Category: Project

The Austentatious Ball

Posted on November 4, 2025 by - Project

The Austentatious Ball

The Austentatious Ball was a free, outdoor celebration inviting everyone to embrace their most ostentatious selves — whatever that means to them! Taking over Guildhall Square outside MAST Mayflower Studios, this unforgettable participatory event brought together 100 people for an evening of dance, live entertainment, and joyful self-expression. From grandeur and glitter to gothic flair or favourite tracksuits, guests dressed to express and took part in a dance extravaganza rooted in the real stories, voices, and styles of today’s communities.

Founding City Partners

The Last Rose of Summer

Posted on October 31, 2025 by - Project

The Last Rose of Summer

The Last Rose of Summer was a brand new one-act musical celebrating Jane Austen’s enduring legacy and her special connection to Southampton. Developed as part of the nationwide Austen 250 celebrations, the project brought together an all-female creative team and a cast of 50 talented local young people to reimagine Austen’s world through music, dance, and storytelling. Supported by Southampton Forward, this fresh and contemporary production offered an inspiring new take on one of Britain’s most beloved writers, blending Regency elegance with modern creativity.

SO: Cultured

14th July 2025

Sara Scott: A fresh take on Jane Austen at Mayflower Studios

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Founding City Partners

Tapestry Festival

Posted on October 31, 2025 by - Project

Tapestry Festival

TAPESTRY Festival was a free two-day music festival held at Westquay Esplanade on 19 and 20 July 2025, bringing live music, new commissions and participatory activity to the heart of Southampton against the backdrop of the city’s medieval walls.

Sponsored and hosted by Westquay, the festival brought together internationally recognised artists with Southampton talent, creating a platform for live music spanning different genres, cultures and traditions.

TAPESTRY formed part of Southampton’s celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth. Inspired by Austen’s own enjoyment of music and folk traditions, the festival explored what the music she was drawn to might look and sound like today – focusing on contemporary artists whose work embraced storytelling, experimentation and musical traditions from around the world.

The connection continued beyond the main stage. Screen content between performances showcased locally created work linked to Jane Austen 250, including Jane Who? by In Focus Education and Development and song performances by local schools following workshops delivered by Southampton & Isle of Wight Music.

Audiences could also take part in free creative activities throughout the weekend, including African drumming with African Activities and movement and percussion workshops led by Yes! Creative Beats.

Performances from TAPESTRY were recorded by BBC Radio 3 and subsequently broadcast as part of its Music Planet programme in August 2025, sharing music from the festival with a national audience.

By combining a high-quality live music programme with new commissions, local talent, participation and Southampton’s literary heritage, TAPESTRY created a major free cultural experience for the city – connecting its stories and creative heritage with the music and artists shaping Southampton today.

Produced by Southampton Forward and sponsored by Westquay.

Programmed by David Jones, with input from event partners Southampton and Isle of Wight Music.

Supported by Arts Council England, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, and Southampton Forward’s founding city partners: Southampton City Council, University of Southampton, Solent University, GO! Southampton, Paris Smith LLP, and Mayflower. Media partners include Songlines Magazine. Highlights of Tapestry Festival were broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Music Planet during August 2025.

Tapestry News

Press release

1st April 2025

TAPESTRY – A festival of world-class music and culture in Southampton

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Blog

6th June 2025

TAPESTRY Festival Headliner – Penguin Café

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Press release

5th June 2025

TAPESTRY- Final headline act announced Penguin Café

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Blog

7th April 2025

Tapestry Festival Headliner – Alice Zawadzki

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Blog

7th April 2025

Tapestry Festival Headliner – Goblin Band

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Blog

7th April 2025

Tapestry Festival Headliner – Kathryn Tickell & The Darkening

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Blog

7th April 2025

Tapestry Festival Headliner – Muireann Bradley

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Blog

7th April 2025

Tapestry Festival Headliner – Sam Lee

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Blog

7th April 2025

Tapestry Festival Headliner – Seckou Keita

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Blog

7th April 2025

Tapestry Festival Headliner – Soumik Datta

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SO: Cultured

7th July 2025

Arthur Jeffes: Penguin Cafe playing Tapestry Festival 19th July

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Blog

9th July 2025

Full Tapestry Line-Up

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SO: Cultured

23rd June 2025

Kath Page: Fostering inclusivity through Tapestry Festival

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SO: Cultured

30th June 2025

Pooja Angra: Performing at Tapestry Festival 20th July

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SO: Cultured

9th June 2025

Graham Belton: Southampton Salty Sea Dogs: celebrating our maritime heritage

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SO: Cultured

16th June 2025

Kwame Bakoji-Hume: Sharing the richness of African culture

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Press release

13th June 2025

Celebrate Jane Austen’s 250th birthday your way

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SO: Cultured

14th July 2025

Sara Scott: A fresh take on Jane Austen at Mayflower Studios

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Tapestry Media Partner

Event Partner

Supported by:

Founding City Partners

Your Stories

Posted on October 30, 2025 by - Project

Artswork: Your Stories

Your Stories invited people across Southampton to explore their creativity through free, youth-led workshops inspired by Jane Austen’s work. From poetry and collage to silhouette photography, participants shared their own stories and ideas in imaginative ways, culminating in a collective exhibition and digital showcase. The project was supported by Southampton Forward, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, and The Foyle Foundation as part of Jane Austen 250

Find out ore on Artstwork’s website

Blog

23rd October 2025

Artswork: Abstract Painting Workshop

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Blog

16th October 2025

Artswork: Cartoons workshop

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Blog

16th October 2025

Artswork: Poetry workshop

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Blog

28th October 2025

Artswork: Textiles Workshop

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Project Funded By:

In Training for a Heroine at God’s House Tower

Posted on October 24, 2025 by - Project

‘A’ Space Arts: Jane Austen Exhibition at God’s House Tower

In Training for a Heroine: Jane Austen’s Travelling Writing Desk

Jane Austen’s travelling writing desk, a portable mahogany piece gifted by her father George Austen around her 19th birthday, was designed to fold up for travel and includes a secret drawer where she kept letters and manuscripts.

In Training for a Heroine explores Jane Austen’s early life as an ambitious young writer, with the desk symbolising the creative possibilities and opportunities of her world. Visitors can view extracts from Austen’s letters that offer glimpses into her experiences, including her time living in Southampton between 1783 and 1809.

On loan from the British Library, the desk forms the centrepiece of Southampton’s year-long celebration of Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, part of a global tribute to her enduring influence.

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No Notion of Loving by Halves by Jocelyn McGregor

Commissioned by a space arts, No Notion of Loving by Halves is a site-specific, multi-media installation by Jocelyn McGregor, accompanied by a programme of live performances. The exhibition examines the complex female relationships in Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, following the heroine Catherine’s interactions that range from supportive and familial to competitive and Gothic.

This contemporary installation reflects not only the nuances of Austen’s fiction but also the connections and influences between women authors of the Gothic tradition. It considers how these dynamics continue to inspire modern artists and writers today.

The exhibition features a striking lead artwork and a portrait of the artist herself.

View Exhibition Gallery

SO: Cultured

2nd April 2024

Dan Crow: Artist on vibrant creative community in Southampton

“Life and Southampton would be very bland without the arts”, says city centre art gallery director  

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Press release

22nd March 2024

‘a space’ arts and Southampton Forward secure nationally significant loan of Jane Austen’s travelling writing desk

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Press release

5th November 2024

Two Weeks Until Jane Austen’s Writing Desk Arrives in Southampton for 250th Anniversary Events!

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Project Funded By:

SO:Inclusive

Posted on September 17, 2023 by - Project

Equity, diversity and inclusion programme

Putting equity, diversity and inclusion at the forefront of our city, we are co-ordinating a fully funded programme where organisations will come together to challenge established practice with a view to enacting genuine change through our commitment to inclusion in Southampton.

Delivered through a series of sessions from January – April 2024, the group will be open to a range of organisations motivated to drive lasting change and impact in Southampton. The sessions will be led by EDI expert and highly skilled facilitator, Amanda Parker.

Amanda Parker is the Founder of Inc Arts UK, a national centre for advocacy for the creative, contractual and economic rights of the UK’s ethnically diverse arts sector workforce. As CEO, Parker led Inc Arts to produce sector-leading research and consultancy on equity, diversity and inclusion in creative and cultural organisations. Amanda was one of this year’s recipients of the Olivier Awards Industry Recognition Award for her work in this field.

Amanda Parker’s career spans screen, broadcast, arts and culture – including Director, London Short Film Festival and Editor of Arts Professional magazine. A former BBC programme maker and arts campaigns manager, she’s a Trustee of the RSC, and advisor to the UK Coalition for Cultural Diversity.

“We’re a creative culture and a creative nation; we grasp the new and we’re ready to explore. We always have been”

 

Applications open