Networking Event: Shining a Light on Torbay – Helping to Build Visibility & Connections.
Welcome to our upcoming networking event where we will be shining a light on all the amazing things happening in Torbay! Join us on Wed Mar 19 2025 at 18:00 at the beautiful Redcliffe Hotel, Paignton. This is a great opportunity to meet new people, build connections, and showcase your creative business in the local community. Don’t miss out on this chance to network and grow your visibility in Torbay!
Event Details:
- Networking Event: Shining a Light on Torbay – Building Visibility & Connections for Artists
- Date: Wednesday 19 March
- Time: 18:00 – 20:00
- Venue: The Redcliffe Hotel, 4 Marine Dr, Paignton TQ3 2NL
- Book your FREE place here Booking is essential as places are limited.
 Carolyn Custerson Carolyn is CEO of the English Riviera BID (ERBID) Company the organisation responsible for promoting the English Riviera as a leading UK resort attracting over 4 million people every year and generating over £500 million for the Torbay economy. The ERBID is made up of over 1000 local tourism and hospitality businesses and raises over £500k every year to help market the resort. Carolyn has worked in the tourism industry for nearly 40 years and has extensive experience in product development and marketing. Carolyn is also a director of Visit Devon. |
 Keith Tunnicliffe Keith is a self taught artist creating classic original linocuts in a loose and colourful style. Based in Brixham on the wonderful South Devon coastline, he has a background in Ceramic, Glass and Giftware Design and with his love of the UK Coast and Countryside. Seeing inspiration everywhere, Keith often challenges himself to new disciplines and has created artwork for the Giftware Trade for business as far afield as the Falkland Isles. Keith is currently featuring in four publications of The Artist Magazine in the form of Linocut tutorials. InstagramFind out more about Keith here |
 Julie Brandon Helping to Grow Torbay’s Art Scene Founder of Artizan Printmaking and Sculpture Gallery and Co-Founder of Artizan Collective CIC. Artizan was established in 2014 at a time when our Local Authority were considering the place for culture across our three towns and developing their own Cultural Strategy. Prior to 2014 I had become aware of many artists living and working here but with little in the way of opportunities for them and I wanted to do something about it. There had been frustrations with what appeared to be a Local Authority that either lacked the will or drive to support such initiatives and, in the end, I decided that if I wanted Torbay to be a more creative space for visual arts then maybe the answer was to try to do something myself unencumbered by the constraints of the Local Authority. Hence the gallery in Lucius Street opened its doors on May 4th, 2014. During those early years my son, Jacob supported me remotely but on completing his degree he became far more involved and when in 2019 we acquired another space to run alongside our home gallery, ironically owned and supported by the Local Authority, we made the decision to create a Community Interest Company, of which we are both Directors. The business has come a long way since those early days, and we now work with many partners and organisations across the Bay. We are committed to delivering a programme of arts engagement that benefits the local community and our visitors and through our work, we aim to support the emotional, social, health, and wellbeing benefits that cultural activity can provide. We continue to deliver activities that directly align with our core objectives, for example, providing accessible opportunities and activities in the arts in a sustainable manner and to be a valuable contributor to and advocate for the local landscape of arts and culture in Torbay. Today our activities extend far beyond the four walls of each of our gallery spaces, through that collaborative work with our core tourism and cultural delivery partners, that include the International Agatha Christie Festival, English Riviera Film Festival, Torquay Museum, English Riviera BID, English Riviera UNESCO Global Geopark, Princess Theatre, Torre Abbey, Torbay Arts and Schools Network, and Torbay Culture, as well as our network of professional and emerging artists. It has been an interesting 10 years and we are looking forward to the next! |
| Find out about Julie and Artizan here |
 Sarah Chapman Sarah Chapman (PhD) is an artist based in Devon, UK, with over 20 years experience in Higher Education and the public arts sector. She has worked extensively with national and international artists and organisations as Director and Curator of the public arts programme, University of Plymouth. Starting with the premise that art is essential in all its guises, she now supports and champions regional based artists through the Devon Artist Network. She is an alumna of the Royal Drawing School, and her work has been selected for the prestigious Trinity Buoy Drawing Prize exhibition, which is currently touring the UK. She is also the founder of dRAWing Space, an initiative dedicated to widening access to drawing and helping others develop their unique creative voice. |