CULTURE FORUM #2 - What's bothering you now?
/Peterbrough Culture Forum online #2 – 11 May 2020
In writing up the second online Peterborough Culture Forum, see below, I have drawn on the notes from the scribe in each discussion group and the Zoom recording of the feedback discussion. I have also had feedback that taking part in the conversations has been helpful in itself.
We are clearly missing the casual contact of our peers, friends and colleagues, and are exhausted by Zoom. We have unconsciously replaced the creative space where viewpoints are juxtaposed, mulled over and left unresolved, for interactions which are driven by agendas and outcomes - which is madness when the world is changing rapidly, whilst at the same time moving incredibly slowly – Dr Who has nothing on Corona Time
As it’s impossible to capture every nuanced thought that may have passed through each participant’s mind, I have chosen instead to reflect on emerging themes, and suggest possible actions, which can then frame the next set of discussions on Monday 25 May, 4-5pm . I am not going to hold back on my own interpretations or opinions but instead see where taking a more pointed approach leads the conversation.
If this isn’t enough, or right for you, I suggest you join us next week, and maybe volunteer to write up your blog on the event – it’s only an hour and I am fully open to what the topics of conversation should be, and how they should be facilitated. (Email me via the Contact page here to get the Zoom link to take part.)
The forum split into three BreakOut Rooms to discuss;
- What could the “new normal” for Peterborough look like?
- Raising the profile of local arts organisations and artists.
- Reaching The Margins
What I can see is an appetite for change – no one is kidding themselves that the cultural sector of Peterborough is robust and coherent (with or without COVID-19), but it is ambitious and generous. As well as a determination to reach into communities, both digitally engaged or not, there is also an eye to making noise further afield. This is a more positive tone than some national conversations where the “big boys” of the arts (with buildings, patrons and multiple departments) are being snarled at by the grassroots, freelance sector, who, quite rightly, want a new equality to emerge from the sector’s existential crisis.
Alongside this there is an appreciation that change is not what everyone is dreaming of, whether it means giving up power, or trying something new – the trauma of this pandemic is as likely to stimulate nostalgic appetites to return to things just as they were, worn out as we are by the need to adapt to changing circumstances and predictions every five minutes.
But there is a big, possibly universal, appetite for something better to come out of the situation. Maybe this could, idealistically mean a more equal society. Or could it, as a starter, be a better use and understanding of technology, both by the makers and to have a more tech-savy audience, and for it to be more than a tool for convening (such as Zoom), but be an integral, invested part of the creative and community processes, and outcomes..
I propose an action where we start to map our digital skills, identify future learning, and explore good practise – and maybe call out the crap – such as micro-commissions, inequality in pay, and those who are being left behind due to language barriers (including BSL) or digital deficits.
All this needs to be talked about more. And talking, conversations and dialogue, were another big theme in the discussions. There needs to be places at the table, such as the City Leadership Forum, at Peterborough City Council, in Vivacity, with Arts Council England, and the Combined Authority (to name but a few) – which are answerable to the sector (or don’t be there at all.). I have been invited to take part on the COVID-CVS Forum – I pledge to speak up for others in the conversation (my blunt statement that artists need to be paid for any work that they are asked to do caused a pause for thought), and to share any opportunities that come up there. What other conversations are being had – and who is speaking up for us all?
I propose an action where we map who has access to what platforms, and what actions they are taking to bang the drum for the arts in Peterborough. The culture forum recognised that arts and culture are proving to be vital for many (all?) during the pandemic, but this needs to be more than a casual observation – it’s needs to translate into an invitation to the decision-making table.
There is a thirst for knowledge, a chance to experiment and to challenge the status quo. What are the solutions to social distancing and the arts? How can we balance being productive online and not leaving people behind? How can arts projects bridge the digital divide, support telephone coaching, use the postal system, find creative ways support the digitally-nervous?
We need to find a way to keep this in all our conversations, to be curious and learning, looking for new solutions – what’s the best way to celebrate and assert the arts as a provocateur for change and innovation?
I propose that we find a way of sharing our touchpoints of inspiration within our sessions, and imagine how we might get them embedded elsewhere.
Finally, there was a brilliant brainstorm about raising the profile of the arts in the city (I think we have to acknowledge that this hoary old subject is actually never going to go away, we just need to always be doing better rather than being paralysed by lack of ownership.) The ideas were aplenty and centred around a well-designed newsletter (graphics offered by Paper Rhino) that regularly captures and communicates, in both print and digitally, the wealth of projects that are available. This would be distributed by everyone contributing, and to other portals from Vivacity to Stamford Arts Centre, from PCVS to PAOS, from PCC to PT to Peterborough Matters to We Love Peterborough, and beyond!
(This group also included a discussion about working for free, and reasons why you might do this, online skill sharing, collaborative art work, plus building relationships with community groups…. all ripe for future sessions.)
I propose an action whereby the funded organisations work together to design and collate this newsletter, sharing ownership and responsibility, and anyone who wants to go in it agrees to share it via all their channels, from social media to blogs to websites to hand-delivery (or post) in their local streets. Because, and you may have heard me say this before, the cavalry aren’t coming. It is no use asking why isn’t “someone” going to do “this” - I have heard that question for over a decade in Peterborough - that model of asking when is someone going to fix this problem is a broken record. What we need is equitable, collective action – like PAOS when it opens its studios all over the city and creatively shouts its mutual message from the hilltop. Like when Creative Peterborough ran the Find Me Keep Me project, and 50+ artists worked together resulting in 100’s of people running around Peterborough city centre, hunting for arts. That is the vibe this intractable problem needs.
So there you are, three topics of conversation for the session, and an overall look out for inspiration and innovation, on Mon 25 May, 4-5pm. Leave a message HERE to get the link.
- Collaborative marketing initiative.
- Sharing access to the gatekeepers.
- Mapping our digital skills and needs.
And if you don’t like those, come with proposals for the next session – there is something bubbling about supporting the unwaged freelancers, for instance….
See you then
Kate Hall
Creative Producer, Jumped Up Theatre
(I have left the comments on – feel free, be nice.)
Those in the meeting:
Alyson Tipping , Eastern Angles
Amanda Rigby, Paper Rhino
Charley Genever, SYNTAX / Peterborough Presents / Poet
Charron Pugsley Hill, Artists
Christina Alexander, PCVS
Clare Currie, SYNTAX / Poet
Di Goldsmith, URock / PHACE
Emily Steele, Filmmaker / CineSister / Gateway Film Festivals
John Marsden, Vivacity
Judi Alston, One To One Development Trust
Fraser Wilson, NNF Bridge
Graham Casey, City Councillor / Musician
Helena del Pino, Holy Spirit Church in Bretton / Poet
Kaine Kulczak, Artist
Katy Hawkins, Freelance / Peterborough Presents
Kathryn Parsons, Artist
Keely Mills, Poet / SYNTAX
Kate Hall, Jumped Up Theatre
Lauren Kendrick, PCVS / GBY
Natalie Philips ,ACE
Sam Roddan, Art Pop-Up
Sarah Woodbine, PCVS
Sarah Saxby, Student Intern Jumped Up / Lamphouse
Tim Casson, Dance Artist