In summer 2025, five day-long sessions took place on Saturdays from 26 July to 23 August, each bringing together a different mix of artists and activities and designed to encourage open-ended exploration and play. Many favourite activities from previous years returned. Participants could print on a tiny intaglio press, try their hand at granite carving or serpentine polishing, create folk masks, shape sound-inspired plasticine sculptures, and use tools to build with wood and clay. Alongside these tried-and-tested activities, several new ones were added to the programme: children shaped creatures to add to a giant aquarium designed by artist Nicola Bealing, made prints from seaweed, and experimented with simple mechanical systems to move water uphill, supervised by Roy Jones of the Bodmin-based science centre, Discovering 42. Before the summer holidays began, CAST’s learning team also delivered two weeks of outdoor workshops for local primary schools, offering a range of nature-based activities at locations along the route from Helston to National Trust Penrose.
In addition to the CAST-Off sessions, we ran Lightbox – three days of activities exploring photography, projection and animation in the CAST building and at the Museum of Cornish Life in Helston. To accompany the Lightbox activities, artist Jonathan Polkest installed his ‘Tedna Ve/Draw Me’ booth on CAST Café’s terrace. The device makes it possible to draw a convincing portrait likeness using camera obscura technology that pre-dates the invention of photography. This installation proved popular with family workshop participants and café visitors of all ages, and meant that there was free, creative activity on offer in the CAST building every day.
2,395 participants attended CAST-Off 2025, plus a further 375 through CAST-Off for Schools, bringing the total number of participants to over 2,700 – now over twice what it was when the programme began in 2020. A further 857 people took part in the Lightbox programme.
CAST-Off 2025 was part-funded by Little Parc Owles Trust and FEAST.
We should like to thank the Garcia Family Foundation, which enabled us to initiate the CAST-Off programme during the pandemic and has made it possible for us to continue the programme since that time.
