b-side

b-side b-side arts organisation based on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. 'Like' us to be kept up to date. https://linktr.ee/bsidefest

Follow the call of Siren Song! 🧜‍♀️🐔Part circus, part storytelling, part Portland folklore - Siren Song brings a wild pr...
01/09/2026

Follow the call of Siren Song! 🧜‍♀️🐔

Part circus, part storytelling, part Portland folklore - Siren Song brings a wild procession of mythical characters, live music and magic to the seafront.

🤸 Contortionists
🎪 Artists climbing towering rigs
🎶 Live music & storytelling
🐇 Portland folklore, fairground traditions & plenty of mischief

✨ Every day of the festival | 3–4pm
🌙 Friday & Saturday | 7–8pm

These are things you DON’T want to miss! 👀

Limited spaces - booking essential.
BOOK NOW here : https://b-side.org.uk/events/siren-song/

And don’t miss Chloe Mantripp in conversation with Ed Viney - a FREE event exploring how creative ideas become fully realised performances. Booking recommended - tickets are running out!

BOOK NOW: https://b-side.org.uk/events/developing-creative-ideas/

31/08/2026

Free final flag-making session! 3rd of September
At St Nics Gallery, Weymouth! 6-8pm.

We’re getting ready for our massive art installation at b-side Festival and we want your flag to be part of it! ✨

Come along to our free final flag-making session and get creative. All materials are provided, so all you need to bring is your imagination!

Design your own flag, make it bold, make it colourful, make it you - then see it become part of our huge art installation at b-side Festival!

Come make your mark! 🏳️🎨

.arcana
.co.uk .uk .0

CATHERINE'S COLLECTION– Made with PortlandFor Catherine’s Festival picks, there’s a common thread: community.These are a...
29/08/2026

CATHERINE'S COLLECTION– Made with Portland

For Catherine’s Festival picks, there’s a common thread: community.

These are artworks and events that Portland people haven’t just been invited to see – they’ve helped make, shape and inspire them.

👤 And So Our Shadows Dance - Light Space Colour
Memories of Portland Fair become shadow characters and cut-outs. During the Festival, those creations grow into giant moving projections across Portland – local memories quite literally brought to life.
📅 11–13 September

🎧 Ghosts of the Fair - Buried Giants
An immersive audio trail inspired by the sights, sounds, stories and memories of Portland’s long-lost Fair. Put on your headphones and hear echoes of the past return to the streets where the Fair once lived.
📅 10–13 September

🃏 Portland’s Peculiar Arcana – Alexi Marshall
A tarot-inspired world shaped with Portland communities through a series of creative workshops. Local people have helped create a wonderfully peculiar deck rooted in the island’s characters, stories and imagination.
📅 10–13 September

👀 Walls Are Talking – Deborah Bowness
Portland’s Fair archives, memories and local stories spill out onto the streets of Underhill in a trail of paste-ups and Trompe l'oeil. Keep your eyes peeled –
📅 10–13 September

🎪 Portland Parade 2026
And what could be more community than a parade? Expect handmade headgear, colour, music and plenty of Portland personality. Come and join in – everyone’s invited!
📅 Sunday 13 September

💙 Made with Portland, inspired by Portland and shared with everyone.

Discover Catherine’s picks and the full Festival programme:
https://b-side.org.uk/project/2026-that-other-place/

📍 b-side Festival | Isle of Portland | 10–13 September 2026

Islanders Youth and Community Centre The Drop In Portland Future Portland UK - Community Benefit Society Island Community Action - ICA

🚲🚌 **HOW WILL YOU TRAVEL b-side?**Why just *get* around the Festival when the journey itself can be part of the fun? We’...
27/08/2026

🚲🚌 **HOW WILL YOU TRAVEL b-side?**

Why just *get* around the Festival when the journey itself can be part of the fun? We’ve got three brilliant ways to explore Portland and discover b-side Festival sites along the way.

🚌 Weyline Wanderer Festival Bus
Hop aboard our accessible 8-seater bus and visit festival sites that public transport doesn’t reach, with time to stop and explore the artworks.
📅 Saturday 12 September
⏰ Tours at 12pm, 2pm & 4pm
🎟️ £5 – booking required

🚲⚡Electric Bike Festival Tour
Bike, helmet and an experienced guide are provided as you pedal between artworks, landscapes and hidden corners of Portland.
📅 Sunday 13 September
⏰ 10.30am–12.30pm & 2–4pm
🎟️ £25 – booking essential

💨 FREE Trishaw Rides
Let Cycling Without Age do the pedalling! Sit back, bring a friend and enjoy a gentle ride between Festival sites.
📅 Saturday 12 & Sunday 13 September
⏰ 11am–5pm
🎟️ FREE – just hop on!**

So…bus, bike or trishaw – which will you choose?

Take a look https://b-side.org.uk/project/2026-that-other-place/?selected_date=&search_term=&location_filter=&label_filter=walk-tours

Cycling Without Age Weymouth Weymouth Ebike Hire

ROCCA RECOMMENDS – 5 things to seek out at b-sideWith four days of art, performance, film and happenings across Portland...
25/08/2026

ROCCA RECOMMENDS – 5 things to seek out at b-side

With four days of art, performance, film and happenings across Portland, we asked Rocca from the b-side team to pick some of the things they really don’t want you to miss…

🌸 Night Flowers – Liz Lake
Beautiful, intimate and intriguing. Liz’s drawings and prints take inspiration from the plants and landscapes of Portland.
📅 10–13 September

🌿 Simon Lee Dicker
An artist whose work explores our relationship with landscape, place and the natural world. Seek this one out and discover Portland from a different perspective.
📅 Saturday 12 Sept

🎬 How to Build a Library
A fascinating film following two women transforming a former colonial library in Nairobi – opening up bigger questions about culture, history and who gets to shape the spaces where stories are kept.
📅 Friday 11 September

✍️ Tales of Transformation – Felix C Bill
A chance to get creative, use your imagination and explore transformation through words.
📅 Fiday 11 September

🪩 Out Out on the Island – b-side Launch Party
Start the festival as you mean to continue – OUT OUT! Music, people, dancing and plenty of b-side energy. Get your ticket booked and come celebrate opening night with us.
📅 Wed 9th September

📍 b-side Festival | Isle of Portland | 10–13 September 2026

These are Rocca’s picks – what will be yours?

Explore the programme + book your tickets:
https://b-side.org.uk/project/2026-that-other-place/

We’re so excited to announce Nairobi-based artist Jim Chuchu as part of this year’s That Other Place Festival through pr...
21/08/2026

We’re so excited to announce Nairobi-based artist Jim Chuchu as part of this year’s That Other Place Festival through projection.

Working across music, film, photography and visual art, Jim explores blackness, queerness and spirituality, challenging conventional narratives and imagining new possibilities for African cultural expression.

From African in the Anthropocene to his documentary Fight for Food, Jim’s work spans diverse mediums, ideas and stories.

We can’t wait to welcome Jim to That Other Place!

For more information, check out the website: https://b-side.org.uk/artist/jim-chuchu/

PORTLAND PARADE IS CALLING! 🎪Join Houseworks CIC and b-side for a FREE, fun, drop-in workshop for all ages.- Make your o...
20/08/2026

PORTLAND PARADE IS CALLING! 🎪

Join Houseworks CIC and b-side for a FREE, fun, drop-in workshop for all ages.

- Make your own Fun Fair-themed headgear to wear at the Portland Parade
- Plus, you can collect a Culture Quest stamp at this event!

Friday 21 August
1–3pm
At Islanders on Portland

Portland Parade is on Sunday 13 September at 6pm, so let’s get an early start on making sure everyone looks AMAZING!

For more info, check out our website: https://b-side.org.uk/events/make-an-arty-light-up-hat/

FREE ARTY WORKSHOP Tomorrow Fri 21st Aug at Islanders on Portland
20/08/2026

FREE ARTY WORKSHOP Tomorrow Fri 21st Aug at Islanders on Portland

THIS WEEKEND! Book now! Join Dawn & Peter from Light Space Colour for a playful shadow puppet workshop inspired by the m...
18/08/2026

THIS WEEKEND! Book now!

Join Dawn & Peter from Light Space Colour for a playful shadow puppet workshop inspired by the myths, memories and magic of Portland Fair! 🎪👻

Your creations will help shape And So Our Shadows Dance - a festival artwork bringing ghostly fairground shadows to Portland’s buildings.

Sunday 23 August | 1–3pm
£5 | Children FREE with an accompanying adult
All ages & abilities welcome
Portland

No experience needed - just your imagination! Plus you can get your culture quest stamp with this workshop!

Booking recommended. Book here : https://b-side.org.uk/events/and-so-our-shadows-dance-shadow-workshop/

SANDY’S SELECTION – things to see at b-sideWith so much happening across Portland during b-side Festival 2026, where do ...
17/08/2026

SANDY’S SELECTION – things to see at b-side

With so much happening across Portland during b-side Festival 2026, where do you start?

Sandy from the b-side team has picked a few of the artworks she’s particularly excited to see this year – from established artists to fresh new talent, playful installations to works that transform the way you see Portland.

Five very different reasons to get out, explore the island and experience some brilliant contemporary art.

And of course there are films, performances, walks, talks and workshops too

📅 10–13 September 2026
📍 Isle of Portland, Dorset

Explore the full programme and start planning what YOU want to see:
https://b-side.org.uk/project/2026-that-other-place/

Address

Outpost, 77 Fortuneswell
Portland
DT51LY

Telephone

+441305568044

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when b-side posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organisation

Send a message to b-side:

Shortcuts

Share

Category