Beach of Dreams

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Beach of Dreams

UK-wide Coastal Arts Festival
Presented by Kinetika
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Beach of Dreams, presented by Kinetika, is a UK-wide coastal arts festival activating and exploring the unique heritage, cultures and climate futures of our coastlines. A major interdisciplinary creative programme will see ambitious new participatory art commissions, creative walks and events taking place across the coasts of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, and digitally, from 1 May

– 1 June 2025. Beach of Dreams is a platform for celebrating, reflecting and imagining new possible climate futures for our coastlines and planet. The festival takes place outdoors and in public spaces – everyone is welcome to participate and attend.

19/12/2025

As the year draws to a close, we are thrilled to look back via the final 🎥 by Chuck Blue Lowry documenting Sonnet of Samsara – the finale of Beach of Dreams, presented as part of Activate Performing Arts' Inside Out Dorset in Weymouth.

The streets, beach and sky filled with movement, silk and storytelling as hundreds of flags and performers brought together dance, sound and place. A shared moment where community, creativity and the coastline met.

Watch the full film and see how artists, dancers, local groups and hundreds of hand-painted silk pennants came together to close a national journey, presented by Kinetika.

~~~~~~~~~~

**Artistic Direction**
Jayachandran Palazhy, Attakkalari Centre for Movement Artskalari
Ali Pretty, Kinetika
Activate Performing Arts

**Choreography**
Charlene Low, Sardines Dance Collective
Aimee Hobbs, The Remix Dorset
Lyn Paine, Movers & Shakers
Emily Thompson Smith, Dorset Youth Dance / Activate Performing Arts
Agnes Ramani, BPC Indian Community
Michaela Shaw, Activate Performing Arts / Coastland College

**Produced by**
Activate Performing Arts
Presented as part of *Inside Out Dorset*

**Original music**
Rob Blake / MNUMNTL Music

**Participating groups**
The Remix Dorset
Dorset Youth Dance
Movers & Shakers
BPC Indian Community
Coastland College

**Lead dancers**
Charlene Low
Hemabharathy Palani
Nìthín Kannath
Yanki Yau
Oraine Frater
Emily Thompson-Smith

**Special thanks**
Headline Sponsor: We Are Weymouth (Weymouth BID)

**Funding**
Sport England (National Lottery)
D’Oyly Carte Trust
Weymouth Town Council

**Support**
Arts University Bournemouth

**Beach of Dreams** is presented by Kinetika and supported by Arts Council England and Historic England.
Core funded by Arts Council England and Dorset Council.

Part of *Portland and Weymouth Towns of Culture*.

04/12/2025

Screening Announcement! The Beach of Dreams commissioned film, Telling & Retelling Dungeness will have its first public screening at the Swedenborg Film Festival 🎥

Monday 8 December, 11am
Swedenborg House
Free to attend

Originally commissioned by Beach of Dreams and Kinetika , with support from Arts Council England and Historic England, the film brings together five artists working experimentally on the Dungeness headland. Responding directly to the landscape and the histories embedded in it, the team developed the work through improvisation, shared enquiry and on-site collaboration. The resulting piece reflects the tension, fragility and stark beauty of a place shaped by weather, industry and human resilience.

It was a rare opportunity for the artists involved to step outside their usual practices and co-create something immediate, instinctive and anchored in place. We look forward to sharing it with audiences for the first time.

~~~~~~~~~~

Directed and edited by
Words by Anders Lustgarten and
Cinematography by
Music by

🎞️ Stills and trailer

28/11/2025

The final article in our Beach of Dreams series by Guardian journalist Kevin Rushby is now live. He reflects on the closing moments in Weymouth with Activate Performing Arts – and what it means to reclaim the flag as a symbol of connection rather than division.

“A flag can be a positive thing – a rallying point for generosity, optimism and a desire to improve the world.”
– Kevin Rushby

From coastal paths to city streets, the 2025 commissions showed how thousands of hands and stories can reshape a symbol that’s never been neutral.

🔗 Read the full article: https://tinyurl.com/48xv95m6

13/11/2025

Beach of Dreams has travelled the UK since 2021, shaped by Kinetika's practice of walking, talking and making. This year’s journey brought the project to a new scale, with 8 regional artist commissions, 1 national commission, 175 community groups and 2,355 participants creating, imagining and exploring together along our coastlines.

As COP begins, we’re reflecting on how creative, community-led projects can help people notice what’s fragile, celebrate what’s unique and care more deeply for the places they call home. Beach of Dreams offered a shared language of colour, craft and choreography to explore the beauty and complexity of our coasts.

Impact at a glance:
• 8 regional commissions + 1 national commission
• 29 founding network members
• 175 community groups
• 2,355 active participants
• 1,019 creative sessions
• 344 learning activities
• 144 pop-up events across the UK
• 102,000 audience members
• 500+ Climate Commitments
• 31.2k digital visitors
• 189k social reach
• 850+ naturally dyed silk pennants

Huge thanks to our partners, participants and funders – Arts Council England and Historic England – for helping make this national collaboration possible.

Read the report here: kinetika.co.uk/bodreport

30/09/2025

Dreaming up what comes next…

Thank you to everyone who joined us in Weymouth to explore the legacy of Beach of Dreams. With Dr. Gemma Connell of Ocean Generation and Ali Pretty, Artistic Director of Beach of Dreams, we reflected on the journey so far, turned hundreds of climate commitments into conversations about action, and imagined how creativity and collaboration can shape the future of our coastlines.

This was both a celebration and a beginning – and we’re excited to keep building on with our members, artists, partners, and communities.

✨ Stay tuned — we’ll keep you updated as our next steps unfold.

📎 Want to have your say? Follow the link in our bio to our survey.

📸 Mike Johnston

20/09/2025

Thank you, Weymouth! What an unforgettable first night of SONNET of SAMSARA – thousands of you joined us and the atmosphere was electric.

We’re back again tonight from 7pm at Weymouth Town Bridge, weaving through the streets to the beach.

🌀 Watch as the beauty of the natural world meets the power of dance and storytelling, exploring the cycles of existence, displacement, and the pressing realities of the climate emergency.

Presented by Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts and Kinetika for Inside Out Dorset by Activate Performing Arts, and as the grand finale of Beach of Dreams

📷 Mike Johnston

~~~~~~~~~~

Artistic Direction: Jayachandran Palazhy, Ali Pretty, Activate Performing Arts

Choreography: Sardines Dance Collective
Original music: Rob Blake, MNUMNTL Music

Huge thanks to participating groups: The Remix, Dorset Youth Dance Company, Movers & Shakers, performing arts students from Coastland College and BPC Indian Community

Dancers: Charlene Low, Hemabharathy Palani,
Nìthí, Oraine Frater, Yanki, Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts

Special thanks to Headline Sponsor We Are Weymouth UK

Funding from Sport England (National Lottery), D’Oyly Carte Trust and Weymouth Town Council

Support from Arts University Bournemouth.

Beach of Dreams is presented by Kinetika and supported by Arts Council England and Historic England.

Core funded by Arts Council England and Dorset Council.

Part of Portland and Weymouth Towns of Culture.

19/09/2025

📽️ Weymouth Beach becomes a cinema this weekend…

From today, join us on the sand for screenings of the Beach of Dreams Regional Films.
Created by local filmmakers in 2024–25, these films capture the creativity and character of our coastal communities as they work with artists and partners on the 2025 Beach of Dreams regional commissions.

From Threads for Tomorrow exploring the Thames Estuary to Our Siren Song in the Ards Peninsula (and so much more), each film tells a story of people, place, the natural world, and our shared coastal future.

📍 Weymouth Beach
Part of the finale celebrations alongside Sonnet of Samsara

Featuring films by:
Charlotte Ginsborg · Mark Hannant · TAPE Community Music and Film · Will McConnell · Stephen Hurrell

16/09/2025

The Beach of Dreams Silks will return this Friday to the shores of Weymouth – a celebration of natural colour, craft, and coastal reflection, exploring our connection with the sea, our environment, and our shared future.

Each silk carries the results of ’s Natural Dye Experiment, which began in 2021 with just four plant-based colours and has since grown into a palette of 48 shades drawn from the UK’s coastal landscapes and the plants of Kinetika’s Community Natural Dye Garden.

At the heart of this work is Lesley Robinson, whose curiosity and creativity have transformed rhubarb leaves, walnut foliage, onion skins, and even used teabags into pigments that carry both memory and place.

📎 Read our full story and interview with Lesley (link in bio) to discover the process, inspiration, and imagination behind these remarkable silks – and the philosophy that makes each one unique.

12/09/2025

How can water move us?

With just one week to go, we go behind the scenes of Sonnet of Samsara ✨ Rehearsals are in full flow with incredible community groups: The Remix, Dorset Youth Dance Company, Movers & Shakers, performing arts students from Coastland College and BPC Indian Community.

Created by Artistic Directors Ali Pretty (Kinetika) and Jayachandran Palazhy (Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts, India), with choreography by Charlene Low (Sardines Dance Collective) and an immersive original score by Rob Blake, Sonnet of Samsara fuses contemporary dance, martial arts, live soundscapes, and stunning visuals. It explores the cycles of existence, displacement, and the urgent realities of the climate emergency.

Part of Inside Out Dorset by Activate Performing Arts the performance will move through Weymouth’s streets, from Town Bridge to the beach, pausing for mesmerising dance moments led by a vibrant Carnival Queen and mobile boat structures, culminating in a breathtaking finale on the sand surrounded by The Beach of Dreams Silks.

Join us for two unforgettable performances – Friday 19 & Saturday 20 September 2025 – and witness a celebration of movement, nature, and the human spirit. 💫

11/09/2025

As we reach the finale of the 2025 journey, we invite you to join us in Weymouth for a morning workshop led by Dr. Gemma Connell () and Ali Pretty (Artistic Director, Beach of Dreams and ).

Together, we’ll delve into the legacy of Beach of Dreams, explore creative approaches to climate action, and imagine the future of our coastlines. Designed for our valued network of members, artists, and partners, this session offers a unique opportunity to reflect, connect, and shape the evolving legacy of Beach of Dreams.

Saturday 20 September 2025, 9:00—13:00
Weymouth
Reserve your place via the link in bio

📎 If you can’t be with us in person, we’d still love for your voice to be part of the conversation. Please take 5 minutes to complete our survey, linked in bio. Your reflections will help shape the next chapter.

📷 The Beach of Dreams Silks, Aldeburgh Beach, May 2025

09/09/2025

We’re back this month to celebrate the finale of Beach of Dreams 2025 with special events along the Dorset coast – and we’d love you to join us!

First up: 🚶‍♀️Walking the Lines – a two-day Futures Literacy Walk with Artistic Director Ali Pretty and futurist Riel Miller.

📍 Along the South-West Coast Path (Shell Bay → Swanage (15 Sept); Lulworth Cove → Osmington (16 Sept), we’ll walk, talk, and reflect on shifting boundaries between land and sea, past and future. We’ll reflect on memory, ritual, and imagination, drawing inspiration from Beach of Dreams and asking:
💭 What can walking the coast teach us about how place shapes the way we imagine the future?
💭 What might each place become for future generations as we navigate the climate emergency and a shifting world order?

It’s a hands-on, reflective experience aimed at better understanding how we think about what’s coming, and what it truly means to be futures literate.

📅 Mon 15 – Tues 16 Sept | Join for both days or just one.
🔗 Sign up: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1517342214409?aff=oddtdtcreator

Address

Kent
TN29 9P

Website

http://www.beachofdreams.org/

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