Creative Peterborough

Creative Gathering 22/2/2011

Introduction to Creative Peterborough (Sue Shields and Anita Bruce of View5)

 Creative Peterborough is the name given to a new network that aims to bring together artists of all disciplines within Peterborough and its environs. A few of us after years of tipping away at our own projects decided to form a steering committee to thrash out a few solutions to help solve the artistic problems of Peterborough. In addition to Anita Bruce and Sue Shields, on this committee are Alex Airey and Stuart Pain (Blok Collective), Kate Hall (Jumped Up Theatre), Ann Bellamy (Artist,) Kay Hall (Chair of Peterborough Artists Open Studios), Nicky Day Dempsey (Peterborough FM). The steering committee is just that, a tool to get the ball rolling, which is why we thought that this  would be a good opportunity to talk to all of you on what YOU thought was the way forward. Tonight we would like to begin to establish a manifesto and here are some examples of what WE have come up with.

Creative Peterborough is ABOUT and NEEDS to address

• arts and culture
• publicity and communication
• audience development
• representation – a voice for artists
• personal development and aspirations
• collective opportunity
• open and inclusive
• a blurt campaign!

We welcome and need your views on this as Creative Peterborough it will not do it's job with a limited voice. We agreed on the name " Creative Peterborough" as we thought that this was inclusive  and are in the process of establishing a blog with this title. We have also secured a room at Brook Street once a month which can be used for anything you want. It is free.

The idea is not unique but we feel that it is ESSENTIAL in order to give artists in the city a higher profile, a voice and a respect that has all too often been missing.

Kate Hall introduced the concepts of an Open Space Forum, although time constraints meant that the questions to be discussed had been planned in advanced. A really lively session followed and here are the notes we made as they progressed.

“What will a artists network do for you that you cannot do on your own?”

• Mobility
• Learning better access
• Other artists can see what we are doing
• Mess Hall Chicago (www.MessHall.org)
• Stop audience leaving the city
• Viral network
• Collective voice
• Variety of skills
• Back system support
• Advertising ourselves else where
• Getting rid of gatekeepers
• Links between other networks
• ARU Creative Front. Contact Caroline Hyde
• Collaborations-making connections of practice/projects
• Activity bringing people in
• ‘Hidden Art’
• Social aspects for artistic community
• Pool of information
• Common interests
• Cohesion
• Local artistic face
• Much louder voice
• Reach larger audience
• Sharing resources

 “Who does favours for artists in Peterborough”

At first the discussion focused on how to ask for favours, and the following tips were offered: 

• Make your requests, and who you target, specific and relevant.
• Don’t make a blanket request, instead strike a chord with the favour-maker
• Artists can help themselves and each other.
• Friends of artists are a good – they understand why you need something and maybe what the result will be.
• Any cold calling for favours need to be able to offer the clarity that the artists’ friends have.
• Businesses want visibility.
• If you put a request in the paper for help – make it community focussed in order to get print inches.

Culture Champions - List started as a resource of people and places who will do things to help support the arts in Peterborough.  But this isn’t just about getting favours, it’s also the people who should be invited to launches, previews etc – a payback for their support of the arts, and also a way of getting them even more deeply involved as part of the scene – as partners not just “givers”.

“I can help by:-“

• mentoring artists
• making a personal effort to make this happen
• Inviting non arty people to galleries and art events
• looking for opportunities that don't cost much money
• Advocacy of Creative Peterborough through Citizen Power
• Blog reviews of exhibitions and classes that others might be interested in
• By giving my sculpture skills to the wider community
• Single point of contact important
• Local publication run by students (funded for one year) giving a voice to local artists
• PB folk diary
• making CR.P visible outside Peterborough, extensive mailing list
• Any way I can ( this was repeated by three others)
• Using creative gathering to help establish CR.P

And lastly

One lady came across as a little negative as though it was doomed to failure and said that we had to be aware and sensitive to how we communicated so the website was inclusive - the response from another to this was that the site was available for anyone to blog.

“What tips do you want to share?”

• Central location “One Stop Shop”
• What’s On guide
• Embrace technology – website, facebook, twitter etc.
• Network: Get to know other artists
• Think big: Network outside of the local scene.
• Hand to hand – face to face. Take promotion to the people.
• Repetition
• Multiple Media: Magazines, Radio, Newspapers, internet
• Establish ongoing relationships with key sympathetic journalists.
• Believe in your product
• Repetition
• What outside organisations can we invite here?
• Where is it? Surprise is good.
• Public Art
• Repetition
• Basics of acquiring space – who to get in touch with.
• Host events – get outside/famous artists passionate about our work and the host events with those artists exhibit/perform alongside locals.

“If you were Queen for the day what would you get Creative Peterborough to do?”

• Don’t re-invent the wheel! Research, research, research and go see what other cities have done,
• Get a bus and go visit Birmingham’s ‘We are East Side’ a consortium of artists’ studios and galleries. They took over a run down derelict space and have created a vibrant arts collective with virtually no funding.
• Vivacity to compulsorily purchase 5^th Avenue for Arts Centre with coffee shop. Thought it’s close proximity to the Passport Office would guarantee customers. Any other venue on the High Street would be acceptable.
• Work with Paper Rhino www.paperrhino.co.uk to get arts magazine up and running giving local artists the opportunity to publicise their work.
• Say to everyone that they are fools if they don’t realise that there is a strong arts community in Peterborough (Kevin Tighe).
• Adopt an artist day.
• Turn High Street into an open-air gallery.
• Project images onto Cathedral, have dancing in the fountains.
• Organise street parties.
• Known song lyrics to be performed/demonstrated by various art disciplines in Main Square.
• Pop-Up Creative Peterborough travelling show.

“What would you like to see on the Creative Peterborough website?”

• Must be updated frequently to encourage frequent visits – allow artists to add their own content so this doesn’t fall to one person
• Events coming up
  • Be able to add reviews and recommendations
  • Links to google maps
  • Q & A area for events – how do I get there? Lift sharing?
• Artists info
• Images of work
• Link to website
• Skills database
• Guidelines for contributors / administrator to remove content that falls outside guidelines
• Review other networking websites to research best practices eg. www.sharesomecandy.com and www.deviantart.com
• Use tags to allow events and artists to be easily searchable
• Visual – avoids language barriers
• Need a logo
• Plan the structure and design up front, so even if it starts in a small way, will grow in a useable way
• ‘Dating area’ for artists to collaborate /share skills/swap materials/loan equipment ie. a freecycle for artists
• Viewable on mobiles/iphone app
• Doodle/drawing screen – that can be shared (creative and interactive)
• Host audio and video content offsite (vimeo and soundcloud)
• Engage other community groups via website
• Links to other great stuff!

The first Creative Peterborough meeting, open to all, will be held at the City College on March 24^th from 6-8pm. If you would like to be added to our mailing list, please contact us on info@creativepeterborough.com