I have written a lot about science and engineering in my monthly articles, so I think it is now the turn of the arts.

At our November meeting, the town council was asked by the Sidmouth School of Art for temporary permission to place a series of gabion baskets in the sensory garden at the northern end of the Ham, as a platform for art.

This proposal was supported by Sidmouth in Bloom, who maintains the garden.

The council was also pleased to support the latest project by the Sidmouth School of Art, which has done so much over recent years to introduce public art to Sidmouth through participatory community activities.

Most of you will have noticed the wall space next to the Ham car park that has had a whole series of fantastic images over the past few years; some funny, some challenging, but always good to look at.

Over the summer, you may have seen a series of flags hanging over High Street and Fore Street that represented the many voluntary organisations that contribute to the cultural, religious, scientific, educational, environmental and emotional life of Sidmouth.

These projects are part of the greater Sidmouth Makes Art project, which is funded by the Arts Council along with other local funders, and is curated by the Sidmouth School of Art.

They have a lot more projects, but the other two I want to highlight are the repurposed telephone boxes next to the Market Place building in the centre of town and the Riverside Walkway.

The telephone boxes have been labelled as the Museum of Antiquities and the Museum of Contemporary Art and have a series of rotating exhibitions.

At the moment, the boxes feature Annie Leigh Browne and the Votes for Women campaigns at the beginning of the 20th century.

It is a very imaginative way to make use of these redundant payphone boxes.

The Riverside Walkway, beside the Sid on the Ham, has a series of posters and spaces that try to reconnect us to nature.

One such is shown in the photograph.

There is also a series of brass rubbing plates of animals that anyone can use to create an image.

Sidmouth Town Council part-funded both of these projects.

Sidmouth School of Art is doing a huge amount to enhance the cultural life of our town, but there are many others too that help promote Sidmouth as a town with art at its centre.

The South West Academy of Fine and Applied Arts (SWAc) is the premier art organisation in the South West of England for outstanding practitioners, and it has chosen Sidmouth as its home.

It is a registered charity that is dedicated to advancing the creation and appreciation of art.

It puts on exhibitions and events regularly, and its annual exhibition has just finished in Kennaway House.

Academicians are elected to be members, and achieving academician status is a significant achievement.

The academy also works with Sidmouth College and other schools to help develop young artistic talent.

There is also a more local group, the Sidmouth Society of Artists, open to anyone, that puts on demonstrations and encourages all those who want to paint to do so.

They too organise an annual exhibition at Kennaway House in the summer.

For those who appreciate art, but perhaps have talents that don’t involve using a paintbrush, we have the Art Society of Sidmouth.

This is one of many affiliated organisations that form the Arts Society, with 90,000 members across the country.

They put on monthly illustrated lectures on a wide range of topics.

All these activities are also important to Sidmouth as a tourist destination, and they align with the EDDC culture strategy.

So, for a small town on the coast of Devon, Sidmouth does very well in terms of artistic endeavour, achievement and appreciation.

There is real talent here, and I would encourage everyone to get involved.