Group Prompt: In 2030, flourishing artistic, creative and cultural activity makes this place feel alive – full of joy, self-expression, togetherness, spectacle and wonder. This place understands the importance of telling stories and finding ways to communicate its unique – and collective – experiences. People value the small and personal moments but also relish the thrill, and appreciate the importance, of gathering to be a part of something big – of mass storytelling through large-scale arts events. This place makes good use of arts and culture to show how its ambition sits alongside its drive for social change. The critical mass of cultural activity has made this area an attractive place to live, study and work.
Group facilitator: Ashley Jordan
We discussed the desire for grand-scale endeavors and how they foster aspirations, creativity, audience engagement, reputation, and community like no other. However, reaching this pinnacle required starting from the grassroots, advocating for widespread participation across the city, reaching diverse populations in Coventry and Warwickshire.
Our primary focus was on enabling artists to fully embrace their artistic essence, allowing innovative thinkers to unleash their creativity and dream big. The emphasis was on initiating widespread engagement, ensuring that artistic expression could flourish in every corner of Coventry. The goal was to empower individuals to hold the license to craft, engage in blue-sky thinking, and cultivate their artistic endeavors.
While acknowledging the significance of ambition, spectacle, and mass experience, we recognised that championing the arts as a viable career path was a universal starting point. It served as the foundational seed that would eventually sprout into large-scale, epic, and bold artistic endeavours.
Big Ideas:
- Large scale events are important – but spread out events are equally important – think about the scale of ambition.
- Artists being valued, being allowed to be artists, to release the fear of making ends meet, and feed into the cultural ecology.
Quick wins:
- Make sure artistic voices are valued.
- Showing the power of our city, proving the approach works, Coventry artistic product is of highest value.
Transcript of post-its: from base of building (easy) to roof (harder/longer-term)
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- Freelance sector supports and understand development
How do we make this part of everything we do? - #MadeinCov
- Pay an artist to be artists
- Joining up all organisations (Cov uni, Cov council, warwick uni, Belgrade, Warwick Arts Centre). Universal pay scheme.
- Removal of the fear of living so they be artists?
- Allowing creative minds to feed and fuel culture and support economy
- Public spaces for the public!
- Cov first approach (arts industry needs above commercial needs)
- Culture is Cov’s ‘attack games’ (quote from Manchester City Council when forging cultural reputation)
- Organisational collaboration that services Coventry
- Creating a clear pathway for local artists. Clear infrastructure.
- Telling stories local, national, international
- Artists become embedded in town planning and public placemaking decisions.
- Buy in from businesses to understand it’s power of events and mass moments
- Improvements in cultural spaces to see this happen.
- Enable a space for all voices to be valued and heard
- Identify and address decision making boards for cultural voice embedded in city.
- Universal pay scheme
- Large scale work suitable but not exclusive
- Macro Economic level
- Develop a vibrant and valued cultural economy
- Change in cultural ecology
- Create an educational structure, either within organisations or colleges that builds on infrastructure of Cov artists
- Power of stories -#madeinmidlands
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- How do we make this part of everything we do?
- Mass Collective event?
The Culture Works Collective 