CULTURE FORUM #1 – Checking-in with Peterborough & it's creative community

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CULTURE FORUM #1 – 27 APRIL 2020

 For a city with little arts infrastructure Peterborough’s creative community is well networked and mutually supportive.   It happens informally, you can bump into someone with the solution to your problem as you walk down Bridge Street, pop into Bewiched, or maybe bump into a friendly face at Chauffeurs’ Cottage, or by poking your head into the arts office at The Key – Peterborough is truly a city that functions like a village.

 With all of us staying safe at home it’s not possible to have that sense of community.  It’s hard to keep in touch with what Peterborough needs from the city’s artists, and what do the city’s artists need from the city.

 I therefore asked if anyone fancied a Zoom meeting, and without any canvassing 20 people quickly signed up to join the online session – despite Virgin Media’ network crashing halfway through.  It was a good conversation by a mix of organisations and artists, with two Peterborough city councillors listening in.

 I have summarised the notes by grouping together the recorded comments and highlighting some that could be further explored, as a means of looking forward for the city’s culture. The need for a new vision for the city is now even more important.

 The conversations in the session were in response to the questions:

Lockdown :

What are the challenges that Peterborough artists are facing?

How can artists respond to the challenges that the city is facing?

 And the thoughts were:

 OPPORTUNITIES: The lockdown is giving a chance for some to be more creative, and for creativity to revalued by society; For new skills to be developed from PayPal to filming to Patreon ; To slow down; Networking globally ; New artforms ; Attendance has risen for an event that is now online; Facebook now has a ticketed platform; CVS is planning another Hive programme (small business development); There is an opportunity to re-set and ask people what the new normal is / can be (resistance to change can also happen)

CHALLENGES: Cashflow ; Too much choice ; Overwhelmed about the number of things being offered; Promotion for local work online is difficult when big global names hog the “column inches”- need the local channels to step up ; How do we break out of our bubbles to ensure we are not just talking to ourselves; Shift to a fresh type of business model, with a full understanding of culture’s GDP and social purpose, which should dictate a bigger priority inc local and national government (n.b. these is also a danger in this if the tools of production of culture are not at arms-length to government/ authority); 

YOUNG PEOPLE; Their voices aren’t being heard; PCVS / URock working with Company3 on Time Capsule project; 121 are also running a project about platforms for YP and are thinking about safeguarding / cyber security / access (which is an issue for all online programmes, not just those designed for young people); The actual role of schools is being understood, and will also never be the same - some schools are already looking ahead to how arts and culture is core to young people’s learning and resilience (and therefore society) – whilst others are firefighting; PCVS are trying to address the issue of digital access, esp. for young people;

UNHEARD VOICES: People are being pushed even further into the margins, by both the impact of lockdown and the tendency to move on-line, and greater effort will be needed to re-engage with people who are lacking a voice now and when we come back (momentum has been lost); Some of those who were socially isolated are more connected because there is more content online (what can we learn from this contradiction?)

RESILIENCE & WELL-BEING: Zoom is exhausting and not a replacement for face-to-face; Being so contactable is demanding; Learning to live with uncertainty (on an unprecedented level) ;

LEADERSHIP: None of the NPO’s are furloughed ; Vivacity and Peterborough Presents are ; There is a vacuum of leadership; NB this is also an issue for the city’s cultural strategy – who owns it, who is responsible for it, who is it for?

BEING CONNECTED: PCVS are co-ordinating a COVID-Response network with voluntary organisations, which this Creative Forum can plug into; Fear of being forgotten about as the world moves on so quickly;

As you can see, we covered a lot of ground.  It felt empowering to be better informed, and it was agreed to meet again – on Monday 11 May, 4-5pm, on Zoom.  Please get in touch if you want to be listen in and be part of the conversation. Sign-up HERE by 12 noon Mon 11 May and we will then will then send everyone new to the event the Zoom link (which can be used for future sessions too.)

And please place three votes on this Doodle Poll HERE to see what people want to talk about first. Topics include:

  • Living, and working, with uncertainity.

  • Safeguarding when taking work online.

  • Overwhelmed? FOMO? And everything in-between.

  • Reaching out to the margins.

  • Raising the profile and value of the arts locally.

  • What could the new normal look like?

  • Children and Young people - creative opportunities.

Thanks to everyone for taking part – Peterborough’s best asset is definitely Peterborough’s people.

Stay safe and take care.

Kate

 

 Those in the meeting:

Alyson Tipping , Eastern Angles

Amanda Rigby, Paper Rhino

Becky Owen-Fisher, Lamphouse Theatre

Di Goldsmith, URock / PHACE

Emily Steele, Filmmaker / CineSister / Gateway Film Festivals

Josie Stone, Transformaiton Team CCC

Judi Alston, One To One Development Trust

Fraser Wilson, NNF Bridge

Gary Huskisson, Poet / Storyteller

Graham Casey, City Councillor / Musician

Helena del Pino, Holy Spirit Church in Bretton

Kathryn Parsons, Artist

Keely Mills, Poet / SYNTAX

Kate Hall, Jumped Up Theatre

Lauren Kendrick, PCVS / GBY

Leonie McCarthy, PCVS

Ruth Campbell, Metal

Sarah Haythornthwaite, Metal

Sarah Woodbine, PCVS

Steve Allen, City Councillor - Culture & Recreation brief

Tom Fox, Lamphouse Theatre

 

Apologies:

Helen Mould, Artist

Kaine Kulzack, Artist

Sam Roddan, Art Pop Up

PHOTO CREDIT: The Dreamcatcher Project by One To One Development Trust. commissioned by Jumped Up theatre as part of the Platform8 Festival.