Portland’s b-side festival is looking for help to buy its premises and secure its future, while fending off an attempt to force its bed and breakfast to change its name.
b-side, the organisation that runs the isle’s international arts festival, has secured grants and loans towards the £800,000 it needs to buy its premises, and needs to raise £50,000 of that from public donations.
Part of b-side is bnb-side, its onsite B&B that opened in 2024 as a place for artists and creative projects to stay and work on Portland. Artists come to develop work, guests have somewhere to stay, and community groups have a space. b-side also uses it to support young people, helping them develop skills and explore careers in the arts.
However a threat has loomed over the building, as global giant Airbnb is trying to claim the rights to the three letters BNB.
Some £200,000 is coming from grants and gifts, and the rest through a charity bank loan. Buying bnb-side, including legal costs, is expected to cost around £800,000 in total. The £50,000 raised through this public campaign will go towards the £250,000 deposit.
A spokesperson said: “Owning its own building gives b-side a permanent base on Portland for good. It puts b-side’s future in its own hands rather than a landlord’s, keeps the space available to artists and communities long after this campaign ends, and lets b-side keep investing to create more opportunities on the island.”
The campaign follows national coverage of Airbnb’s opposition to b-side’s application to trademark the name bnb-side.
The spokesperson added: “That case is with the UK Intellectual Property Office and no decision has been made but the feeling that a goliath of a tech company may affect this local arts organisation is felt throughout.”
“For more than 15 years, b-side has brought artists and communities together to make ambitious contemporary art on Portland,” said Rocca Holly-Nambi, director of b-side.
“In 2025, 32 artists and 51 volunteers worked with us to bring 3,715 visitors to the High Angle Battery on Portland, and our Towns of Culture programme reached more than 21,000 people – both are not only impactful in terms of art and culture on the island, but directly contribute to the local economy too. bnb-side supports all of this.
“Artists stay here to make new work, community groups meet here, and young people build skills and explore careers in the arts. Owning it means we can keep doing this work on Portland, for the people who live here.”
You can donate to the campaign here.
If the purchase cannot go ahead, funds raised will stay with b-side to use in future projects.
b-side’s annual festival fills Portland’s streets and public spaces with free contemporary art each September.
This year’s edition, That Other Place, ran across Underhill from September 9 to 13, with 11 commissioned artists conjuring the ghost of Portland Fair, which filled Chiswell every November 5 for more than 200 years until it ended in 2001.
Work ranged from binaural soundscapes of the ghost train to a working model of a Scotch derrick crane turned fairground grabber.
b-side’s reach goes beyond the festival. It is one of three partners behind Future Portland, the community benefit society set up with Island Community Action and The Portland Association, which this summer raised £55,000 to buy two acres of woodland at France Quarry in Easton.
The site is now becoming a learning and arts space, where b-side artist Liz Lake has made a pendant from broken glass found in the wood.