JAM making a difference
to our community
Since 2014, over 2,000 people each year living on rural Romney Marsh, Kent take part in JAM’s free community projects: community singing, playing instruments and creating art and various workshops. These projects would not happen otherwise. Our free-to-attend projects embrace people of all ages and backgrounds, driving skills, ambition, well-being and community cohesion. These projects are celebrated in our annual JAM on the Marsh festival.
In 2025, JAM wants to expand its community activities, continuing weekly after-school singing for primary schools and Sunflower Singers and, after this year’s successful trial, run quarterly art projects at the Hub with public exhibitions.
Community Partnerships
JAM is passionate about community partnerships, working with over 50 partners each year to deliver its activities including Romney Marsh Community Hub, Marsh Academy Leisure Centre, Cinemarsh, churches, schools, Romney Hythe & Dymchurch Railway, Romney Marsh Historic Churches Trust and RSPB. New for 2025 includes Kent Wildlife Trust and Marsh Academy careers team.
Providing Valuable Work Experience
In collaboration with The Marsh Academy secondary school, JAM wants to offer sixth form work experience in event management, film and audio recording and marketing to broaden skills and experience, enhancing horizons, ambition and CVs.
Dementia Friendly Concerts
JAM has been asked to bring musicians into the Romney Marsh Community Hub to give light recitals, overcoming the challenges of dementia, disability and social anxiety.
After-school Singing Clubs
Responding to the lack of resource, JAM brings weekly after-school singing into Romney Marsh primary schools, enabling academic, social and cultural potential to flourish (Ofsted). Since 2022, former BBC Singer Rebecca Lodge Birkebaek has been leading the clubs, with public performances, swelling pride, achievement and happiness across our community.
Art Workshops for 50+
Romney Marsh has a higher than population average of older people and, being a rural community, higher propensity for loneliness and isolation (Source: Census/KCC). Keen to help address this through the arts, in Spring 2024, JAM began a new collaboration with the Romney Marsh Community Hub which offers services to people over 50. From April – May 2024, local artist John Ballard ran a 5-week art class at the Hub. The project started with a visit to St Clements Church, Old Romney to take photos from which to draw then paint their subject. The concentration, laugher and sense of achievement was wonderful.
Connecting Generations through Music
In the 2024 JAM on the Marsh Festival, the Hub’s Sunflower Singers joined JAM’s after-school clubs, uniting all ages of our community. Our Community Singing project performed Bob Chilcott’s lively A Sporting Chance in JAM on the Marsh 2024, accompanied by top quintet Onyx Brass.
Nurturing artists
Each year JAM runs a call for artists to bring an exhibition to JAM on the Marsh, helping to nurture careers and opportunity for unsupported artists. So far the festival has hosted stunning exhibitions of photography, ceramics, watercolour, abstract and printmaking. For each exhibition there is an artist talk for the public to learn about the inspiration and techniques involved. The exhibitions are displayed in community spaces and festival venues including the Marsh Academy Leisure Centre and Romney Hythe & Dymchurch Railway carriages, catching people in unexpected places.
In 2023, JAM successfully delivered a highly ambitious cross-community project, The Sky Engine, bringing to life a new work by composer Richard Peat about a passionate scientist trying to save the world from climate change. The Sky Engine crossed boundaries, for both players and audience, uniting all ages of the community, from 7-68 years old.
In 2024 JAM launched its Festival Orchestra uniting local amateur players and London Mozart Players. Both players and audience were ecstatic, loving the experience and opportunity that would not happen otherwise.