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Anvil Arts
Anvil Arts is the largest performing arts organisation in Hampshire. We are an independent charitable trust that operates three fantastic cultural venues in Basingstoke.
The Anvil, our 1,400-seat venue, is renowned as one of the top 5 concert halls in the country. Within the same building is The Forge – an intimate 100-seat studio theatre. In the heart of the town centre is our 400-seat theatre, The Haymarket, set within a Grade II listed building.
Anvil Arts creates a year-round programme encompassing the best in music, performance, cultural education, arts participation, and outreach work.
Kala The Arts
Kala The Arts is a leading dance organisation that specialises in the Odissi South Asian dance form. Based in Hampshire and operating since 1999, the organisation was founded by Sushmita Pati, an international Odissi artist, choreographer and Artistic Director of Kala The Arts.
The company creates new professional pieces of work for touring to arts venues, outdoor spaces and festivals. The organisation is also an established Arts in Education charity and we work with professional artists to provide a powerhouse of knowledge and expertise that we are keen to share widely in our educational workshops, residencies and classes. We run an active community programme in Hampshire and beyond. Kala The Arts is working together with local partners to create a programme of work that promotes diversity, integration and encourages community cohesion.
Milestones Museum
Hampshire’s living history museum in Basingstoke, brings the past to life. The museum is home to over 20,000 objects that were either made or used in Hampshire, and is a record of the county’s social, industrial and transport history.
Enthusiasts will enjoy the collection of beautifully restored vintage vehicles, while if you prefer shopping you’ll be able to discover what shops used to be like before chain stores took over. You’ll probably recognise some of the things that were sold, while others might leave you scratching your head about what they were actually for.
Buy an old penny and a ration coupon at reception and spend it in the 1940s sweet shop, or pop into Milestones’ very own working pub, the Baverstock Arms which opens at lunchtimes to serve teas, coffees, soft drinks and Gales ales.
The museum is suitable for all ages, with plenty to keep the whole family occupied.
Proteus Theatre Company
Proteus is an award-winning Theatre Company who believe that the audience is as important as the artist, and that to create truly dynamic and relevant theatre the audience and artist must inspire each other’s imagination.
Quality, integrity and innovation are the values at the heart of our work and the criteria by which we judge our success.
Formed in 1981 and based in Basingstoke, Hampshire, we have a long history of creating quality work, producing a programme of events that serves audiences locally, nationally and, since 2009, internationally.
Willis Museum
Since 1984, the Willis Museum has been housed in this impressive early Victorian building that was once Basingstoke’s Town Hall.
It is named after George Willis, a local clockmaker, antiquarian and former Mayor of Basingstoke, who became the first honorary curator when the original museum was established in the Mechanics Institute in New Street in 1931.
The building you see today replaced the original Mote Hall (meeting place) where Jane Austen attended dances. This replacement Town Hall was designed by Lewis Wyatt and was open on the ground floor, serving as the town’s Corn Exchange and Market.
Centrally located at the Top of the Town, in the Willis Museum you will discover Basingstoke and Deane’s past, from the rich archaeological heritage beneath our feet right up to the modern day. Throughout the year, we also run a programme of touring exhibitions, as well as fun events, workshops and activities for all the family to enjoy.