Portland & Weymouth Awarded Joint 2025 Dorset Towns of Culture
Portland and Weymouth will be Dorset’s joint Towns of Culture 2025. They will deliver a programme of extraordinary cultural and community events and activities across the towns. They’ll now receive £30,000 from Dorset Council that will be match funded by the Town Councils.
Keep Portland Weird Parade at b-side Festival 2023, by Pete Millson
David Lockwood, CEO of Arts Development Company, said:
“Dorset is a county bursting with culture. We created this initiative to celebrate that by shining a light on our towns and villages for a year at a time. Following Bridport’s pilot, I’m delighted that Portland and Weymouth will jointly take the baton for 2025. We had strong pitches from across Dorset, with Portland and Weymouth standing out for their collaborative endeavour, outstanding creative partnerships and – most significantly – their plans for community engagement, using culture to change people’s lives for the better.”
The Chair of Portland Town Council, Cllr Sue Cocking, and the Mayor of Weymouth, Cllr John Orrell, gave a joint statement:
“We are delighted that Portland and Weymouth have been chosen for the Towns of Culture 2025. This is a wonderful opportunity for our residents and visitors in Portland and Weymouth and we hope to see as many people, organisations, and businesses as possible getting involved to deliver creative and fun events and activities.”
Cllr Ryan Hope, Dorset Council’s Cabinet Member for Customer, Culture and Community Engagement commented:
“On behalf of Dorset Council, I send my congratulations to Weymouth Town Council and Portland Town Council on this fantastic accolade. It’s great to see Dorset’s arts, community and heritage partners working together to ensure inclusivity and creativity are at the heart of their cultural plans. I am excited to see how Portland and Weymouth will evolve into a joint vibrant cultural destination for Dorset in 2025.”
Piexos, Sarruga; Dusk til Dark 2022, produced by Activate. Image by Jayne Jackson.
Brave Bold Drama in a Weymouth care home, by Jayne Jackson.
Town of Culture was established by Arts Development Company to strengthen the excellent cultural activity already happening, and to deepen relationships between communities, cultural venues and organisations. Arts Development Company hopes to foster a spirit of collaboration, to ensure a legacy of rich and diverse culture across the county.
Bridport is currently piloting Town of Culture for the second half of 2024. Creatives and organisations from across Bridport have come together to create a vibrant programme of cultural events from July to December.
Applications for 2026’s Town of Culture will open later this year.