Projects
intoBodmin is always creating and supporting projects of all types with one aim in mind - to engage, excite and delight our communities.
Active Projects
Window Wanderland
Window Wanderland is a community art project and event that encourages people to transform their residential neighbourhoods into outdoor gallery spaces by decorating their windows with creative displays and artwork. The idea is to create a walking tour of Bodmin for residents and visitors to enjoy the unique and visually captivating displays from the outside, often taking place in the evening when the illuminated windows are most prominent.
We love you to join us for 2024!
Nos Kalan Gwav 2024
For the fourth year of running this project we are aiming to co-create a legacy piece of outdoor theatre which can be performed year after year. The main performance will involve community members working with Director Jon Nash culminating on 27th October on Mount Folly Square.
In the lead up expect community crafting opportunities for all ages including a community workshop to create
Hecate's cloak and the ever popular fancy dress
competition for all ages.
Fun Palaces - Bodmin
Fun Palaces supports local people to co-create their own cultural and community events, across the UK and worldwide, sharing and celebrating the genius in everyone.
You can find a number of pop-up activities happening in Bodmin over the weekend 4th - 6th October, including one at The Old Library; Family Karaoke!
Family Karaoke
Sat 5th October
The Old Library
10am - 12pm
Come and have a play on the intoBodmin stage and have a bit of a song and dance under disco lights!Just pop along and have a go - bring your friends and family!
The words will pop up on a big screen or you can sing-along- to your favourite music video. Dressing up is encouraged!
The Walking Bus
This activity is funded by Cornwall Council as part of their Active Travel Project which is aiming to increase the number of people using active travel, eg walking or cycling to complete journeys. There will be 4 dates for each these walks and we hope they give you the confidence to take this walk or to buddy up with other people who may attend.
Roots and Routes
Roots and Routes is an 18-month Heritage Lottery Fund project running from Spring 2024 to Summer 2025. It will be a community-driven journey to celebrate Bodmin's heritage and contribute to its cultural revival. Drawing some inspiration from the George Ellis Collection the project will create contemporary content, and collecting diverse stories.
The project comprises three key strands. Strand One, 'Looking Back and Looking Forward,' engages with the George Ellis Collection, hosts photography workshops with the Henwyn Collective, with young people producing quarterly BodZines. Strand Two, 'The People's Map,' captures local experiences and memories with sound artist Arlo Anwin. Strand Three, will see the production of a new documentary about people roots to and routes through Bodmin, made by students on Bodmin College's Digital Media Degree.
The project aims to foster community cohesion, enhance pride, and contribute to our heritage's celebration and preservation.
The Bodmin Change Makers
The Bodmin Changemakers aims to provide local residents with the skills to be a community champion and take positive action to address health and social needs in Bodmin. This six-month programme, organised by intoBodmin, focuses on creating a group of champions who will each develop their own project gaining skills in community organising, listening, project planning and measuring impact, that can be applied to the issues they would like to address.
The project is looking for 8 people who can commit 4 hours a week from November 2023 to May 2024. 2 half day’s per month will be led sessions and then additional time will be needed to reflect and deliver projects between these dates. As well as gaining new skills, the group will provide an opportunity for shared learning and peer support collectively working towards the common good of our community.
The Old Library Development Project
The Old Library re-opened Feb 2024 and this is our Gig Sketch Artist's impression......
Past Projects
A new project starting in September 2023 with the aim of bringing community together through food. The project is set to pilot for nine months and will closely collaborate with other community organisations in Bodmin, including the Kinsman Hub, Community Food Larder, The St Petroc’s Parish Centre, Food Banks, The Food Larder and the Gleaning Network.
The project will use multiple locations across the town while The Old Library undergoes its refurbishment. The Club will be co-created with those who are interested. Current ideas are topics such as saving money, sharing skills, and trying new foods and recipes with group cook-ups, perserving, batch cooking and no waste cooking.
This project is funded by The National Lottery Awards for All.
Photo Credit Beth Woolley
Nos Calan Gwaf 2023
(Halloween Parade in Bodmin)
Now in its third year, intoBodmin provides the space and facilitates the annual Community Halloween Parade which culminates at the iconic Beacon. The event celebrates the change of the seasons with community making workshops,
rehearsals, and final performance. Over 200 people have attended this event each year.
Due to poor weather the 2023 event was brought into the Town Centre. Over 150 adults and children attended craft and willow wand making workshops, x35 young people took part in the Fancy Dress competition, x70 people joined us on the Folly to watch the fire performers and x50 made it to The Shire House Suite to watch performances from KBSK and Nos Calan Gwaf.
Funding wise thank you to Feast Cornwall and Arts Council England Cornwall Community Foundation and Bodmin Town Council for supporting us to make these events happen! 
Photo Credit: Fancy dress prize-winners,
Bodmin – part of the George Ellis
Collection at Kresen Kernow GE/2/E/11215
Bodcast
intoBodmin worked with radio/audio broadcaster and producer Rosie Kendrick to deliver four workshops for 30 Young People at the end of their Year 6 at Berrycoombe Primary School in Bodmin, and as a result the young people made 14 podcasts and associated podcast artwork. This project is supported by the Cornwall Community Foundation #IWILL fund, enabling young people to have a democratic voice.
“Children being able to select topics that interest them for their podcasts was great as all children were creating content on a topic that they had chosen. All learners were highly engaged as a result of this. Children’s motivation to the project and desire to listen to finished podcasts was incredibly impressive.
Some groups set up video calls in the evening
where they could continue to discuss content
and continue writing the podcasts.”
Teacher Feedback
Hospital Rooms
Hospital Rooms is running a series of fun, creative workshops in collaboration with intoBodmin for people with lived experience of inpatient mental health services.
The workshops are part of a project that Hospital Rooms is running with Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Twelve artists have been commissioned to create brand new, site-specific artworks for the inpatient wards in Bodmin and Redruth, and would like to provide an opportunity for the community to share their ideas and experiences about what could make these spaces better.
This project will run Sept-Nov 2023.
Spring Trail
The Spring Trail made a welcome return for the Easter weekend in 2023. 224 members of local families (and even some from Exeter) booked on this free event to follow Bobbie the Bee from the park and take part in activities collecting pollen across the town and on the way up the high street. At the Old Library they took part in craft activity, enjoyed free food and received free seeds to set for the summer. We worked with local businesses across the town to set some of the clues, including learning Wiosna! Polish for Spring!
In the week running up to the event over 50 young people took part in making workshops, creating pom pom bee’s, willow flowers and bunting to bring to the trail.
“Brilliant Easter trail, thank you. We went into some places we haven’t been to in years, if at all, in the town. Great day had by all, thank you!”
The Spring Trail ran over the Easter Weekend
of 2023.
Photo Credit Fin Davis
Working in partnership with Kresen Kernow, which houses the George Ellis collection of 95,000 glass plate negatives and supported by Historic England. intoBodmin facilitated the space for two lots of artist led engagements around the collection, one was aimed at a younger age group in creating a Zine, the second at 25+ working on photography techniques and cyanotype printing. The age range was from 15- 80yrs. Both groups met over an eight week period of free workshops. We had over 80 people attend a community celebratory exhibition opening at the end of the sessions.
The groups bonded well, and friendships were made. One participant is teaching another to fish, while another is teaching another participant to play guitar. Three members of the group are setting up a coffee morning, using Georges images as a starting point. The meetings continue to take place at intoBodmin.
“I’ve really enjoyed meeting new people, learning the history behind photos and learning to adapt pictures using different medias”
The project ran from December 2022 to
March 2023.
Photo Credit bodzine
BodMAXX
BodMAXX is a new intoBodmin project, funded by the Arts Council, aimed at developing free and accessible creative projects for the people of Bodmin. It aims to bring people together through art and cultural activity.
Their base of operations is currently 81b Fore Street, opposite Wetherspoons in town.
The project started in June 2021 and ran until
June 2022.
Bereavement Buddies
intoBodmin is developing a Bereavement Support project which aims to
-
help bereaved adults in Bodmin find suitable emotional & practical support
-
collect their views about future bereavement support.
This project is based on the recognition that bereaved adults may have a wide range of support needs, which can be met by family and
friends or services in the community as well as through
professional services and those with specialist knowledge
and skills.
All Things Youth
The aim of this project is to create activities supported and led by the young people of our community. A safe space to learn new skills, meet new friends and platform the incredible community
work our young people are achieving.
Bodminton is an imaginative tiny town for young children. With scaled down shops and services, it provides a unique role play experience.
Bodminton includes a veterinary surgery, supermarket, construction site, post office and ice cream stand. All downsized, to be enjoyed by little ones.
The project ran from November 2021 to
May 2022.
The Kernow Bedroom Choir
Singing has been a way of bringing communities together for generations. So, at the start of the first lockdown, intoBodmin and Daniel Woodfield teamed up to create a short series of tutorials to teach people the melody and harmonies of some of Cornwall’s most cherished folk songs.
People were invited to learn a part and
submit a recording to the virtual choir.
All The Beautiful Things
Would you like to see Bodmin through fresh eyes? To listen and feel more closely to the place you live in?
Artist group Blind Ditch invited residents of all ages to contribute to an exciting new media project about all the beautiful things – oll an taklow teg – in Bodmin.
The result was an online adventure of a small
hedgehog as he explores the town from a
different perspective...
Bodmin Lights Up
Working with local primary schools and international projection and visuals company The Colour Project, intoBodmin created a spectacular light show as part of the town's Christmas Light Switch On
event, in 2018 and 2019.
The Lockdown Patchwork
During lockdown, we partnered with mental health organisation Pentreath and students at Bodmin College with the goal of creating a large patchwork of squares that represented how people
in Bodmin felt during the COVID-19 crisis.
Building a Better Bodmin
intoBodmin is a community and arts organisation.
Our mission is:
To enable individuals and communities to access cultural activity, encouraging innovation, participation and partnerships.
To bring vitality into the heart of the town and bring the communities together through accessible and inclusive spaces and activity.
To see the community’s aspirations grow and inspire community pride in the place they live.
CURRENT FUNDERS AND PARTNERS
