Arts At Herrison

Arts At Herrison (AAH) are a small group set up in 2005 to promote performance arts events at Charlton Down, primarily in Herrison Hall and under the Artsreach banner.

Artsreach is the county-wide charitable organisation that promotes the arts, primarily in rural communities and based in village halls. We have promoted mainly musical events ranging from a Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra ensemble to a very lively flamenco troupe. Our ‘year’ starts in May when Artsreach publish a menu of about 50 acts that will probably be available over the coming 12 months. A promoter’s day, attended by 50 or so promoters is held to discuss the acts. The promoters must then submit their ‘wish lists’ that go into a melting pot where attempts are made to reconcile the various requests. Some acts are only available on 2 or 3 days in a year so there tends to be severe rationing.

A further complication at Charlton Down is the heavy use of the hall by regular users so free days might not correspond with the availability of the acts. A venue that has most of its wishes fulfilled one year tends to fare worse the next year. After one or two months there is some idea of a programme for a session running from October to May. We hold our Annual Meeting in July and at this time we generally have an idea of what we might be able to put on over the coming session. Generally we have a firm contract for the act with Artsreach 2-3 months in advance and tickets are available 1 month in advance of the event.