastline Harmony are a welcoming, friendly group of women who […]

South East Dance (10th April 2017) We want The Dance Space (opening in 2019 in central Brighton) to be a welcoming creative space that local people from all walks of life will feel really at home in, so we’re excited to be launching a new programme that will reach out directly to communities on our doorstep and […]

Dupont Art Group (7th April 2017) On January 5th, 2017 I was contacted by my friend and internationally known artist Lisa Cirenza. She asked if I would like to join a small group composed of two of the trustees for the London International Gallery of Children’s Art,(LIGCA), Susie Craven and Paola Langobardi, a volunteer, Emanuela […]

(4th April 2017) We are delighted to announce that the Brighton and Hove Arts Council will be organising a poetry competition and festival for the summer and autumn of 2017. The festival will take place at the Old Market in Hove on Saturday November 18th. We are also delighted to announce that the poet laureate, […]