What’s On Culture
Community reporters
Meet our Community Reporters—local and diverse voices sharing unique perspectives on Plymouth’s vibrant culture. We value fresh ideas and pay for selected contributions.
Whether you’re an aspiring writer, photographer, videographer or content creator, we invite you to get involved. Meet our regular reporters and reach out to become part of our creative team!
Linda Bell
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Drawn to Plymouth’s history and connection with Nature, Linda Bell has been based in Plymouth since 2019 and is so glad to have made a home here.
Linda graduated with a First Class Honours BA from Aberystwyth University in 2014 and since then has pursued her interest in contemporary art. Her work for various galleries, art foundations and as a studio assistant for several artists has previously enabled her to live in St Ives, Cornwall, London, Berlin and Aix-en-Provence.
Moving around so much sparked Linda’s passion for travel, which has seen her take numerous trips across the mountains and islands of Europe; the trains and palaces of India, Sri Lanka and China and to adventure extensively throughout the USA in search of cultural inspiration and fresh perspectives.
As a Community Reporter for Made In Plymouth, Linda seeks to highlight the City’s cultural and creative offering. From interviewing artists to bringing the stories of public-facing artworks to life, Linda strives to celebrate the importance of the City’s creative energy through writing articles and producing short film clips to appeal to a wide audience. She hopes to develop an informed and flowing dialogue whereby the contemporary and the present can be cross related to the history, identity, hidden stories and sense of place of Britain’s Ocean City.
When she’s taking a break from assisting artists in their studios or researching the visual culture of ancient civilisations, Linda loves to visit Plymouth’s nearby stately homes. She makes the most of Plymouth’s inspirational surroundings by wild swimming on Dartmoor, enjoying the views of Whitsand Bay and occasionally taking her vintage Moser bicycle out for a spin! Linda attends dance classes near the Barbican as often as she can and is also an enthusiastic music lover!
Instagram : lindabell_linda
X : @Lindabell2linda
Matt Flemming
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Matt lives and breathes content. For more than 25 years, he has worked in the media as journalist, writer, editor, publisher, editorial director and content strategist.
He was brought up in Plymouth and is formerly The Herald's Business Editor, Education Editor and Senior Reporter, writing much of the newspaper's arts and music content along the way too.
He pioneered the South West Battle of the Bands, the biggest such competition south of Bristol, for five years in the 2000s. Matt has also been the Editorial Director for Time Out Asia, spending a decade in Hong Kong, Singapore and other Asian locations.
He has interviewed an array of stars, from David Beckham to Jean-Claude Van Damme, and has won awards for his work in the lifestyle and arts arenas.
He loves Asian food, pasties and David Lynch movies, however his real passion is the local music scene because he believes Plymouth should be a shining light in the South West for up-and-coming talents. He loves rock and metal acts in particular. In fact, he used to be the lead guitarist for popular Plymouth band Stormseeker. But these days he's traded the axe for the pen and enjoys crafting local music and arts articles for Made in Plymouth among his other roles in media and content.
Issy Herring
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Issy Herring is a dedicated and passionate freelance journalist based in Devon, with a focus on local creative events and music. She is an avid rock and metal music enthusiast, attending Download Festival most years. Rock AM Ring and When We Were Young Festival are on her bucket list! She is a BA (Hons) Fashion: Design and Construction graduate from Coleg Sir Gar in Carmarthen, South Wales.
Issy’s professional writing experience spans more than 10 years. She has a diverse writing portfolio with her work being featured in various online publications over the years including Cymru Culture, SelectSpecs, Distorted Sound, Stereoboard and Made in Plymouth, covering topics from fashion trends and artist interviews to music reviews and local creative events. Her article on Alexander McQueen’s exhibition for Cymru Culture was displayed in the Victoria & Albert Muesum in London. She is also a keen singer and guitar player and regularly travels to see live music around the country whenever she can. In her free time, she loves to go walking in the countryside and be surrounded by nature. She also loves to travel, previously visiting places such as New York, Iceland, Ibiza and Berlin. She would love to visit Australia and Los Angeles in the future!
Pete Clayton
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Pete Clayton is a multidisciplinary creative based in the heart of Plymouth specialising in illustration, animation and graphic design. Over his 20+ year career, which began at the Arts University in Plymouth, he has worked with the likes of Disney / Pixar, The NHS, The UNHRC, Plymouth Citybus, Nudge Community Builders, Plymouth Charity Trust and many, many more. As a creative he aims to share the love of what he does, tell stories with illustrative charm, raise smiles and generally give brands and businesses alike a creative lift.
Similarly, within his articles, Pete writes about the highs and lows of the creative industry and is on a mission to dispense inspirational advice and knowledge. His main aim here is to be the senior creative he needed when he was starting out to creatives of all disciplines, new and experienced.
When Pete is not working on commissions or writing you'll find him, pretending he's a musician from his bedroom, buying books and not reading them, avoiding sea swims, drink coffee, exploring the colourful local live music scene, visiting the latest exhibitions at the The Box, chowing down on toasties and coffee at Minerva Cafe and going to various beauty spots and events in and around Plymouth with his family.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peteclayton/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pete-clayton-creative/
Photo credit: https://www.tomcardermedia.com/