'Carnival of the Deep' video to be published showcasing children's puppet theatre performances

A video showing the highlights of children's workshops around marine conservation is due to be broadcast via the Hastings Museum and Art Gallery Facebook page on 12 November 2021.

Over three half-days in August, children were invited to attend workshops at Hastings Museum and Art Gallery on the theme of marine conservation. They learnt about the human made issues affecting the marine environment and made their own puppet theatre performances inspired by this and the museum's marine animal collection.

Each of the workshops was hosted by the museum team and iDOLRiCH TheatreRotto. They worked with participants to create a 'Carnival of the Deep' over the three weeks. The issue of plastic pollution was the main focus of the activity as the team wanted to raise awareness of this and Andy Dinsdale of Strandliners delivered a key part of the workshops, showing how plastic can affect marine habitats, and what we can do to address the problem.

South Coast Squared have produced a video about 'Carnival of the Deep', which will be posted on the museum's Facebook page on 12 November.
This project was funded by a National Lottery Project Grant from Arts Council England as part of their What's in the Box? project.

Cllr Paul Barnett, lead councillor for regeneration and culture at Hastings Borough Council said,
"It's so important to teach children about things like marine conservation, especially as we're a coastal town that takes pride in its local marine life. 'Carnival of The Deep' was a fun and creative way to teach children about the importance of looking after our seas, and we're excited to see the video all about the project and the final performances."