Arts Strategy for Corby – March 2004
Corby Borough
Council
ARTS STRATEGY FOR CORBY
March 2004
This report has been prepared with the assistance of:
Page 1
Arts Strategy for Corby – March 2004
ARTS STRATEGY FOR CORBY
MARCH 2004
Contents
Page no.
Executive Summary 1
- Introduction
This strategy report 2
Background to the arts strategy 2
Aims of the arts strategy 3
- Taking part in the arts in Corby 4
The voluntary and independent sector 5
Partnerships 9
The local authorities11
- What’s missing?
Facilities14
Activities15
Social and demographic needs15
Community spirit16
- Threats and risks17
- Opportunities for partnerships18
- The local policy framework19
- Strategic themes and issues for development21
Theme 1: Environment22
Theme 2: Economy24
Theme 3: Community26
Theme 4: Leadership28
- Implementation and monitoring30
Appendix
- Action Plan 2004-0531
- The bigger picture32
- List of consultations38
Executive Summary
- This is an executive summary of an arts strategy report prepared for discussion by the Community and Culture Committee of Corby Borough Council in March 2004. The strategy will guide the arts development work undertaken by the Council and other public, private and voluntary sector agencies over a five year period commencing March 2004. It follows the appointment in 2003 of the Council’s first Arts Development Officer, initially as an Arts Council Traineeship.
- The report has been drawn up following research and local consultation, with the support and involvement of Northamptonshire County Council and Arts Council England. The strategy covers all aspects of the arts, including public art and the built environment, performing arts, visual arts, contemporary crafts, photography, literature, film and video at community and professional level.
- In preparing an arts strategy, the Borough Council’s aims include:
- enhancing the quality of life for people living and working in Corby,
- developing new opportunities for local people to experience the arts, and
- making best use of resources.
- There is a wide range of artistic and creative activities going on in Corby, with much to be proud of. Over 40 organisations are regularly involved in arts and media activities in the Borough, with a strong range of active dance groups, choirs and bands, musical and theatrical groups, visual arts, photography and new media groups. There are flourishing Scottish and Irish traditions as well as welcome diversity from cultural groups more recently arrived in Corby.
- The Willows Arts Centre has in the past year or two been more successful than for a long time, at the very heart of community activities in the town. Corby Community Arts has a long-standing reputation for high quality projects which offer opportunities for people to take part in creative activities, often for the first time in their lives. Activities with young people are supported by schools and youth clubs, by the local Music Action Zone Big about Music, by Northants Dance, and by the Borough Council through its play leadership scheme and the Happenin’ Project.
- As well as community centres, village halls, schools and youth clubs there is a growing role for new venues, especially Rockingham Speedway with its 52,000 seat stadium which presents leading national and international artists, and a brand new community theatre at Rockingham Primary School.
- There is a strong sense of community which provides a firm basis on which a strategy for arts development in the Borough can build – this will be an arts strategy for Corby, not just for the Borough Council. The recently appointed Arts Development Officer has already begun the job of forging new partnerships and bringing in extra resources. The arts strategy provides a plan for this work, so that it underpins the priorities set by the Borough Council’s Corporate Plan and by the Community Strategy, as well as county, regional and national policies.
- The arts strategy focuses on four major themes:
- environment
- economy
- community
- leadership.
- An Action Plan has been drawn up, showing how the strategy will be implemented and what resources are required. This will be reviewed annually, with agreed annual targets and performance measures. Elected members and officers will be involved in this.
- The following table summarises the main themes, strategic objectives and key issues for development.
Theme: / Strategic objective: / Key issues for development:
- Environment
- Arts to help change the image of the town centre and to support plans for growth.
- Develop a strategic approach to public art.
- Arts projects to help promote public participation in green spaces and woodland sites.
- Economy
- Maintain and support The Willows Arts Centre as the main cultural and civic focus until replacement provision is secured.
- Ensure the cultural agenda is at the heart of discussions about the planned new Civic Hub.
- Encourage more artists, freelance creative practitioners and creative businesses.
- Community
- Build on the strengths of arts education in Corby through links between schools and artists and arts organisations.
- Arts and creative activities to be embedded within community development and health improvement programmes.
- Young people to have access to arts and creative activities which meet their cultural needs.
- Leadership
- Arts strategy to be adopted and implemented.
- Arts development officer post and supporting budget confirmed as a long-term commitment.
- Provide leadership, inspiration and encouragement in the arts.
- Support artists and arts organisations working in the area.
March 2004
1Introduction
This strategy report
Corby Borough Council, in partnership with Northamptonshire County Council and Arts Council England, has prepared an arts strategy for Corby. The strategy will guide the arts development work undertaken by the Council and other public, private and voluntary sector agencies over a five year period commencing March 2004.
The strategy covers all aspects of the arts, including public art and the built environment, performing arts, visual arts, contemporary crafts, photography, literature, film and video at community and professional level.
The Borough Council began the process of preparing a borough-wide arts strategy in September 2003, assisted by an independent consultant, Garry Churchill, working with the Council’s Arts Development Officer and with the active involvement and support of officers of Northamptonshire County Council and Arts Council England who together formed a steering group to oversee the project.
The process has involved research into local arts provision, consultation to draw out ideas and opinions from those involved in the arts, and discussion with many of the agencies who are directly or indirectly involved. A list of those consulted is included in the Appendix.
A consultative draft was circulated in January 2004 to individuals and organisations who had been consulted or otherwise expressed interest. Comments and feedback were then taken into account before this final draft Arts Strategy report was prepared for discussion by the Community and Culture Committee of Corby Borough Council in March 2004.
Background to the arts strategy
Until recently the Council’s main intervention in the arts was in providing The Willows complex (formerly The Festival Hall complex) as the town’s principal arts and entertainments venue, and in presenting an entertainment programme. Although the Borough Council had previously commissioned studies to look at the arts in Corby (including Now is the Time by da Capo, July 1998) it has not previously adopted a formal policy or strategy for the arts.
The lack of a dedicated arts officer within Corby Borough Council had in the past limited the authority’s knowledge of local arts provision and its involvement in local, county and regional strategic planning in the arts. There has been a history of funded arts projects but the Council recognises that a more strategic approach is now needed.
In March2003 the Borough Council, in partnership with Arts Council England and Northamptonshire County Council, appointed an Arts Development Officer for the first time. The post is initially an Arts Council Traineeship, following which the post will become fully established within the Borough Council structure. As part of this initiative an arts strategy is needed to provide a strategic framework for the work of the trainee / officer and to establish clear priorities for Corby Borough Council and its work in the arts.
Aims of the arts strategy
The aims of the Borough Council in preparing an arts strategy are:
- to enhance the quality of life for people living and working in Corby
- to develop new opportunities for local people to experience the arts, both through participation and as audience members and visitors
- to develop a cohesive framework of arts organisations, agencies and groups across the Borough
- to actively encourage the participation of current and non-users in arts activities and events, and give people access to arts that are already happening in the Borough and its surrounding areas
- to assist access to funds for arts development through sponsorship, grant making trusts and foundations, European funding sources, the National Lottery and other grant aiding bodies
- to maximise the use of existing facilities and consider capital development where appropriate, targeting available funding sources
- to link the Borough into county and regional strategies for the arts
- to contribute to the development of leisure, tourism, environmental improvement, economic development and leisure opportunities in the Borough, linking to the wider aims and objectives of Corby Borough Council
- to contribute to the Government’s cross-cutting agendas including public health, community safety, social inclusion/exclusion, environmental sustainability, regeneration and lifelong learning.
2Taking part in the arts in Corby
There is much to be proud of in Corby, and many strengths on which a strategy for arts development in the Borough can build. The area has a strong sense of community, and a flourishing range of artistic and creative activities.
We have identified over 40 organisations which are regularly involved in arts and media activities in the Corby area including:
Page 1
Arts Strategy for Corby – March 2004
- Balls Up Juggling Club
- Big about Music, the Music Action Zone for Corby and Kettering
- CATS (Corby Amateur Theatrical Society)
- Corby and Rockingham Forest District Gang Show
- Corby Borough Council
- Corby Carnival Club
- Corby Choral Society
- Corby Community Arts
- Corby Irish Centre
- Corby Library
- Corby Male Voice Choir
- Corby Music Centre
- Corby Radio
- Corby Singers
- Corby Silver Band
- Corby Wheels Project
- Corby Writers’ Group
- Creations
- Eastern Orchestral Board
- Eclipse Performing Arts
- Genesis Theatre Company
- Gretton Folk Club
- Gretton Silver Band
- Hazelwood Bungalow Mental Health Resource Centre
- It Matters Photographic Group
- Katrina School of Dance
- Late Developers Photographic Group
- Maids of Mill Clog Dancing
- New Perspectives Theatre Company
- Northamptonshire Dance
- Northamptonshire Open Studios
- Northamptonshire Touring Arts
- Sharon Potter Dancing School
- SHOUT Performing Arts Group
- SO…! dancers
- Tempo Dance Studio
- The Arc Performing Arts Centre, Rockingham Primary School
- The Media Learning Trust
- The Willows Arts Centre
- Threshold Studios
- Weldon Handbell Ringers
- Wendy Sharpe School of Dance.
Page 1
Arts Strategy for Corby – March 2004
There are many more – this list does not count:
- schools, youth clubs and youth centres
- social centres for older people
- church activities
- informal groups which do not have a regular constitution
- occasional events such as carnivals and the highland gathering
- live entertainments at clubs and pubs.
This adds up to a richer and more vibrant picture than is readily apparent. Perhaps Corby has been too modest about celebrating the range and diversity of its cultural activities.
The voluntary and independent sector
The area has a range of voluntary sector arts activity:
- The Willows Arts Centre [see case study on the following page] is the town’s principal venue not only for arts activities but for a wide range of other entertainment, social, public and civic activities. Formerly run by the Borough Council, it has been managed by a voluntary sector group since 2002, and is busier now than it has been for many years.
The Willows is the largest arts venue in Northamptonshire after the Derngate, and with the closure of the McKinlay Theatre in Kettering will be the only theatre serving Corby and Kettering other than smaller school-based venues such as the new Arc Performing Arts Centre at Rockingham Primary School. The Willows is vital to the Borough’s social and community life as well as for arts and entertainments. Its replacement will be a key cultural question in planning the new Civic Hub.
- Corby Community Arts works at neighbourhood level on community arts projects [see case study, below]. For many years it was the main organisation working on arts projects although its role has changed as there are now more agencies involved in arts development in the town. Several independent groups in the area, including Inkshed and Corby Writers’ Group, owe their origins to development work by Corby Community Arts.
Case Study: CORBY COMMUNITY ARTS’ V-DAY PROJECT
The V-Day Project, carried out in collaboration with Corby Women’s Centre, focused on a performance of Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues. The author permits community-based productions which raise funds for local causes that address violence against women, a major issue in Corby and one central to Corby Women’s Centre’s activities.
Groups and individuals taking part included:
Gainsborough Road Children’s Centre Group (mothers of at-risk small children), who worked with artist Carole Miles to create the knicker-banner, a backdrop for the performance
Shout Young People’s Theatre group (male and female) created a special piece
Danesholme Dance group created a piece
In Vocal a capella singing group took part.
Individual participants included a BBC radio reporter, 3 health professionals, 2 social workers, 14 sundry volunteers and workers with CCA and CWC.
The mixture of age, gender, background and experience of the performers was reflected in the sell-out audience. Corby is a traditionally-minded community in terms of discussion of issues of gender and sexuality, so being able to fill the house and thrill the audience was a great achievement.
A quote from the feedback book said:
“This is a brilliant evening – especially as it’s in Corby. Well done to everyone
Involved – please do it again.”
As a collaboration between Corby Community Arts and Corby Women’s Centre the project was a great success, and the groups intend to collaborate again based on the response to this project. This example shows how the arts can have a practical influence on other issues of interest and concern to the community.
Case Study: THE WILLOWS ARTS CENTRE
As a flexible multi-purpose venue, with a range of facilities including meeting rooms, proscenium arch theatre, concert hall, bars and restaurant, The Willows Arts Centre plays an indispensable role in the area’s social and cultural life. With no town hall or other public meeting rooms in the town centre The Willows is at the very heart of community activities in Corby.
Recent programmes at The Willows illustrate the range of arts and entertainment promotions, providing the main platform for local arts groups and rebuilding a reputation as a venue on the national circuit for touring shows:
local music groups such as Corby Silver Band and Corby Male Voice Choir
local theatrical groups such as Corby Amateur Theatrical Society (CATS) and Eclipse
school shows such as Bishop Stopford School from Kettering
dance schools such as The Wendy Sharpe School of Dance, Sharon Potter Dancing School, and Katrina School of Dance
a range of regular dance sessions including Irish, Scottish, Country and Western and Ballroom and Sequence
the gang show, organised by Corby and Rockingham Forest District Scouts
a Rotary Young Musician of the Year concert
a charity variety show, for Lakelands Hospice
tribute bands, such as Queen, Meatloaf and The Blues Brothers, and named bands such as Chris Barber, Lindisfarne and The Jive Aces
a range of other music including rock, blues and soul, country and western, brass bands and male voice choirs
comedians such as Ken Dodd and Ross Noble
touring performances by professional arts companies, such as Hull Truck Theatre, Vienna Festival Ballet, Opera Box and children’s shows.
The venue also provides a base for arts groups including Corby Community Arts, the Corby and Kettering Youth Music Action Zone and the Borough Council’s Arts Development Officer, and houses the town’s Tourist Information Centre.
Formerly a civic venue run by the Borough Council, in May 2002 the operation was successfully transferred to a voluntary sector group which now runs the venue with great energy, enthusiasm and public support. There is some financial support from the Borough Council, although this is planned to reduce over subsequent years. The Willows is increasingly busy, has exceeded its targets and is experiencing high levels of demand, but this is straining the voluntary staffing structure. As the business continues to grow more paid staffing will be required but this is a difficult challenge on current and projected levels of revenue funding.