Our history

Since 1986 Take Art has built a reputation as a pioneering arts charity that champions the role of the arts in society and the rights of individuals and communities in Somerset to enjoy and participate in a variety of arts practices.

From its inception as a rural touring scheme working with one employee and a turnover of under £40,000, Take Art has organically grown to offer five main areas of service.  These include theatre development, dance, early years, rural touring and long-term creative community projects.  

Over the past 24 years Take Art has demonstrated its commitment to high quality arts practice and participation, through a series of groundbreaking projects, working with issues of health, social cohesion and environmental change.

Take Art has never lost touch with its rural origins (in what is a predominantly rural county) and is currently based on a farm near South Petherton with other creative industries.

Today Take Art employs over 16 staff with a turnover of just under £1m.

Our mission

Our mission is to produce, promote and facilitate participation in the arts and continually to explore innovative ways in which artists can enrich communities.
 
Take Art Aims to:

• Make arts experiences of the highest quality accessible to all communities within Somerset
• Create opportunities within the county for artists and their work to flourish
• Develop new opportunities for individuals to participate in as well as observe, appreciate and enjoy the arts.
• Promote the arts as an agent of development and change for both individuals and communities.
• Foster links with participatory and other agencies working on a regional and international level, as well as a local level.

Our Work

Areas of work are:

• Performance - Participation - Professional Development
• Advocacy, Advice and Information - Research and Development

Our Funders 

Take Art is regularly funded by: Somerset County Council, Artlife, South Somerset District Council, Sedgemoor District Council, Taunton Deane Borough Council, Mendip District Council and Arts Council England

In 2009/2010, by working in partnership with rural communities, Take Art was able to:

• Enable 7,500 people living in rural areas to access the arts in a local venue
• Work with 576 active volunteers in 74 villages to promote high quality arts experience.
• According to a research project by the National Rural Touring Forum, 71% of people agree that touring schemes support a sense of community cohesion
• Support 30 professional touring companies, to perform 113 shows  throughout Somerset,  achieving 77% audience capacity

Every £1 of contributed Local Authority revenue (Somerset County Council and District Councils) attracts a further £10 into the county from other sources. Volunteer promoters contribute 2,300 hours of their own time to the Take Art Live scheme, which equates to £30,200 of in-kind contributions.

What the people say...

“Take Art performances have enthralled and entertained the people of Axbridge and surrounding villages, building a reputation which is widely admired and relied upon as ‘quality’. Tickets are always sold out with an audience of 85-95, with many people leave wanting to come back.” Jude Akhurst, Axbridge Village Promoter, Sedgemoor

“Our audience ‘base’ has spread outwards to surrounding areas, and people come back to visit the Farmers’ Market, pubs & restaurants.” Jude Akhurst, Axbridge Village Promoter, Sedgemoor

“It is through Take Art that we are able to bring to our village performances that would be otherwise unavailable to us... and I do not refer solely to value for money, but to the benefit to the community. Valerie Godfrey, Take Art Promoter (for 23 years), Wedmore, Sedgemoor

“Take Art have introduced many many people in many many villages to all types of entertainment that they would not have normally seen - for a large number, it is the only way in which they are able to see such entertainment.” Jendy Weekes, Mark Village Hall, Sedgemoor

It also looks at Take Art’s role as a valuable Somerset employer; its ability to encourage widespread volunteering and its support of Somerset based artists and practitioners.

Growing your investment

£50,000 revenue funding from Somerset Country Council helps Take Art lever a further £140,000 from the Arts Council and £35,000 from the five District Borough Councils.  

Take Art, therefore, currently receives £225,000 annual core funding from these three key funders. This means for every £1 of revenue funding by Somerset County Council, a further £3 is generated through other core funding.

In 2009/2010 this £225,000 also helped Take Art generate an additional £420,000 through project funding and £50,000 through ticket sales. This means every £4 of core funding levers a further £5 through project funding. Money that goes back into serving the towns, villages and rural communities.

Take Art Funding 2009/2010

NB: The project funding does not include Thrive/RFO funding from the Arts Council of England.  
Take Art does however receive some project funding from other departments within Somerset County Council.

Project Funding

Take Art consistently brings in additional money into Somerset through project funding. Over the years between 2004/11 Take Art levered £850,000 from external sources for five major projects:

Breaking the Sound Barrier (2004-2006)
£180,000 from Youth Music
Alive & Kicking (2006-2008)                    
£130,000 from Sport England
Time to Move (2006-2009)                     
 £165,000 from Big Lottery Fund
Step Change (2008-2010)                        
£90,000 from the Arts Council,                 
£90,000 from Sport England,
£50,000 from the NHS
Little Big Bang (2009-2011)
£60,000 from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation
£80,000 from Arts Council of England

Take Art also delivers a further 15 to 20 smaller
short term projects a year, which attract additional funding.

Artists and Volunteers

In 2009/2010 the Take Art Live rural touring programme employed professional artists and companies amounting to 333 performer days. Based on a £30 spend per artist per day, plus overnight stays and fuel costs, this resulted in a further £13,000 spent in the local economy. Due to this contribution by visiting artists and the promotion of shows to outside audiences, rural touring helps villages extends the tourist offer well into the Autumn.

The rural touring programme works with over 70 local promoting groups throughout Somerset. 570 volunteers dedicate a combined 2,300 volunteer hours to ensure the success of the programme. Their contribution is costed as £30,200* in kind support (*EU guideline rate).

Front Line Delivery

In 2009/2010 Take Art:

• Spent £430,000 on frontline delivery of Somerset based projects and services.
• Spent £240,000 on staff who all work and mostly live in Somerset, employing 16 payroll people (11 full time equivalent employees.)
• Spent £250,000 on employing at least 35 Somerset based artists and practitioners.

Take Art is supported by: Arts Council of England, Somerset County Council, South Somerset District Council,
Mendip District Council, Taunton Deane Borough Council,  Artlife and Sedgemoor District Council.

The project was set up and delivered by Take Art and funded to the tune of £300,000 by eight strategic partners, including Sport England, the Arts Council, Somerset County Council, NHS Somerset, South Somerset District Council, Mendip District Council, Taunton Deane Borough Council and West Somerset District Council through Artlife.

Between September 2008 and March 2010 Step Change has:

• Provided the opportunity for 1,900 people in Somerset to take part in regular affordable dance classes
• Helped participants improve their physical and mental health in a supportive social environment
• Enabled a team of 12 professional dance artists to work with 63 dance groups in over 35 locations across Somerset
• Worked with a wide range of people, including children (5-14), young people (14-19), people with learning and physical disabilities, adults (20-50) and people over the age of 50, including the very frail
• Provided training and mentoring opportunities for over 80 support staff, volunteers, teachers and dance professionals to continue dance activity independent of Step Change

What the people say...

“Efforts to improve health and well-being need to reach everyone in our society. Dance has a long history of successfully working with hard to reach groups and building a sense of social cohesion within communities.”
Caroline Flint , Former Minister for Public Health

“I have noticed changes in my body. I feel that with continued attendance my body has become stronger and more precise in its ability to move. The dance class always leaves me with a feeling of being uplifted, joyful and satisfied with life.” Lyndsay, an older dancer from the Wincanton Group

“I’m glad I came to these dance sessions because if I hadn’t, I would probably just be sitting on the sofa, watching TV and eating a packet of crisps!” James, a younger participant from the Riverside Youth Centre in Dulverton

“Delivering physical activity initiatives within the community can increase the opportunities available to Somerset residents by reducing barriers to participation.” Louise Woolway, Public Health Specialist, NHS Somerset

“The fact that Step Change is delivered in the village or the next door village is the most important thing. If it’s accessible on your doorstep you’ll get far more people than if you ask them to travel.” Jill Parker, an older dancer from Holcombe, East Mendip

“Coming into Step Change was like reconnecting with myself as an artist and a teacher and I feel really confident now that this is a new area of practice for me, particularly working with the over 50s.” Sue Way, Take Art, Dance Artist working with older people

 “It just feels really valuable. It feels like this is something in their life that might make a difference. So we are talking about changing their life as opposed to just taking part in a dance class for an hour.” Katey Leader - Dance Practitioner working with Youth Dance