Arts Programme

Rock and the Arts

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The process of gaining designation as a World Heritage Site involved more than eighty stake-holders along the coast, who during the process began to question what it is that makes people interested in the story of the coast and the rocks which form it. Gaining the status of global significance drew attention to communities right along the coast that they live somewhere special, but begged the question 'what does this actually mean to me?'

The World Heritage Site is 95 miles long, and the exposed rocks from one end to the other contain 185 million years of earth history. There are, then, a lot of stories to be told. The Arts Programme will assist with telling some of these stories, and creating new ones inspired by the beauty and meaning of the coast. It is expected that this will be achieved by enabling individuals and organisations to develop new arts projects, events, festivals, exhibitions and artist residencies and exchanges, or to adapt existing projects and programmes so that they are genuinely linked to the WHS. If you are interested in finding out more about this please read:

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In 2003 Tessa Jowell and Margaret Beckett wrote:

"The Dorset and East Devon Coast is one of the most significant earth science sites in the world. The natural beauty of the Site has inspired many fine works by some of the world's most prominent novelists, poets and artists, including Thomas Hardy, Jane Austen, John Fowles, John Keats, Joseph Turner and John Constable. It has attracted many visitors from both this country and overseas down the years, and this continues to the present day. The Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MP (then Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport) and The Rt Hon Margaret Beckett MP (then Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) in the Foreword to the Dorset and East Devon Coast World Heritage Site Management Plan, First Revision (2003)"

The Jurassic Coast Arts Strategy aims to take forward the outstanding artistic legacy outlined by the then secretaries of state for culture and the environment above, by supporting and co-ordinating the creation of contemporary arts work which together add to the enjoyment and understanding of this fantastic natural resource. It is believed that this is the first ever natural World Heritage Site with an arts strategy.

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The programme has been planned to develop over time. This will enable it to both genuinely engage with local communities and also respond flexibly to the growing interest and involvement of arts and other organisations in the area. There are currently 878 World Heritage Sites all over the world, and working within this network will add an international dimension to the programme. Through helping to identify shared goals, encouraging co-operation and unusual partnerships, and and a strong sense of working together, the programme will seek to support the Olympic legacy vision for 2012 and beyond.

Current Projects:

Universal Value in partnership with PVA Media Lab
Working with the Heritage Coast as backdrop, stage and cinema screen,
this site-specific performance draws our attention to the global
significance of the site by reflecting on the meaning of Outstanding
Universal Value. It points out that this place on which we
walk is made of everything that has gone before us and is an ever-
changing record of the process of evolution. The work is a meditation
reflecting on our fleeting time on the planet using images projected
onto the cliff face.

PVA MediaLab in partnership with The Jurassic Coast World Heritage
Team have commissioned artist Charlie Morrissey to produce 3 site-
specific works for the Jurassic Coast which take different parts of
the site and reflect on their outstanding universal value.

Read about the first site specific work which took place in September 2008.

The next piece in this series will be held in Spring in East Devon.