Your thoughts wanted on our coast's delights

Stuart Bastik and Maddi Nicholson, co-directors of Art Gene and lead artists on the Coastal Explorers project

The public are being invited to contribute their thoughts on what they value most about the coast as part of the Coastal Explorers initiative.

It is being funded by a grant awarded to Fylde Council by Arts Council England’s National Lottery-funded Grants For Arts programme with the aim of promoting awareness of the coast’s features in anticipation of the forthcoming new coastal protection scheme.

The project is led by the council’s recently created Arts Development Service in collaboration with Ribble Rivers Trust, the RSPB and the Wildlife Trust.

Art Gene, an artist-led research facility from Barrow-in-Furness, will give the initial public consultation activity with support from Lytham-based arts organisation, Fable Arts and the first event, entitled Tea @ Granny’s, is on Saturday, from 10am to 4pm, at Granny’s Bay, next to Fairhaven Lake.

The public are invited to drop in to Art Gene’s pop-up cafe and have a cuppa in exchange for sharing what they value most about the Fylde coast, its nature, history and people.

Following this summer’s public consultation activity, Art Gene will produce a series of concept designs to be exhibited during November.

Art Gene director Maddi Nicholson said: “We want to see Fylde through local residents’ eyes and are looking for their stories, their memories, the things that will help us capture the uniqueness of this coastline.”