Festival of Tomorrow’s Impact Doubles as thousands exploreOur Future Earth.
Festival of Tomorrow’s Impact Doubles – Gaia at STEAM museum
Key points:
Attendance at Festival of Tomorrow events and activities reached over 47,000 this February. Thus more than doubling last year’s record figures.
Over 11,000 free student places were booked for the festival’s biggest ever free schools programme of online and in-school activities for Swindon primary schools. That gave thousands of pupils the opportunity to engage with science, technology, engineering and the creative arts.
February 2025 saw the festival’s biggest ever public programme of over 150 events, activities and immersive experience for all ages. All exploring the ideas, research and innovation that will shape our shared future.
The festival presented Luke Jerram’s Gaia touring artwork at Steam – Museum of the Great Western Railway, as the focal point of a curated programme of:
events
FREE family activities
workshops
performances and exhibits
All of which invited festivalgoers to re-imagine the Earth of the future.
Festival organisers attribute the success of this year’s programme to the strength of collaborations with Swindon’s creative and cultural networks.
Festival attendance
Attendance at Swindon’s Festival of Tomorrow doubled this year. Thousands of families turned out to explore its biggest ever programme of:
Spectacular performances
Thought-provoking discussions
Immersive art
Hands-on workshops and free drop-in activities for all ages.
It’s a numbers game
Over 47,000 attended this year’s programme. It brought local people together with artists, performers, researchers, universities, charities and organisations from across the UK and the globe to explore the theme Our Future Earth.
Festival Director, Rod Hebden said ‘We’re absolutely blown away by the response to this year’s festival. In our fast-changing world, it’s never been more important that everyone can share in and help to shape the knowledge, research and creativity that will shape our future world. We’re so grateful to the support we’ve received. In particular from the Arts Council, UK Research and Innovation, and Business West. There’s been a real sense of inclusion and community throughout this year’s events, which has been so uplifting.’
Schoolchildren get ahead
Swindon primary schoolchildren got a head-start on the action. They took up over 11,000 free student places on the Festival’s biggest offering yet for primary schools, bringing inspiration and skills into the classroom. Thanks to support from long-term partners:
Swindon-based UK Research and Innovation
Business West
Catalent
and the Science and Technology Facilities Council ..
… organisers were able to offer Swindon schools an exciting range of online and in-school challenges, shows and workshops. Thus giving thousands of pupils the opportunity to engage with science, technology, engineering and the creative arts.
Covingham Park Primary Big bubbles 2
Award-winning local author, Kate Claxton of Really Rather Wild said ‘I’m so excited to combine my love of storytelling with the festival’s ‘Our Future Earth’ theme this year. And kicking off my school visits during National Storytelling Week was perfect! v
I worked with over 500 children to look at how trees tell a story as they grow. And to think about what kind of stories we want to tell while we grow on our precious planet! Storytelling is a wonderful way to introduce children to big important topics. The conversations and creations that came up as we thought about our place on Earth blew me away.’
Talia Wood, a teacher at Covingham Park Primary School, which took part in several festival activities, said, at the end of one session: ‘I think that’s the best workshop for kids I’ve ever watched! If you could’ve seen the awe on my children’s faces! As it progressed, I watched a child who’d been adamant she wouldn’t enjoy it ‘because I don’t like science stuff’ crawling closer and closer to the screen until she was kneeling up near the front, quite transfixed. The talk in the cloakroom on the way out to play was, ‘That was wicked! – and a whole lot of wonder.’ It’s generated lots of questions so we’re going to have to do some Googling after playtime! Thank you for such a brilliant session!’
Gaia
Bristol-based artist Luke Jerram’s giant touring Earth artwork, Gaia was a focal point for festivalgoers during the half-term week. At the heart of a special curated programme of events, workshops, performances and exhibits at Steam Museum it invited visitors to re-imagine the Earth of the future.
Measuring six metres in diameter, Gaia features 120dpi detailed NASA imagery of the Earth’s surface. The artwork provided visitors to Steam the unique opportunity to see our planet on this scale.Floating in three-dimensions, many families opted to stay for several hours enjoying the atmosphere.
Highlights
Highlights of the week included a unique sell-out immersive performance by composer musician Charlie Hooper-Williams, whose haunting music and spectacular AI-generated live visuals provided an unforgettable counterpoint to the softly illuminated Gaia artwork. Free performances on the Sonic Spider captivated almost 15,000 visitors. The spider was a 4m wide playable sculpture, which invited listeners to enter an orb spider’s world of vibrations.
Sonic spider at STEAM
Shoppers at Swindon Designer Outletfound themselves treated to a range of interactive activities. Including the opportunity to help shape future work by local contemporary dance company, Neon Dance. How? By contributing design ideas for wearable sound sculptures in the Sonic Body Lab. A specially designed Sea Creature Superpowers trail was a huge hit. Almost 4000 families completed it by hunting for clues around the centre, learning about marine animal adaptations along the way.
Festivalgoers also enjoyed the opportunity to experience the work of some of Swindon’s talented local artists. Paintings by Sheryll Fox, Andi Theokle and Carol Burns were on display at both Steam Museum and a pop-up gallery at the Designer Outlet. They were joined at the Outlet by a spectacular display of ceramics by Lisa Lowe. Meanwhile, the festival’s first open art exhibition, curated by Artist in Residence Jo Beal, showcased more than 60 works by local artists of all ages and experiences. That attracted over 2000 visitors to the historic Carriage Works.
Stem to STEAM
Local resident and international advocate for STEM to STEAM – which adds the arts to the world of STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics – Carole Bent said ‘Fantastic – a wonderful mix that made us smile, laugh, think and learn. Every single person that we encountered on the magical mystery tour seemed as uplifted as I felt.
A confident, friendly, eclectic festival that made me feel proud to live in the town where this came to life. I loved the breadth of people involved & sense of openness.’
Festival finale
Families flocked to the ever-popular festival finale hosted by the Deanery CE Academy on the 21 and 22 February, for two action-packed days of discovery, innovation and creativity.
Almost 5,000 visitors explored five free interactive discovery zones.They were packed with:
amazing demos
intriguing exhibits
hands-on activities
challenges and free workshops from organisations
Including:
the James Dyson Foundation
Catalent
the University of Bath
Swindon Paint Festival
the European Space Agency
Kings College London
the Woodland Trust and United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI) ……. as well as an exciting programme of shows and performances.
Calling All Swindon Artists!Register for Open Studios 2025 by 31st March.
After last year’s successful 20th celebration, Swindon Open Studios is again inviting local artists and craftspeople of all stripes, to register by 31st March.
The town’s premier arts community event showcases a wide range of talents. And, as more artists get inspired to join each year, the organisers are expecting a bumper year. This is great news for the public as the event is free to enter for visitors.
Calling All Swindon Artists! – Swindon open studios logo
Over the last two weekends in September, dozens of professional, amateur and hobby artists fling open wide the doors to their working spaces. Then visitors can celebrate Swindon’s creativity and see wonderful works of art on their doorstep. It’s a great opportunity to learn about the creative process involved or to get stuck in by joining a workshop. It’s a lot less formal than a visit to a gallery and you might even get a cup of tea or piece of cake!
Artists develop their practice by:
talking through working methods with visitors
honing exhibition skills
promoting their work and being part of a supportive creative community.
Chairperson of the SOS Committee, Anna Enright, says ‘Swindon Open Studios has grown for the last three years and we’re keen to invite a wide range of art styles and mediums. It promises to be bigger, brighter and more exciting than ever this year, so don’t leave your application too late!’
Deana Baker jewellerPottery throwing at Eastcott StudiosPaula Sullivan at work
Registration
The registration DEADLINE is earlier this year, closing on 31st March. The £50 registration fee remains unchanged. It gives exhibitors:
full colour entries in thousands of brochures
a personal page on the website
free posters and leaflets promoting the event
as well as learning resources, guides and support.
Anna adds, ‘If there are any young people or artists who’ve never exhibited before, we’d love to help you begin your journey to share your work with a wider audience.
There is no selection process and we’re lucky to have some very experienced members. They’re not only skilled artists but also seasoned exhibitors very willing to help new members. Our community is very friendly. Artists say they get so much encouragement from discussing their work, sharing it with visitors and other artists alike.’
To open up a home studio, offer workshops or book into a pop-up exhibition, artists can register NOW at www.openstudios.org/registration
For those new to exhibiting who need to explore further before committing, there’s a ‘FIND OUT MORE’ event on Thursday 13th March at 7pm at Swindon Rugby Football Club, SN3 3LA.
International Women’s Day at the Hub. On Saturday the 8th March, Swindon Hub will celebrate International Women’s Day with music, art and discussions.
Swindon’s community Hub has become a focus for all things and all people in the three years since a group of passionate volunteers took over the former River Island site in the town centre.
The Hub’s staff and volunteers have selected International Women’s Day as deserving of celebration to recognise the impact of womeb in the community.
Leading the charge – as it were
Pearl Barcoe – volunteer at the Hub Swindon
Leading the planning for the Women’s Day event is volunteer Pearl Barcoe. She says that equality and inclusion – particularly for women – has been at the heart of the Hub’s ethos since it opened.Â
The Hub has always welcomed everyone without discrimination. International Women’s Day is a chance for us to recognise the huge contribution women make, as well as the barriers we still face.’
‘We’ll be celebrating Women’s Day in the Hub with lots of fun activities and live music. Though there’ll also be serious information for people wanting to find out more and get involved’ Barcoe added.
What’s occurring
International Women’s Day at the Hub
The Women’s Day event will run from 11am to 4pm. We’re having:
a Makers’ Market
live music,
exhibition stands
banner making workshops
menopause chats and much more.
The Makers’ Market will feature more than twenty female-run art and craft stalls.They’ll be selling everything from candles to cards, jewellery to leather goods.
Performing live music there’ll be local artists Sounds Like Women (12.30pm – 1.30pm). And Chloe Marie 3.15pm – 4pm), with a ‘Cheer Up Love’ vinyl DJ set in between (2pm – 3pm).
Luiza Staniec-Moir is the founder and songstress at Sounds Like Women – a Swindon community group that empowers women and girls through music. She says that the Hub is an ideal location for bringing people together and getting people involved in the music.Â
‘We love the vibe at the Hub. Everyone is so positive and it will be the perfect place to share our songs and make new friends,’ she said.
Other activities taking place during the day include:
a creative writing session
a 3-hour drop-in banner-making workshop led by Stitch Social Swindon
and a chance to learn some hula hoop tricks in a workshop led by Darine from Swindon Circus & Outdoor Arts Project.
Full details and timings for all sessions are on Swindon Hub’s Facebook and Instagram pages @hubswindon and the website www.swindonhub.org.uk
All money raised on the day will go to the wonderful local charity SWA Survivor.
The Rocky Horror Show 2025. Yep, it’s time to dig out the basque and the fishnet stockings and prepare to time warp once more.The legend that is Richard O’Brien’s mischievous musical masterpiece is in Swindon again – one of the stops on its new world tour.
PERFORMANCE DATES: Mon 24th February 2025 – Sat 1st March 2025
The blog, Europeana, describes it as drawing inspiration from B-movies, science fiction and horror. The blog goes on to say how the show found itself being influenced by, and in turn being an influence on, the counter-cultural and sexual liberation movements of the 1970s and 1980s. Further it was at the vanguard of musicals that depicted liberated characters with fluid sexualities. As such, LGBTQ+ communities hold it in huge affection and celebrate it for its subversive portrayal of sexuality and gender.
Rocky Horror Show 2025 at the Wyvern Theatre
A grand dame
At over fifty years old (the RHS debuted in 1973) this cult classic shows no sign of showing its age – indeed it remains as popular as ever. And why not? It’s got great songs – including of course the classic Time Warp – itself both an example and a parody of the dance song form – in a show that is itself a parody.
So there’s much dressing up – but only if you want to – and audience participation – if you want to. Stockings and suspenders welcome but not compulsory.
There’s been a cast change since I last saw this show at the Wyvern – though Joe McFadden brings his dulcet Scots tones to the Swindon stage once more as he returns in the role of the narrator. I fancy he brings a note of mischief to the role. For sure the narrator has to be both on the ball and fearless – to respond to whatever the audience might throw (verbally I mean) at him. Joe handles all that with aplomb. And he wears a fishnet well it must be said – see below.
Joe McFadden & cast on the stage of the Rocky Horror Show 2025 at the Wyvern theatreThe cast on stage at the RHS at the Wyvern theatre, Swindon
All the cast were great of course. I mean, unless you’re simply not a fan of musical theatre in general it’s impossible, IMHO, not to love this show. It’s all raucous, rollicking, rocking, Rocky fun.What’s not to love?
LOCAL FINANCIAL PLANNER CELEBRATESSHORTLIST FOR REGIONAL AWARDS, REBRANDING, AND NEW OFFICE.
Swindon-based financial planner Dave Southby, founder and CEO of the new rebranded Southby & Co. Financial Planning, is celebrating a series of significant milestones in early 2025.
Dave, a partner with St. James’ Place, specialises in helping individuals, families, and small business owners manage their wealth in an effective way. In particular in the Swindon and North Wiltshire areas.
LOCAL FINANCIAL PLANNER CELEBRATES – Dave Southby in front of the new office space in Wroughton.
Recognitions
Recognised for both business success and community impact, Dave found himself shortlisted for The SME of the Year at the South West Business and Community Awards. He’s also in the running for Male Entrepreneur of the Year.
These nominations follow Dave’s recent achievement of winning St. James’s Place (SJP) Responsible Business of the Year. Thus further cementig his reputation as a leader in responsible and community-focused business practices.
‘This is recognition for all the hard work the team and I put into supporting our local community and charity partners. We’re all so proud to feel seen as a leading business in this category. It was fantastic to be part of such a brilliant evening surrounded by so many successful partners.’
Not only but also …
Further to these prestigious accolades, the business has recently expanded into a new office space on the High Street in Wroughton. As the team continues to grow, this move places Southby & Co. at the heart of the community they’re dedicated to serving.
Dave said ‘We’re thrilled to finally share the news of our new office. Being on the High Street puts us right in the middle of the community we love to help. And this new space allows us to better support both our clients and our team.’
The firm has also undergone a major rebrand, transitioning from Dave Southby Financial Planning to Southby & Co. Financial Planning. This change reflects the company’s continued growth and its team-based approach to financial planning. But while still honouring the traditional values that underpin its success.
Dave explained that the name Southby & Co. better represents the company’s mission and modern approach, ensuring that clients receive expert, collaborative, and personalised financial advice.
With a new office, a new name and a growing list of accolades, Southby & Co. Financial Planning is set for an exciting year ahead. The company’s shortlisting for The SME of the Year at the Southwest Business and Community Awards is a testament to its dedication to:
excellence
responsible business practices
and their unwavering commitment to the local community.
Winners of The South West Business and Community Awards will be announced at a celebration event on Wednesday 12th March 2025 at DoubleTree by Hilton Swindon, SN5 8UZ.
