Culture

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Case studies


Key facts

  • Aspex Art gallery has won a prestigious RIBA award for its new contemporary building Designed by Glenn Howells Architects.
  • The Kings Theatre celebrated the wonderful milestone of its 100th Birthday in October 2007.
  • The Round Tower, originally built in 1418 by Henry V, still overlooks the Solent from Old Portsmouth.
  • The New Theatre Royal originally opened in 1884 and was designed by the same architect as Her Majestys Theatre in London.
  • Portsmouth was the home of Charles Dickens, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Arthur Conan Doyle, Rudyard Kipling, Peter Sellers, HG Wells and Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson.
  • Southsea hosts an annual two day food festival attracting visitors from far and wide.  The festival celebrates the local food culture, the sea, locally produced foods as well as learning and development.
  • The crew of Portsmouth’s HMS Victory use to eat their meal off square plates hence the saying “three square meals a day”.
  • Portchester Castle, sitting at the top of Portsmouth Harbour, is one of the area’s most outstanding monuments. The Roman fort has walls over twenty feet high and incorporates some twenty bastions. It is the finest Roman example of its kind in northern Europe.
  • The Wedgewood Rooms is a world famous music venue hosting many national and international live acts in the worlds of music and comedy. They also run events to help the up and coming musical talent in Portsmouth.
  • Southsea Skatepark is home to four world class professional BMX champions.
  • Southsea prides itself on hosting some of the south coast’s most diverse music events. These stretch across a wide range of genres include jazz, Caribbean, steel drums, big band and folk music.
  • Portsmouth has a rich travelling history. It’s central location on England’s south coast means it’s a place where many journeys have begun. From the exploring days of Colombus to modern day voyages, Portsmouth’s waters have been the starting point for many adventures.
  • Southsea hosts an annual Art Festival including artists from across the City to display, demonstrate and sell their art.
  • Express FM is one of the first ever community run radio stations and has thousands of listeners.
  • Southsea hosts an annual 10-day music festival showcasing the ever growing talent from across the City.
  • No.6 cinema based in the Historic Dockyard is the most successful independent cinema in this area. It shows a diverse variety of films from modern to old classics and foreign films.
  • Southsea’s Flower Displays were awarded Silver Gilt in the Coastal Resort category, with the judges commenting on 'the super quality of the planters and seating, and how the community was involved in the granite sculptural decoration. Palmerston Road in Southsea was also the winner of the Best Public Space Display in the South.
  • For the last 800 years every British monarch has walked the High street of Old Portsmouth.

Testimonials

“Culture and Creativity sit at the heart of successful 21st Century Cities. As well as providing communities with places to remember the past, explore the present and imagine the future, a thriving cultural life makes cities exciting to live and work in.

At the New Theatre Royal we work with a dazzling group of partners at places ranging from Aspex contemporary art gallery to the world famous Wedgewood Rooms, driving forward an agenda that includes developing creative and cultural skills and entrepreneurship across the city.”

Mark Coutice
Former Director
New Theatre Royal

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