This blog is a response to the consultation documents
for the Birmingham Cultural Strategy 2015-2019. While the consultation ends on
the 30th October I thought I’d share my response with you.
Time line for consultation. The online consultation
will close on 30 October 2015. It is proposed that the revised
strategy is scheduled to be endorsed at Cabinet on 17 Nov 2015 prior to being
presented at the City Council Meeting on 1st December. The
documents are available though https://www.birminghambeheard.org.uk/economy/birmingham-cultural-strategy-2015-2019/consult_view
The Cultural Strategy vision statement: is
Birmingham is a non-stop city of culture – a capital of
imagination, innovation and enterprise.
My Response
Q. Have we got the
overall strategy and theme vision right? Have we missed anything?
On your Doorstep I
believe so much has been achieved by the District Arts Fora over the past few
years that they should become a focus of cultural develop at a community level
over the next 4/5 years. You continue to use the term We as a generic term for
City, i.e. Council, leadership within this field and continue to talk about
residents making a “positive contribution to the local arts fora”. Nowhere does
it talk about residents taking leadership roles. “Planned progression, improved
signposting and better use of social media”. The implication of these comments
is that the City Council will lead, it is a top down approach to community arts
engagement that does not acknowledge the skills talent or vision of local community
participants or ‘assets’
Creative Futures / A Creative City Who
is the We in this element? Assuming it is the City how is it going to achieve
some of the outcomes when it has no control over the process. There is no
clarity of partnership or process development.
Culture Capital Are
you seriously telling everyone that the Jewellery Quarter is the only ‘
significant heritage site’ in Birmingham. The proposal continues to ignore
significant cultural venues and events throughout the City, Vaisakhi, St Patrick’s
Festival, Flat Pack, etc. which engage communities and attract visitors.
Is the Strategy right
No,
There are huge gaps in your thinking, it is top down ignoring the asset in
communities and the experience and potential for development of the major arts
organisations in the City. Where is the link to Birmingham Arts Partnership, creative
arts education and youth and community provision? You confuse arts development,
audience participation and community development; three distinct elements that
require separate thought and development. Somewhere there is a bit of audience
development. the actions are not clear and the outcomes vague.
There
is no discussion about partnership development with providers of services that
can deliver some of the outcomes and no recognition of the role of community. The
term co-production is used once but then ignored, preference being given to We
[The City] as a lead in actions
Q. Are there any
other actions / proposals that should be considered to deliver this themes
outcomes?
There
needs to be distinct clarification between the various cultural activities
within the City and where this strategy supports each process.
The
City’s diminishing budget will come to equal diminishing influence within the
arts and cultural offer. As a body it, the City, needs to acknowledge this and
plan accordingly.
The
outcomes are too vague and often not within the City's realm of delivery. The
term culture needs to encompass all 'cultural' activities and the City needs to
stop distinguishing / demarcating between culture and 'events'
The
platitudes about engagement and participation need to be removed and replaced
with clear objectives for participation in defined arts activities (audience
growth) and community activity and local forum.
The
City needs to be specific in how it develops or facilitates partnerships. It
needs to acknowledge that there may be greater experience and skills in other
organisations and partners. It also needs to acknowledge that future council
activity will be more akin to the initiation and facilitation of specific
partnership and not everything being led by the Council.
Partnership
and development should be (and probably already is) undertaken by specific arts
or community organisations who are capable of developing and delivering
activities, outputs and outcomes
Q. What partnerships
/ networks are needed to help deliver the actions?
Throughout
the documentation you refer to We [The City] as initiating actions to develop
outcomes.
The
development or facilitation of partnerships is not within any of your action
points. There are current arts partnerships and developments, that are not
mentioned within this strategy.
There
is already a network of community arts fora [Arts Fora are mentioned but only
in the context that more local people should be engaged].
The
strategy MUST acknowledge, and provide
equal prominence to, the local arts forums,
Birmingham Arts Partnership etc. and not focus on how the City will
deliver actions and outcomes.
How
will you bring together current fora and partnerships to deliver an action,
outcome and output orientated strategy acknowledging the skills and experiences
of the partners.
You
mention encouraging collaboration “ as a means to optimise the business model
through driving out unnecessary cost and opening up opportunities for artists,
audiences and income generation.”
Collaboration
is not partnership and is this definition of collaboration to be forced upon
organisations for budgetary purposes and not artistic or cultural development?
Q. How do we know what success looks like (key measures /
indicators)?
Within
the current, proposed, strategy it will be easy.
You
count the numbers visits, people engaged in arts fora, seats sold, participants
in local events, people with qualifications or employed in arts, etc. There is
no ambition in this strategy to go beyond simple bean counting.
Real
indicators would begin to explore shared ticketing and marketing of the City’s
major arts providers, possibly linked to hotel booking or other major events in
the City, Vaisakhi, St Patrick’s Festival, other street and cultural events.
Acknowledging
the major street and ethnic festivals within the cultural offer, and not
categorising them as ‘events’ would also be progress.
Distinguishing
between community arts and community development using arts is crucial as is
acknowledging that using arts to deal with ‘issues’ is also a separate issue to
arts engagement and the aesthetic development of people. Developing, with
partners, criteria and potential funding avenues for these distinct areas would
be a major step forward.
Acknowledging
local experience and skills in developing arts activity and community
engagement and not believing that all the expertise lies within the council measurement
and indicator of success.
Details for the City Documents
/ Cultural Strategy 2019: Key Themes:
The Strategy’s vision will be realised through a
series of actions relating to each of the following themes:
- Culture on Your Doorstep - locally relevant,
and locally driven, cultural activities which develop increased engagement
and participation, particularly from those less inclined to participate
- A Creative Future – activities for children
and young people 0-25, within the “Creative Future” framework for
progression as creators, participants, audiences and leaders
- A Creative City – actions to support the
growth of creative SMES and micro-businesses through business support,
skills and talent development and access to finance
- Our Cultural Capital – activities which cement
Birmingham’s role as a centre of imagination, innovation and enterprise,
with local roots and international reach
- Our Cultural Future – actions which support
the development of new business models capable of sustaining and growing
the sector into the future
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