You can reach the world from Dover

CHA co-curated Dover’s inaugural arts festival, ‘You can reach the world from Dover’, over the summer of 2023. Working with Dover Arts Development (DAD), we assisted in writing the bid for a successful Arts Council England (ACE) grant, developed the curatorial programme and managed the festival which included more than 30 individual events across the town from June to October.

Artists, experts, businesses, institutions, community groups and social enterprises came together in a unique celebration of the town’s creativity and cultural life. which included an innovative programme of exhibitions, events, walks, talks and public engagement workshops.

Often associated with negative immigration stories and struggling with economic challenges, Dover is also an historic town and a place of global significance: a point of arrival and departure, an industrial port, a faded icon but also a place where people live and work. The festival explored the town and its diverse community, opening up previously inaccessible sites and engaging with new audiences to create a lasting legacy, as well as a springboard for new collaborations between artists, community organisations, schools, retailers, restaurants and social enterprises.

A joint role as both a principal of CHA and a Director of Dover Arts Development, allowed Charles to combine a strong local knowledge of culture and the arts with an ability to manage the many complex projects occurring in public places.