The Fossil Finders in us ALL community arts project invited new ‘finder families’ on to the beach to look for shells and fossils. The project ran through Autumn 2023.
ExploreTheArch’s diverse early career team broadened the beach combing community encouraging more people to enjoy Hastings’ free natural resource: the shore. This project was kindly supported by the Ashley Family Foundation.
The project coincided with the arrival in Hastings of a miniature version of Lyme Regis' Mary Anning sculpture by Denise Dutton, commissioned by Mary Anning Rocks. The tour of this work around the UK continues to be facilitated by the Geologists’ Association. Its arrival in Hastings was coordinated by project partner, Phil Hadland, a curator at Hastings Museum and Art Gallery.
ExploreTheArch’s early career team explored the story of Mary Anning overcoming barriers as a young working class woman to be recognised for her expertise in geology and palaeontology. The team responded to Anning's passion for the shore with an interactive visual and audio exhibition in the Walkway Gallery at Hastings Museum and Art Gallery.
Hastings always has been a significant location for finds. Gideon Mantell found fossils nearby in the early C19 and fossil finders have done so since. The A Town Explores A Book 2025 festival will mark Gideon Mantell’s naming of the Iguanodon species in 1825.
