Following the announcement of Villages in Action withdrawing from organising rural touring in Devon and the closure of the office in May 2017, Carn to Cove has, at the invitation of the Board of Trustees of ViA, stepped in to run a caretaker season for the Autumn of this year and Spring of 2018. The three Devon district councils which are the current stalwart funders of ViA – Teignbridge, East Devon and West Devon – welcomed this initiative to preserve a vibrant community resource.
We invited all Devon villages to a presentation evening in April and from the 16 Devon village promoters who attended and others who were circulated, events have already been booked for the Autumn. A full “menu” for the Spring 2018 will be presented to villages in September.
This is a temporary solution to preserve an important arts network and a volunteer resource developed over many years and we are hoping to explore longer term solutions which will keep Devon’s villages “in the rural touring loop” in the next few months.
The intention is to produce a distinct programme of events, and maintain the current ViA website to publicise upcoming events. For the 2017/18 season, there will be direct financial support for Devon villages where the three councils continue to support arts events at local level. All other villages in ViA that would like to can book artists can do so but for the present without subsidy or risk share. All ViA promoters will be invited to our autumn menu parties so we can outline the support we can offer.
Performing artists wishing to be considered for inclusion in the September menu (for the January – June 2018 ViA and Carn to Cove season) should contact the Carn to Cove office on 01209 312500.
