SOMERSET'S Rural Touring service Take Art has been awarded £92,107 from the Arts Council’s Strategic Touring fund to take live performances to children under five across Somerset and Surrey.

The Strategic Touring programme funds touring work, focusing especially on areas where people have low engagement with the arts and those that rely on touring for much of their arts provision.

It also seeks to extend the reach of high-quality work by broadening the range of venues presenting it, as well as forging stronger relationships between audiences, promoters, venues, artists and producers.

Children under five may not get to see arts shows in traditional settings because of where they live, a lack of money or lack of transport.

Take Art’s project Hopper will create opportunities for young children to experience great art and culture in Early Years settings, such as pre-schools, nurseries, libraries and children’s centres.

Gina Westbrook, Director of Early Years Creativity at Take Art said: “We’re excited to bring high quality shows to children who otherwise wouldn’t have access to them and also to stimulate greater interest among companies to take their work into Early Years settings.

Hopper also enables children to have a voice in how new work is made for them.” 

Take Art will work in partnership with Surrey Arts and China Plate and also with three key local theatres The Brewhouse in Taunton, Bridgwater Arts Centre and Camberley Theatre in Surrey.

Hopper will support seven theatre companies – some who have experience of making work for young children and some who don’t - in developing high quality and relevant performances for under-fives and increasing access for hard to reach and marginalised audiences.

Phil Gibby, Area Director, South West, Arts Council England, said: “We’re really pleased to be supporting Hopper as we believe that all children and young people, whoever they are and wherever they live, should have the opportunity to experience the richness of arts and culture. The project looks set to develop a local, sustainable touring infrastructure for Early Years work and build strong and productive relationships.”