Date published: 2025-07-18 | Category: Delivering for local residents, Giving people a bigger say, Regeneration and Development, Somer Valley
Midsomer Norton High Street is set to be transformed into a vibrant celebration of creativity and community collaboration with a free arts trail weekend from July 25 to 27.
The IMAGINE Midsomer Norton Shape Your High Street Arts Weekender will include a trail of artworks displayed in twenty shop windows, co-created by almost 500 residents working with four Somer Valley artists commissioned by Bath & North East Somerset Council.
The trail includes pop-art portraits, imaginary landscape paintings of the future, an audio soundscape of local voices and poems uncovering ordinary people’s hidden histories.
There will also be three special events which are free to attend:
- Friday 25 July, 6pm-8pm: Launch Event at Zen Rebel Café. Meet the artists and some of the local groups and residents who have helped shape the project and view the artworks on display, followed by The Rebel Music Sessions from 8pm-10pm.
- Saturday 26 July, 11am-12pm: Live performances at the Town Park Amphitheatre. Spoken word poetry by P. Burton-Morgan, a live music release and performance by singer songwriter China Blue Fish and a performance from the Good Afternoon Choir.
- Saturday 26 July, 12pm-1pm: Introductory talk and guided tour of the high street by producer Katie O’Brien starting at the Town Park Amphitheatre, exploring the creative contributions that have reimagined familiar spaces in Midsomer Norton.
The project is part of the IMAGINE Midsomer Norton engagement for the Town Centre Masterplan, a joint project between Bath & North East Somerset Council and Midsomer Norton Town Council focusing on the longer-term development of the Old Brewery area.
Councillor Paul Roper, cabinet member for Economic and Cultural Sustainable Development, said: “The Arts Weekender is an exciting celebration of Midsomer Norton and its community, bringing people together to recognise the richness of the town and its culture. Thank you to the hundreds of residents who have helped shape the artworks so far and given their views about how Midsomer Norton could be reimagined in the future.”
Helen Godwin, the new Mayor of the West of England, said: “The Arts Weekender will be a fantastic showcase of what can be achieved when the community in Midsomer Norton comes together, with the support of the councils and our combined authority.
“It’s great to see so many shops and residents joining in with this celebration of the local high street, showcasing amazing artwork in their windows, which I know will draw visitors from across the West and beyond.”
The four artists and their works are:
- Jo Slade - Landmarks - a display of artwork celebrating iconic sites, reflecting the town’s identity today while expressing local hopes and aspirations for the future.
- P Burton-Morgan - Breathless - a 50-poem poetry trail woven throughout Midsomer Norton featuring poetry created from direct conversation with community poets aged from 4 to 94 years.
- China Blue Fish and Trevphonic - Home for me - a song for Midsomer Norton featuring voices from the community, Good Afternoon Choir and inspiration from The Dunkerton Carting Boys.
- Steve 'Griff' Griffiths - We are Midsomer Norton! - a portrait series celebrating bold thinkers, creators, and workers of Midsomer Norton.
A trail map of the artworks is available from Zen Rebel Café, Holly Court and Midsomer Norton Library.
Midsomer Norton is the second town in Bath & North East Somerset to benefit from town centre regeneration action plans funded by £750,000 from the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority’s Housing and Regeneration Enabling Fund.
ENDS