What could Torbay’s cultural future look like?

You the creative and cultural community of South Devon are invited to a unique event which has been organised by the Arts Council and Creativetorbay.com.....

Read on for full details.........

What could Torbay’s cultural future look like?

An invitation from Phil Gibby, Regional Director Arts Council England South West.

Since I became Regional Director, Torbay has occupied more of my thinking time than any other part of the South West.

Here’s what I keep mulling over: Torbay’s famous – as well known as any part of the region. For me and countless others, it’s the English Riviera - three towns and 134,000 residents, in an extraordinary waterfront location, with extraordinary stories to tell. Places with cultural icons at every turn: Agatha Christie, Rudyard Kipling, Miranda Hart, Peter Cook, Sue Barker, Wishbone Ash, Metronomy. Monty Python and The Goodies were filmed here. Michael Winner and Oliver Reed made their first film together here.

Everyone knows the English Riviera. Or so they think.

Yet, here’s a part of the South West where engagement with arts and culture is low (Department of Media Culture and Sport Taking Part Survey), and the cultural infrastructure is the least developed. And I think we should do something about that. But I’m not a fan of grand projects imposed on an unsuspecting public by a funding body from far away. I want simple, exciting solutions to emerge, and to be owned by the people of Torbay.

We live in challenging economic and social times. Public and private funds are limited, so we only really have one shot at getting this right.

I’ve got two other issues – firstly, where will this change come from? Does Torbay have the artists and arts organisations capable of driving a whole new agenda? I genuinely don’t know. That’s what I hope this Open Space might tell us. Or is the future more about Torbay identifying its own ambitions, but inviting in artists and arts organisations from elsewhere – Exeter, Plymouth, the wider south west, further afield – to move things forward? The answer is usually “both” – so how do we enable that?

Secondly, why should we prioritise Torbay for cultural development? For economic reasons? For social reasons? To drive the “Torbay brand”? Probably all of the above, to some extent – but where should the balance of our time and effort lie?

If you’re someone who’s interested in the cultural future of Torbay I’d like to invite you to an Open Space Event at the Riviera International Centre on 17th October 2012 to join me in beginning to answer the question “What could Torbay’s cultural future look like?”

It will be an opportunity for you to come together with others to talk about your ideas and ambitions and maybe even develop some exciting new projects. It’s an opportunity to seize the future for Torquay, Paignton and Brixham; to shape Torbay’s cultural ambitions.

If you are unfamiliar with Open Space it is an interactive and inclusive way of structuring a meeting that allows you, the participant, to set the agenda. It is a very dynamic way of talking about complicated and difficult things. You will not be talked at or asked to talk about things you don’t want to. Everything that is discussed will be recorded and will be available to everyone who attends.

A strength of Open Space is its ability to unite groups of enormous diversity. So, whoever you are, if you’ve ever had any interest in culture in Torbay, I’d like to invite you to join me to see if we can work together to imagine the cultural future of Torbay.

I’ve asked Seth Honnor from Kaleider to facilitate this event. Seth has made a career of making space for other people to have conversations. It’s a skill that few people have, and I value it very much indeed. Seth’s a Devon native, and without any close involvement in anything on the ground in Torbay he’s an honest neutral. That’s to our advantage as well.

The event is free, and we’ll provide food and drink and make sure you are well looked after. All that we ask is that you tell us that you’re coming. To let us know you’re coming and to find out more about times, place etc. http://torbayopenspace.eventbrite.co.uk

This invitation is open to everyone, so please pass it on to anyone you think might be interested. I hope to see you there.

With best wishes,

Phil.

What could Torbay’s cultural future look like? will take place on Wednesday 17th October 10am – 6pm at the Riviera International Centre, Torquay.

There are 150 places available for this event and they will be issued on a first come first served basis - to book your place at the event go here: http://torbayopenspace.eventbrite.co.uk

To find out more about Open Space go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Space_Technology

For more information visit http://torbayopenspace.eventbrite.co.uk/