In April 2013, Tempo Arts was awarded funding from Community First through the Community Development Fund. This has allowed for an extension of the community engagement programme working specifically with local residents and groups in Central St Leonards.

The first project has been realised with St Leonards artist Beccy McCray who has led community workshops at St Leonards Women’s Institute and Healy House, a centre for the visually impaired. Both workshops focused on Beccy’s research of the memories and traditions associated with cake. Participants discussed how cake made them feel & the range of emotions attached to cake – good, bad &/or ambivalent. They were also encouraged to share memories of the most excessive cake they could remember. With the visually impaired participants, the artist made drawings of cakes as described by them as they shared their thoughts with the group.

These experiences helped inform the artist’s temporary installation of an enormous, garishly decorated five tiered ‘cake’ titled RESIST which has been installed in The SPACE, St Johns Road, St Leonards from 10 May until 8 June 2013. It has received many positive comments from local residents and passers-by who are pleased to see an artist’s work enhancing their neighbourhood.