At the very core of VAP CIC activity is supporting communities to become creative and the sustainability of creative practitioners within these communities. In the beginning, ACE funding helped us contribute to this by enabling us to create extra opportunities to support community activity and artists at a time when it was incredibly difficult. For instance, we were able to create extra seed funding for artists to deliver their proposed projects, pay for performers to contribute to these seed funded events and pay for artists time to contribute. This meant that all the projects proposed benefitted and nearly all of them were able to deliver their projects to some level. The previous main activity of Visual Arts Plymouth was the Plymouth Art Weekender (PAW), an annual city-wide visual arts festival which last took place from 18-20th October 2024 and the was the seventh iteration of this celebration of arts and culture in the city. PAW which will next take place 16-18 October 2026, and will be the eighth iteration. Following 2026 the PAW will continue in a biennial format. In 2021 – 22 residual ACE funding and additional funding from Plymouth Octopus Project was used to hold a series of consultation meetings to strategise the future of Visual Arts Plymouth CIC structure and programs. It was also an opportunity for the Directors to regroup and develop their own professional practices, informing the strategy and purpose of the festival. The four key outcomes for PAW: More opportunities for artists to develop, work, live & thrive in Plymouth. Greater awareness & a celebration of the value of visual arts in the city & beyond. A better-connected visual arts sector locally, nationally & internationally. Increased engagement with a more inclusive, diverse & accessible visual arts environment. 2025 - 26 was a year of continued consolidation and consultation, resulting in the event in October 2024. Opportunities offered were: Professional Network development Curation and Production skills Technical support for installing exhibitions Marketing and social media Transferable and soft skills, including confidence, interviewing skills, confidentiality and privacy, data protection, leadership skills, communication and time management. Our plan for 2026/27 is to collaborate with other institutions and organisations to provide more opportunities for Plymouth based artists to create funded projects and expand our programme of community engagement to encompass more audiences from a wider selection of the city. Discussions are also taking place regarding the rationalisation and possible restructuring encompassing other cultural entities for a more streamlined and efficient management and delivery. In 2025 the Directors worked hard to submit funding applications and build partnerships. These have had an impact in 2026 in the ability to produce PAW.

The company’s stakeholders are our funding/contributing in kind partners (Plymouth City Council and Plymouth Culture/ The Box, Karst Gallery, Arts Council England) and the artists and art workers and wider community audiences of Plymouth. Feedback forms were distributed to all participating partners and artists. Post-PAW24 the stakeholders were contacted individually and questioned about what they thought was successful and what they would like to see happening as part of future PAWs and further programmes throughout the year, and importantly what support could be expected for VAP CIC in kind and financially. These consultations are ongoing. Many new partnerships include the Universities in Plymouth, the City Centre Company, British Land and National Gallery London. VAP CIC was active in the development of the City of Culture Proposal for Plymouth led by Plymouth Culture. VAP CIC are active network members of Visual Arts SouthWest (VASW) and Contemporary Arts Membership Partners (CAMP). Through these organisations we have extended our creative networks beyond Plymouth into Cornwall and Devon. VAP Directors and artists were actively involved in planning and events connected with the British Art Show 9, which took place in 2023. The festival was made more accessible through virtual events. This will involvement has attracted collaboration with the National Gallery and Nationally recognised artists. Communication with stakeholders continues and planning is for a biennial model for PAW. Discussions include alternating with a wider arts festival to include words, music and performance.

No remuneration was received

No transfer of assets other than for full consideration