A Safer Stronger Communities Commission

Connected Communities is a commissioned piece of work funded by Safer Stronger Communities and will be delivered by Blystra Arts between February 2025 to January 2026. The initiative will use creativity as a way of unlocking conversations about Newquay, such as how safe it is to live in the town, and will explore potential barriers faced by young people to staying, working and living happily in the town in the future. The project is a data focussed project, and will culminate in a final project report of findings, but will also capture qualitative data, through case studies and recorded conversations with individuals in the town, about the town. These conversations will be used to create a project film, which will act as a snapshot of the feelings and attitudes of people to Newquay in 2025 towards their town.

The project will encompass 10 to 12 creative contact points with the Newquay community throughout 2025, which include two key events: Empowering Newquay’s Future in May and Connecting on the Court in September. Blystra Arts will also capture data at other creative events and workshops during the year, most notably in creative workshops leading in to the Newquay carnival in July 2025, and community sessions delivered as part of the company’s lantern parade activity which happens in November. During the life of the project Blystra Arts will collect data from 300 to 500 young people and families from across Newquay.