A Pioneering and Creative Woman. Interview with Festival Director Carol Maund
Carol Maund has created an incredible arts festival in a deprived area that gives voice to Outsiders, Refugees and the Marginalised and celebrates their stories
Thank you for taking the time to read the Jason Ward Creative Substack and I hope you enjoy this article.. To receive weekly articles, podcasts and playlists from me please consider becoming a subscriber which will also support my work. All subscriptions are currently free and I look forward to welcoming you to the ever-growing community. Many Thanks Jason
I first met Carol Maund in 2020 in a small gap between COVID lockdowns. I had been made redundant from my job creating entertainment experiences across two iconic cruise brands. I was feeling lost, alone and a little useless. Carol invited me to meet her at TOSH the creative co-working space that she runs in Boscombe - a slightly run down area of sea side town Bournemouth that is the epitome of faded glory. Carol’s dedication to supporting creatives gave me hope and her regular Tuesday evening Creative Community hubs showed me that I was not alone but, more than that, I had knowledge and experience to share with other creatives which gave me purpose and value.
Originally from Croydon (as the best of us are!) Carol’s professional career started as an arts lecturer while she was studying for her MPhil. In 1987 She went to work with the Arts Council eventually becoming Head of Department for Visual Arts, Film and Literature at East Midlands Arts. Ten years later she was asked to become Director of Untitled Gallery in Sheffield leading the organisation through a period of transformation which included a change of name to Site Gallery in 1997.
One thing that sets Carol apart is that she has an immense capacity for building new creative projects and a generosity of spirit that attracts great creative artists to work with her. Which is why she went on to develop Art Sheffield which was a new visual arts festival that started in 2003 as part of Sheffield Contemporary Arts Forum.
For most people founding one arts festival would be enough but in 2010 Carol moved to the South of England and set up Bournemouth’s Arts by the Sea Festival as a month long multi-art form event across various venues. The Festival is still running and attracts an audience of around 150,000 people.
More recently Carol set up Recreate Dorset which is a trust that runs The Old School House (TOSH) which provides creative co-working space and runs programmes that bring art to communities that do not have access to it such as refugees, older people and even those facing loneliness and isolation. But if you think that Carol is resting on her laurels then you are wrong.
A few years ago she founded the BEAF Festival which brings incredible art, culture and creativity to the deprived Boscombe area of Bournemouth. Through BEAF Carol and her team are able to amplify marginalised voices, bring world class culture to a shopping centre and support the development of a creative ecosystem where none existed. The Festival has presented everything from Shakespeare with the Globe Theatre on the roof of a car park to art for children and a major new commission for the work renowned performance artists Joli Vyann. And then there is the Boscombe Arts Depot which Carol has established in an old department store in the heart of a retail street and features exhibitions, film nights and theatre performances. While other people talk about bringing culture to people Carol Maund is walking the talk and putting culture at the heart of her community.
Carol is an important voice for the arts and an incredible woman who has fought hard to express her own creativity and offer a way for others to do the same. I spoke to her in June 2023.
What inspires your creative ideas?
My work as a creative is as a curator and arts producer, bringing together other creatives to make exciting things happen. I am constantly amazed by the originality and ingenuity of creatives, and this inspires me to develop ideas for a whole range of creative projects.
Why are arts and culture important to everyone?
Every day I see how the arts can be transformative to people’s lives, it’s inspirational to see how the projects I have developed, have had such a positive impact on the participants. For example, the incredible output of creative writing produced by those involved in the Outsiders Project, coming from people in recovery and struggling with complex health issues; or our Seeking Refuge project offering a lifeline for asylum seekers and refugees through our weekly creative workshops; and most recently working with students from SWRAC who provide a specialist education programme for young people. I have had the most amazing feedback on how the arts have really helped many of them deal with some of the difficult aspects of their daily lives as well as giving them such pleasure and enjoyment. That’s why I really believe the arts are essential to everyone, a small intervention can have such a significant impact which may never been planned, but will have such a lasting effect on the people involved.
What advice would you give to a business to help them become more creative?
I suggest find your creative network, and be inspired by others, great ideas often just appear when you least expect it. When you are feeling the ideas aren’t coming go see an exhibition or check out a pod cast or website of artists you find interesting, and then take a walk on the beach, that’s the best thing to clear the head and get new ideas flowing.
Who is your creative hero?
I have so many, it’s hard to select just one, I am inspired by musicians, artists, film makers, architects and designers, so the list is extensive. I am currently working with some amazing artists, so these are the ones in the forefront of my mind at the moment. Shirin Neshat whose exile from Iran and her incredible work is so moving, and Harold Offeh who adds such a sense of joy while tackling some very complex subject matter, are absolute heros and heroines to me. But I would add two of my all-time favourite musicians, Patty Smith and P J Harvey, I just can’t choose one!
What piece of creative work are you most proud of
I am very proud to be heading up the BEAF arts festival, and working with such amazing creative people
What are you working on now
The arts festival is taking over my life right now! but its all worth it to see such brilliant work happening in my favourite place, Boscombe, a place brimming with creativity and energy.
To find out more about the BEAF Festival:
To find out more about the TOSH Community Space: