IMAGINE Midsomer Norton Shape Your High Street Arts Weekender
Bringing the High Street to life through Art, Poetry, Music, and Community
Fri 25th July 6pm - 8pm Arts Weekender Launch Event / Zen Rebel Cafe Speeches at 6:30pm
(followed by The Rebel Music Sessions - 5 live artists 8pm - 10pm)
Sat 26th July 11am Performances - Poetry and Live Song Release / Open Air Amphitheatre
Sat 26th July 12pm Guided Walk of the Arts Trail / starting from the Open Air Amphitheatre
This summer, the heart of Midsomer Norton will be transformed into a vibrant celebration of creativity and collaboration with the launch of IMAGINE Arts Weekender Shape Your High Street — a weekend-long free high street exhibition of creative works by four local artists:
Landmarks by Jo Slade
Poetry by P Burton-Morgan
Portraits by Steve ‘Griff’ Griffiths
Music by China Blue Fish and Trevphonic
Each artwork created in collaboration with the community of Midsomer Norton - celebrates the town’s culture and identity, and expresses hopes for its future.
The Arts Weekender will begin on Friday evening with a special launch event at Zen Rebel Cafe and Holly Court from 6pm - 8pm, offering a chance for the public to meet the artists behind the work, alongside some of the many local groups and residents who have helped shape the creative process.
Visitors will also have the opportunity to view the artworks on display in various high street premises, with live music, light refreshments, plus a welcoming community atmosphere, the evening sets the tone for a weekend in Midsomer Norton that celebrates local voices and visions.
On Saturday, at the open air amphitheatre, come and experience a series of live performances from 11am. A crafts stand, refreshments, and project information will be available.
- Spoken word poetry performed by P. Burton Morgan who has created a Poetry Trail anthology of work called Breathless; a powerful series of works capturing nostalgia, hopes and visions for the future of Midsomer Norton.
- Live music release and performance of a new original song Home for me, by singer songwriter China Blue Fish and producer Trevphonic. A song of heart, where old time mining song meets modern electronic beats; featuring voices from the community, beautiful sounds of ‘Good Afternoon Choir’ and inspiration from the ‘The Dunkerton Carting Boys’.
Following the performances, visitors are invited to join an introductory talk and guided tour of the Arts Trail, featuring a range of site-specific works installed throughout the high street. The tour will begin at approximately 12pm (midday) and will showcase the creative contributions that have reimagined familiar spaces of Midsomer Norton High Street.
Thank you to the IMAGINE artists, local businesses, groups and residents of Midsomer Norton, whose support and imagination have turned this project into a celebration of what’s possible when artists and communities come together to dream, co-create, and transform shared spaces.
Everyone is welcome — come walk the trail, listen to the voices of Midsomer Norton, and be inspired by the creativity running through the high street.
Shape Your High Street Arts Weekender is part of IMAGINE Midsomer Norton, a new project exploring the future of the town centre. Local people have been working together with local councils, artists, designers, and businesses to develop a new Town Centre Plan - a route map to a more vibrant and welcoming town centre.
More info about IMAGINE Midsomer Norton here:
An Introduction to the Artists and their work:
P Burton-Morgan
Breathless - a 50 poem poetry trail woven throughout MSN featuring poetry created from direct conversation with community poets 4-94 yrs, with award winning local poet P Burton-Morgan. From Bob’s Palais to canoeing down the high street, from biking to Weston to dropping in at the skatepark…
P Burton-Morgan is an award-winning local poet and theatre maker. They founded touring theatre company Metta Theatre in 2005, writing and directing over 30 productions including Sherlock Holmes & The PoisonWood (Watermill Theatre), Little Prince (Taunton Brewhouse) and In The Willows (Exeter Northcott). In 2018 they were opera artist-in-residence at the V&A. Their debut novel O is currently out on submission with United Agents and their poetry has been published in Propel Magazine and anthologised by Arachne Press.
China Blue Fish
Home for me - a song for MSN, written by singer songwriter China Blue Fish and producer Trevphonic. Featuring voices from the Community, beautiful sounds of ‘Good Afternoon Choir’ and inspiration from ‘The Dunkerton Carting Boys’. A song of heart, where old time mining song meets modern electronic beats.
China Blue Fish is a multidisciplinary arts practitioner working across music, theatre, poetry and facilitation. She devises and tours theatre shows, performs in bands, and works as a composer and musical director for theatre. Her interests as an artist lie in the unheard voice, in collective wellbeing and sustainability and creating beauty and joy.
Trevphonic is an electronic music producer based in Bristol. His music spans chill-hop to triphop, deep house to ambient. He is a drummer and accordian player, and has been playing in bands since the age of 15. He is a long-term collaborator with China Blue Fish.
Steve ‘Griff’ Griffiths
We are Midsomer Norton! - a portrait. Series celebrating bold thinkers, creators, and workers of MSN. This is who we are - proud, united, and welcoming. Join us, and be part of something special.
Steve ‘Griff’ Griffiths is an artist and maker who lives in the Radstock area and is a resident artist at Old Printworks Arts. A primary school teacher by trade, he has been making art and facilitating others for over 30 years. His artistic work centres around using reclaimed materials as a canvas, and he creates large pop art inspired portraits and landscapes on wood and cardboard. He also upcycles furniture and has been building a new business, ACHUB, which focuses on all areas of his practice.
Jo Slade
Landmarks - a display of artwork celebrating iconic sites, reflecting the town’s identity today while expressing local hopes and aspirations for the future. Created by artist Jo Slade in collaboration with the MSN community.
Jo Slade is a fine artist. Graduating with a Fine Art degree from Brighton University in 2007, she worked as a nurse before returning to painting in 2023. She is primarily a landscape painter, taking inspiration from the natural world including the fields behind her home in the rural outskirts of south Bath. She has exhibited at Burdalls Yard, Royal United Hospital, Pound Arts Centre Corsham, Studio 22, The Little Theatre and 44AD. She has been in residency with Remerge and Little Lost Robot at Old Printwork Arts, Radstock.