Holding arts events under the Croydon Flyover was
perhaps the most exciting idea to be suggested at the Croydon Arts Network workshop
and social held on Sunday 30 March at Matthews Yard.
The Network came about because South Croydon
Community Association was concerned about the programming and costs of hiring
Fairfield Halls, and the context of the cultural disengagement by the Council,
through, for example, the closure of the David Lean Cinema, the ending of grant
support to the Warehouse Theatre, the sale of Riesco Collection items, and
since then the cut in funding for the Croydon Music Service.
The resultant campaigning has led to a number of changes
in direction by the Council including: letting the Cinema Campaign start to use
the cinema again, and the display of items from the Art Collection on the
ground floor of the Clocktower.
The inquiry that SCCA set up on Fairfield Halls
led to the idea of having an independent Arts Network. These developments have
taken place alongside initiatives to add to the mix of cultural activities on
offer e.g. at Matthews Yard and the Spread Eagle public house, and in film
shows at Ruskin House and some churches. Perhaps the most ambitious cultural
event in the Borough put on with no Council funding in recent years was the
2012 year long Croydon Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Festival.
Main Conclusions From Discussion
The Network evening started off with a fascinating
account by Clive Alando Taylor of his own life journey in the arts and his work
with young people. He also discussed the value that some homeless people find
in reading their poetry at the Poetry Café in Central London.
We then chatted in small groups on particular
topics suggested on Post-it notes by those attending. Perhaps the main
conclusions from these were:
- The need for a vision.
- Encouraging groups to think outside their own silos and work together.
- The importance of providing the basic information of what is going on and who is undertaking the activities.
- The importance of reaching out to people who are not on the normal communication networks, especially those not on the internet and those not currently participating in the arts.
- Having events in the open so people can sample and perhaps be enthused by them.
- Finding ways to show people whose daily lives are a struggle how they can have a positive engagement with cultural activity.
Learning
from Museum Experience of Public Engagement
The formal part of the evening ended with Rhiannon
Green giving an explanation of her work in community engagement at the Design
Museum and previous experience at the British Museum. What came out clearly
from her talk was the fact that engaging people with institutions like museums
requires different ways of finding out why visitors and audiences might be
interested. She spoke in particular about coming to understand the needs of a
particular group of refugees and asylum seekers by working in partnership with
an Iranian Community Centre. Funding for community engagement projects is often
short–term, and engagement is difficult to sustain without funding. There are
however, insights to be gained from museum staff hearing about the alternative
interpretations offered by members of the public. It is sometimes these
contributions that enables re-writing to happen.
Network Developments
Many people attended a Croydon Arts Network event
for their first time and were feeling their way with what it is and what it might
be able to do. After the formal part of the evening several attendees stayed to
chat, and to get to know each other better.
While the web site for the Network is being set
up, communication is through email, placement of paper version of the notes in
key locations in central Croydon and via social media, especially Twitter.
Behind the scenes, the website and its database of
activities is being finalised, with the Board of the proposed Community
Interest Company working with a group of Friends of CAN on this project.
Additional Board members are needed, especially from organisations working in
cultural activity in the BME sector. Less formal support is also being sought
from Friends of CAN – people who would like to support the growth of the
network by running events, circulating publicity and assisting with other
specific projects.
The next get together will be on Tuesday 22 April
upstairs at The Spread Eagle. This will be a less structured opportunity to
come together again with others in the arts, do something creative and get to
know people better. This will be followed by another more formal meeting on
Thursday 15 May at Matthew’s Yard. For details of the events, keep an eye on
the CAN website.
What
else can be done by individuals who want to help develop the arts in Croydon?
· Why not go along to the monthly West
Norwood Feast on Sundays and get inspiration from what the local organisations
and Lambeth Council are doing especially with the Open Works project at Portico
Gallery, 23 Knights Hill, SE27. www.theopenworks.org/#re-imagining-how-we-live-our-everyday-lives
- Have a look at the ideas around Fun Palaces (www.stratfordeast.com/fun-palace). Croydon will be hosting its own Fun Palace. Visit www.croydonfunpalace.org to find out more, or drop by the Croydon Fun Palace stall at the arts and crafts fair in Exchange Square (by Matthew’s Yard) from 10 am until 4 pm on Saturday 19 April. Needless to say given the name, it’ll be a lot of fun!
- Give some thought to whether there should be a campaign to use the space underneath the Flyover for open air cultural events eventually leading to the development of a community trust to build facilities under it, as was done from the 1970s under Westway. Key questions for examining the potential in Croydon: who owns the land? will the owner let the use of the land at a peppercorn rent? will Westfield/Hammersons, other developers and the Whitgift Foundation be prepared to donate substantial sums to a Croydon Flyover Development Trust? have the political parties the will and imagination to back such an idea and help facilitate it through the Council?
- Have a look at Croydon Turf Projects. This potentially exciting new culture and open spaces initiative can be read about at http://thecroydoncitizen.com/culture/year-land-day-turf. www.facebook.com/TurfProjects. www.turf-projects.com/about.
- Have a look at Croydon Forest School http://thecroydoncitizen.com/culture/answering-call-wild-croydon-forest-school
- Offer to put on a cultural activity at one of the forthcoming community Festivals, e.g. South Norwood Arts and Purley.
- Offer a display for the Heritage Festival on any cultural activity which has been inspired by a local heritage theme. www.croydonheritagefestival.co.uk.
- Attend Heritage Festival events to see if any of the topics being discussed might lend themselves to a cultural activity such as music, a play, poetry etc.
- Question candidates in the local elections on what their party’s future cultural strategy will be.
Croydon
Arts Network: www.facebook.com/CroydonArtsNetwork.
Its temporary website is http://croydonartsnetwork.org.
Croydon
Heritage Festival:
For discussion on the Heritage
Festival see my blogs at
Previous
Contributions on aspects of Croydon culture:
· See Croydon Citizen and search ‘Creighton’.
· See my discussion paper ‘The Future of
Fairfield Halls’ with Appendices ‘The relevance of cultural and historical
activities’ and ‘Broader issues relevant to developing a cultural strategy’: http://southcroydoncommunityassociation.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/the-future-of-fairfield-halls.pdf.
I
can be contacted at sean.creighton1947@btinternet.com
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