Thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate Chard’s amazing community energy. You can now visit the town’s new mascot ‘Lady Ruby’ at Chard Museum.
The Storm & The Stream
A dance film created by young people from Holyrood Academy, Chard in collaboration with Terrestrial artists.
Over the course of 8 weeks in 2026, a team of professional artists visited Holyrood Academy to work with a group of Year 9 students.
The young people brought brilliant energy to the project, as well as their skills from football, boxing, majorettes and more, though none of them had been involved in a dance piece like this before.
They worked alongside Terrestrial's artists to develop their own choreography.
The film's title is taken from conversations with the students.
They shared their feelings around aspects of themselves that are 'seen' and 'unseen', especially by adults. Many of them talked about the different energies they experience:
you might spot a 'fireball' or the 'flowing water' in their moves.
Performers: Amber, Ava, Beth, Catt, CJ, Harmony, Jess, Jess, Kyan, Matilda, Ollie, Vinnie
Terrestrial Artists: Ania Varez, Clare Reynolds, Rhiannon Colvin, Tom Spencer
Filmed on location at Great Mead, Chard.
Film by Black Bark Films.
Music by Paul Rogerson.
Supported by funding from Somerset Association of Local Councils (SALC)
Community Health & Wellbeing Fund and Arts Council England.
Pop-Up Winter Cafe
We spent our winter cooking, playing and meeting people at the Key Centre on the Mount in Frome. Over the course of 9 weeks, we served more than 2,500 free hot lunches, hosted workshops, ran after-school discos, created installations, redecorated the community centre inside and out, delivered scores of handwritten notes around the neighbourhood with our own postal service, and supported local people to forge friendships and collaborations. The Key Centre is now running regular cafe hours - pop in or check their website to find out more.
Photos by Alice Whitby.
Voices of Frome
Over the course of 2025, composer Verity Standen interviewed Frome residents with very different life experiences and perspectives on the town. The conversations were wide-ranging: from daily life to past adventures and ideas for the future.
Verity then created an original piece of vocal music inspired by each person’s stories, which were performed live in November and then recorded with the help from wonderful singers Kate Huggett, Rosalie Warner and Rose Stachniewska - so you can listen now!
Terrestrial produces community arts adventures in the south west of England.
