About The Arts Society Fylde

Delivering arts education to the Fylde Coast community through lectures, study days and visits, plus community and heritage projects

 

What We Do

The Fylde Coast area comprises the coastal towns of Fleetwood, Cleveleys, Blackpool, St Annes and Lytham, and inland towns such as Thornton, Carleton, Poulton-le-Fylde, Kirkham and Wesham.

These are some of the things we do to promote the arts at local level:

  • Ensure that we are part of the fabric of the Fylde Coast community and a positive force for the wider benefit of arts at local level. We do this by networking, supporting the local voluntary and community sector, and involving ourselves in worthwhile community actiivities related to our aims and ethos
  • Organise a programme of nine lectures a year delivered by national and international experts in their field
  • Provide Study Days (previously known as Special Interest Days), where members have the opportunity to learn in more depth about specific aspects of fine and decorative arts
  • Arrange arts-related visits and tours to places of interest. As well as day trips, we also offer annual UK and European cultural tours with overnight stays
  • Offer volunteering activities, such as Church Recording, Heritage Volunteering, Young Arts and other community-based projects, as well as opportunities to become involved in the running and administration of the society
  • Organise social events, and facilitate a warm and friendly environment for all our members
  • Network with other Arts Associations and keep members up-to-date about local arts events and exhibitions
  • Provide opportunities to showcase the artistic work of our members, via our website, newsletter, etc.

We are entirely run by volunteers. Members are encouraged to volunteer – activities range from helping on reception and selling events at our lectures, to helping to organise trips, to joining one of our Teams, or maybe becoming a Committee member. There are lots of roles to choose from.

 

Our Good Causes

We maintain a Good Causes account in order to provide finance towards Community, Heritage and Young Arts projects. We are able to support these projects from monies mainly raised from raffles held at our lectures and other events.

Please take a look at the Community, Heritage and Young Arts pages for further information on our projects.

 

 

Our History

We were previously known as Fylde Decorative and Fine Arts Society and held our inaugural meeting in October 2009. We offer an exciting programme of events. For information on how to become a member please click here.

We were originally a Member Society of NADFAS – The National Association of Decorative & Fine Arts Societies, an arts-based educational charity founded in 1968. In 2017 NADFAS felt that it needed to evolve to keep up with changing times in order to reach out to more people in more places. Henceforth on 17 May at the NADFAS AGM, The Arts Society replaced NADFAS as its operating name. The AGM marked the official launch of the new name and brand.

In line with the national rebranding and following a short Extraordinary General Meeting held before our May 2017 lecture, it was overwhelmingly agreed that Fylde DFAS would change its name to The Arts Society Fylde and adopt the new branding.

All individual societies subscribe to the aims and objects of the The Arts Society: the advancement of arts education and appreciation, and the preservation of our artistic heritage.

 

What Are ‘The Arts’

Have a look at our lecture programme! It is not just about painting. We are interested in sculpture, architecture, jewellery, ceramics, glass, poster art, theatre, mosaics, – just about anything that involves good design. We are not practitioners – at least most of us aren’t – we do have some artists among us – and you can see some of their works in our Members’ Gallery. We are mostly about learning, appreciating and understanding. Interested? Go to our membership page here.

Our programme of events is eclectic and diverse and we aim to ensure that it is enjoyable and entertaining as well as informative.

Lectures and Study Days have included painting; sculpture; architecture; silver making and decorating, and art forms from different historical periods from ancient to contemporary, and from a range of cultures and societies. We are an inclusive Society and have an Equality and Diversity Policy (see below) to ensure that we are welcoming and accessible to all. We have a written Constitution (see below) and are governed by an elected Committee, who meet regularly. They are accountable to members and make themselves available at lectures and other occasions. A number of Team Leaders manage teams of volunteers in areas such as Heritage, Church Trails, Young Arts, Events, Communications, and Programme Planning. The telephone numbers and email addresses of all Committee members and Team Leaders are published on our member’s programme/membership cards, making them easily accessible.

We hold an Annual General Meeting, when Officers and Committee Members are elected. Our latest AGM was held on 6 November 2024. Our Annual Reports are available to view below.

We aim to be as transparent as possible in the running of the Society. If you would like a copy of any minutes of committee meetings please email us and we will be happy to supply them. Our policies are listed below.

Policies

Our policy documents are listed below.Clicking on any of them will load a PDF file for you to view and/or download:

Pilot study – Organisational Restructuring
Pilot study – Organisational Restructuring Diagram

 Annual Reports

Annual Report 2023 – 2024
Annual Report 2022 – 2023
 Annual Report 2021 – 2022
Annual Report 2020 – 2021
Annual Report 2019 – 2020
Annual Report 2018 – 2019
Annual Report 2017 – 2018
Annual Report 2016 – 2017
Annual Report 2015 – 2016
Annual Report 2014 – 2015
Annual Report 2013 – 2014
Annual Report 2012 – 2013
Annual Report 2011 – 2012
Annual Report 2009 – 2010

 

Funding

We are a not-for-profit organisation. The Society is partly funded by member subscription but initial development of The Arts Society Fylde was significantly aided by grants and donations received from a number of sources.

  • Funding from the Fylde Community Projects Fund (Local Strategic Partnership) supported the purchase of a range of equipment (particularly data projection related equipment) and contributed to printing costs.
  • Funding from the Help Direct Small Sparks Fund contributed to the costs of display boards.
  • Eleven Decorative and Fine Arts Societies from across the North West generously provided varying amounts which contributed to start up marketing and publicity costs.
  • Funding from the Fylde Civic Awareness Group contributed to venue costs relating to the Inaugural Meeting in October 2009.
  • Funding from St Annes Town Council has contributed to our Mr Lowry in Lytham Young Arts Project
  • Funding from the Local Strategic Partnership Community Fund has also contributed to our Mr Lowry in Lytham Young Arts Project
  • Funding from the Arts Council for the It’s A Birdie project
  • Funding from Fylde Strategic Partnership for the It’s A Birdie project
  • Funding from NADFAS for the It’s A Birdie project
  • Funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund for the Tagging The Treasures project

The Arts Society Fylde gratefully acknowledges the significant contribution this funding has made to the establishment and development of the Society and also its ability to get involved in projects that support the Arts.

Networking

We have links with many local community groups, organisations, heritage groups, schools, colleges, churches, health organisations and more, many of whom have been involved in our community-based arts projects. Please see our Young Arts, Community Projects and Heritage Projects pages for further information.

We use social media, such as Twitter and Facebook to interact with local, national and international individuals, art galleries, community groups, etc.

 Our website

Our website aims to keep you up to date with all of our latest news, lectures, events, tours, Study Days, etc. You may download booking forms for all of our events. Additionally, our Exhibitions section provides listings of exhibitions at more than 30 major public galleries in the North West region.

Please note that use of the website is at the risk of the user and our Society takes no responsibility for direct, indirect or consequential loss from use of this site or any hyperlinked sites. The Society is committed to preserving the privacy of all visitors to its website.