Beaford Arts facts for kids

Beaford Arts is a special group in Devon, England, that helps bring art to people. It started way back in 1966 as The Beaford Centre. A person named John Lane created it to help people in the countryside of North Devon enjoy art. This area is quite large, about 799 square miles, and is surrounded by beautiful places like Dartmoor, Exmoor, and the Atlantic coast.

Beaford Arts is actually the oldest group of its kind in England that focuses on art in the countryside. Their main office is in a place called Greenwarren House in the village of Beaford, which is in North Devon. They have worked on many exciting art projects over the years.

What is the Beaford Archive?

One of the most important projects Beaford Arts has been involved with is creating the Beaford Archive. This amazing collection was put together by a photographer named James Ravilious.

James Ravilious's Photography

James Ravilious spent seventeen years taking about 80,000 black-and-white photos! These pictures show what life was like, how people lived, the culture, the geography, and the economy of this part of England. It's like a unique visual story of the area.

Old Photos of North Devon

The Beaford Archive also has about 10,000 older pictures of North Devon. Most of these were taken between 1880 and 1920. James Ravilious collected these old photos from the people he met and photographed during his work. Today, this entire collection is kept safe at the North Devon Record Office.

What Does Beaford Arts Do Today?

Beaford Arts continues to be very active in supporting art in rural areas. Here are some of the main things they do right now:

• They help take care of and add to the Beaford Archive.
• They support new art projects that are created in the countryside.
• They arrange for performances, like plays or music, to happen in small towns and villages. This is important because North Devon doesn't have many people living close together, so it can be harder to see live shows.
• They run a special arts centre in Beaford. This centre is a place where children and young people from all over Devon can come and stay to learn about and create art.

Beaford Arts and The Plough Arts Centre

For ten years, starting in 1992, Beaford Arts (then called The Beaford Centre) also managed The Plough Arts Centre in a town called Torrington. However, since 2002, The Plough Arts Centre has been a separate organisation, working on its own.