Barnstaple
for
Town
Of
Culture
2028
#BigUpBarny is a celebration of Barnstaple — its people, their culture, and their future.
Born from a shared belief that culture belongs to everyone, #BigUpBarny brings together artists, makers, performers, organisations, and everyone to recognise and champion everything that makes our town special. From grassroots creativity to major
cultural moments, this is about lifting each other up, telling our stories, and building pride
in the place we call home.
Together, we’re creating momentum — supporting Barnstaple’s journey as a vibrant,
confident town of culture.
This is your invitation to be part of it.
UK Town of Culture explained
UK Town of Culture is a brand new DCMS competition. For the first time, DCMS is inviting towns across the UK to enter the competition to showcase original storytelling, and empowering, accessible culture. The competition is targeted at all towns, whether small, medium or large. Please refer to the ‘Who can bid?’ section of this guidance, any town that can fulfil these requirements will be considered. Inspired by the success of the flagship UK City of Culture, which is a proven model for cultural placemaking, this competition aims to spotlight the cultural contribution of towns to our national story. In order to ensure we are able to showcase towns of different sizes, we will be introducing small, medium and large-size category winners and from these three designations, an overall UK Town of Culture winner will be selected.
The winning town will be awarded £3 million to deliver a cultural programme in 2028 of around six months. Additionally, the two finalists from their category will receive £250,000 each to deliver elements of their bid.
It is a UK-wide programme, developed in collaboration with the devolved governments in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
#BigUpBarny
Be the change you want to see
