LAURA Cockett, the new director of Bridport Arts Centre, tells Joanna Davis about moving from metropolitan Liverpool to rural West Dorset and what her hopes are for the centre in 2015

AS the Bridport Arts Centre rounds off a year in which it has celebrated its 40th anniversary, Laura Cockett wants to build on its success.

This centre, which runs more than 300 events a year, delivers a varied programme of theatre, spoken word, film and music and hosts exhibitions.

This month alone the centre has offered a screening of the Met Opera’s The Barber of Seville, a live musical biography of George Gershwin and has attracted the star power of comedian Marcus Brigstocke, calling in on his national tour.

It has 10 members of staff, many of whom are part-time, and has more than 200 volunteers who keep the centre going.

Laura, who joined the centre from Hope Street in Liverpool – which develops artists and arts in the community – said it is ‘the people’ of Bridport who keep the centre going.

“I love Bridport. There’s a tremendous amount of support for the arts here and we are lucky to have the support of the town council, the district council and revenue funding which is so important to us.

“We have many diverse projects and there are people who want to see dance, theatre and spoken word and it’s our responsibility to make sure all these audiences are served.

“People have trust that the arts centre and other venues in the town are willing to commit themselves to the arts and are willing to take risks and try new things.

“Over the years people have built up relationships with the arts centre and other venues.”

Laura has more than 10 years’ experience in the arts and also worked as a freelance before taking up her post in Bridport and moving to Dorset.

One of the projects she is most proud of from her time in Liverpool is the Suitcases project, to mark the 75th anniversary of the 1938 Kindertransport, when the Government finally agreed to allow temporary admission for up to 10,000 unaccompanied children from Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia,who were at risk from the Nazis.

Over the following nine months 9,500 children came to the UK and were taken in by foster families, hostels and camps, before the Kindertransport ended with the outbreak of war. The majority of the children saved never saw their families again.

Suitcases saw performances in 10 train stations across the country, reflecting the stories of those who were there.

Laura said: “Ros and Jane Merkin, whose mother arrived on the Kindertransport, saw the performance and said it was representative of her experience.

“It’s a story that got a lot of coverage and has a lot of relevance in terms of our attitude to refugees and how they might be changing at the moment.”

Laura, who originally hails from Winchester, said one of her main aims for 2015 is to improve the centre’s offering for children, families and young people.

“We’re starting with a piece of work that will help us to work to this age group and work out what they want to see, it’s not just about programming, it’s about going out and working with the community.”

She is hoping that by engaging with young people, more of them will opt for careers in the arts.

“I’d like to show more young people that careers in the arts is an option. When I was in my late teens I was told it wasn’t the best option but I somehow found my way back to it.

“I’m sure my parents were afraid to have a daughter going into such a field with an uncertain financial security but I’ve made it work and there’s no reason why other people can’t.

“It is hard to think of a single day in which I have woken up and not wanted to go to work.”