For a six-week period in 2015, Banksy’s ‘art show’ Dismaland colonised the Tropicana site and became nothing less than an international sensation with a sell-out 4,500 paying customers a day. Bringing an estimated £20 million to the local economy and putting Weston-Super-Mare and Tropicana back on the map.
HemingwayDesign recognised the immediate opportunity to harness the energy of summer 2015, create a new meaning for the site and look at what the Dismaland legacy could be in the short and long term.
We created a vision for Tropicana as a multi-use arts and creative space. And after decades of being closed, this iconic building on Weston-super-Mare’s sandy beach started to host a year round series of events.
HemingwayDesign’s vision for Tropicana paved the way for Somerset Council being successful in its (January 2025) bid for £2.7m from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), delivered by Arts Council England, within the highly competitive Cultural Development Fund fourth round.
The funding is being used to: improve and fit out interior spaces for culture and entertainment, increasing accessibility, and enabling greater flexibility of use through the ability to hold events and activities of a greater range of sizes; install equipment such as for lighting and sound to accelerate a future venue operator’s delivery; and deliver a cultural programme.
