London Borough of Culture - Culture Network engagement

Overview

• London Borough of Culture presents a huge opportunity for Croydon. A once in a generation opportunity to platform Croydon’s world class artists and celebrate our unique cultural identity. Borough of Culture is our opportunity to amplify and embed that investment to ensure a sustained impact from 2023 and beyond.
• Our programme – This is Croydon, will empower our residents to shape and influence this change through culture. It is a grassroots and organic response to what is great here in Croydon, an authentic way to retain and grow our distinct identity.
• With the impact of COVID our call for system change is even more important due to the increased structural inequalities have been increased during the pandemic. The London Borough of Culture (LBoC) programme is a vital tool for the recovery of the cultural and creative sector and has been re-focused on grassroots activity that address inequalities and supports sector resilience and development.
• From the beginning we envisaged the London Borough of Culture being owned by our communities and cultural sector on a grassroots level. We are exploring options for the delivery framework for LBoC which will delivered in partnership with local cultural sector
• Croydon and the GLA are working together to make Borough of Culture the best opportunity it can be for Croydon. This includes exploring a range of different delivery options. We will be working with the culture sector in Croydon to produce a fantastic year of Culture.
• A steering group of 30 representatives from the Culture Network will be established in January to finalise the delivery plan. The local delivery partners will all be represented and nominations for the remaining places will open after the 15 November meeting. Care will be taken to ensure the steering group is representative of Croydon and includes a significant number of young people.
• Over 50% of the target budget is already pledged or committed from a range of funding sources.
• Earlier in the year, Arts Council England announced that Croydon will be a “Priority Place” for its funding programmes and so we have realigned the Ignite programme to ACE strategic objectives to maximise the likelihood of Croydon Organisation being successful in their applications.
• The overall theme of system change remains and has been further developed with the following five aims underpinning the programme: Society is fairer, young people have more support, our communities are more actively engaged in culture, our cultural sector is greener and our communities are healthier.
• The structure of the proposed delivery plan reflects this emphasis on system change with our communities on a grassroots working more directly with our cultural and creative sector in delivering the programme.

Our original theme of System Change is even more relevant today than when we submitted the original bid in 2018 and the call for real change even more needed. Our vision includes:

Overall budget ambition remains at £4.2 million.

• 54% - £2.3 million (54%) is confirmed/pledged
• 38% - £1.9 million (46%) is unconfirmed and will come from bids to arts, heritage and other public funders, trusts and foundations and commercial sponsorship

The plan is divided in to the following three areas:

Following the System Change themes we hope to achieve the following in relation to Sector Development and building the recovery and resilience of the sector:

A Fairer Society

Led by the CEZ and the Culture hubs and including

• Fundraising and bid writing training – available via the Culture Hubs
• Representation on boards and decision making bodies
• Board recruitment and training
• Working group developing New Business models

Young People are more supported

Coordinated by CMA working with AND, The BRIT School, LSBU and other delivery partners.

• Young Producers programme
• Jobs and training programmes I (Up to 18) managed by The BRIT School
• Jobs and training Programme II (18-25 year olds) managed by LSBU
• Youth representation on boards
• Discounted workspace schemes for 25 and under managed by the CEZ

More Active Communities

Culture hubs

Culture Hubs will exist as venues for delivery of activity and as spaces for local creatives to access training. Three are already established – Fairfield Halls, Turf Projects and Stanley Arts and will be supported with funding for a dedicated Community Producer for each hub. Funding has been allocated for development of further hubs with emphasis beyond the town centre to other areas within the Borough. We would expect these to include libraries and neighbourhood bodies eg local traders associations, BIDs etc

Hub activities will include

• Volunteering programme
• Business skills bank
• Fundraising training
• Social Prescribing training for creative practitioners

Greener cultural sector

We will be asking Julie’s Bicycle who were partners in the original bid to lead a new working group to develop an action plan for the sector that offers tangible pathways forward for artists and arts organisations to be carbon neutral. The working group will help fundraise for a new development fund for Croydon based cultural organisations.

Healthier Communities

Developed in partnership with One Croydon and other local social prescribing providers. Activities include

• Mapping the sector to evaluate training needs and gaps in provision.
• Creative practitioner training in social prescribing will be delivered via the culture hubs.
• Stepping Stones flagship project developed by SAVVY, Rap Therapy and Good Wolf
• National conference

Made up of three strands

• Development strands ring-fenced to focus on priority groups and artistic genres managed by Delivery Partner Organisations
• Open access project grants for organisations managed by the LBoC steering group
• Small grants for individual artists managed by Croydon CEZ and the Culture Hubs

Development Strands

Six programmes offering training, mentoring and other support alongside grant funding. Four programmes are aimed at priority groups and two at specific artforms. Artform programmes are expected to ensure representation from the priority groups.

Black and Global majority artists.

We are asking Talawa to lead this development strand and would like to hear from other organisations that are interested in supporting Talawa, particularly those from Asian communities.

LGBTQ+

We are asking Stanley Arts to lead this development strand with supported artists and arts groups developing work that could be included in Croydon Pride 2023. We would like to hear from other organisations interested in supporting Stanley Arts

d/Deaf and disabled

We are asking SAVVY to lead this development strand working closely with other members of the THRIVE network, Turf Projects/Makers of Stuff, Club Soda, SLiDE and Drunken Chorus. We hope that the development strand will enable more local artists to be involved in the Liberty festival which will be delivered in partnership with the GLA.

Young People

We are asking CMA to take a central coordination role with delivery via the culture hubs led by Arts Press at Turf Projects, Talawa at Fairfield Halls and Zoo Co at Stanley Arts. We would expect the fund to involve other delivery partners for the C3 programme.

Music Sector

We are asking the CEZ via its Croydon Music City programme to lead this development strand which we expect to include the existing Future Stage programme offering performance opportunities to emerging artists, Croydon Calling programme of free music events, Music Heritage Trail activations and a new borough wide busking programme.

Heritage

We are asking the John Whitgift Foundation to lead this development strand which will support heritage projects focussing on the borough’s cultural and community heritage. We would like to hear from other heritage organisations who are interested in being involved in developing this strand.

If further funding becomes available we would like to also establish sector support funding for

• The dance sector
• Spoken word/new writing
• Community festivals

Ignite Fund – Open Access

Two Project Grant programmes and grants for individuals

Project Grants - Large

• Min 10 Grants of up to £50,000. Average 25K
• Projects supported by large grants will be LBoC Flagship events
• LBoC Steering group to agree criteria and assess bids
• LBoC Team to lead on securing additional funding
• We hope to be open for bids in April 2022

Project Grants - Medium

• Min 15 Grants of up to £10,000. Average 5K
• Steering group to agree criteria and timetable
• Assessments by Steering Group and Culture Hubs
• Fundraising support given to grant recipients to secure additional funds

Grants - Individual artists

• 100 Grants of up to £1,000. Average £750
• Assessments by CEZ and Culture Hubs
• Administered by CEZ

Marketing support

• We hope the majority of culture projects taking place in 2023 will be promoted via LBoC irrespective of whether they are directly funded
• LBoC delivery plans include a designated Comm & PR post, website and agency support

Music Heritage Trail Development project Lead: Museum of Croydon

• Trail of 25-30 locations highlighting venues, events and artists from our musical heritage
• Focus on 5 music genres: Bass music including Reggae, Dubstep and Grime, Indie/Rock/Punk, Asian music from Classical to Bollywood, Soul/Jazz and Classical
• To include our own version of the blue plaque with some sites also having murals and VR/AR activations

This is Our Croydon Fairer Society Lead: Talawa

• Stories of our cultural and community and cultural elders, past and present, who have led the way in Croydon told by the younger generation through individual commissions in a variety of art forms including film, spoken word, art and theatre.
• Funded by NLHF with additional funding from National Portrait Gallery and ACE
• Stories released in April and May 2023

Oratorio of Hope Young People Lead: LMP

• Orchestrating the hopes and aspirations of our young people with spoken word, movement and music
• Every school in the borough to be invited to participate
• Opening live event for LBoC with a series of performances at Fairfield

Reuse Recycle Fashion Show A Greener Cultural sector Lead: FMM

• Highlighting the need for sustainability and the move to a circular economy
• Led by FMM involving local designers and designer makers re—purposing unwanted clothes and furniture donated by the general public for re-sale
• Includes satellite events in neighbourhoods taking over empty high street shops and talks and debates on the circular economy

Croydon EXPO A Fairer Society Lead: Turf Projects

• Involving artists in the debate around the re-designing of town centres and re-imagining of our High Streets
• Re-purposing empty retail units for borough wide visual arts exhibition
• Includes plans for a ‘Lates’ style programme with cultural venues open during evenings and at night to encourage new audiences

The Croydon Carnival Active Communities Lead: Think Events

• Main LBoC celebratory event
• Large scale participatory dance carnival involving arts and community groups from across the borough finishing with a street party on London Rd
• Developed in partnership with London Road Carnival, Dance Umbrella, Beeja, Birdgang, Scanners Inc, The BRIT School’s Khronos and See our 7

Croydon Pride Active Communities Lead: Think Events

• Croydon Pride will return
• Showcasing emerging artists and arts groups supported by the Ignite Fund
• Developed by Croydon Pride and Produced by Think Events

Croydon Mela Active Communities Lead: Think Events

• Croydon Mela will return
• Developed in partnership with Beeja and Apsara Arts
• Produced by Think Events

Liberty Festival Fairer Society Lead: Liberty Festival

• Subject to additional funding from GLA
• National festival hosted previously by Waltham Forrest and in 2022 by Lewisham
• Developed in partnership with the THRIVE network, SAVVY, Turf Projects, Club Soda, SLiDE and Drunken Chorus

30 members including all Culture Hubs, Programme delivery partners and flagship event lead organisations

• We have invited the following organisations to join: CEZ, CMA, Fairfield Halls, FMM, LSBU, SAVVY, Stanley Arts, Talawa, The BRIT School, Think Events, Turf Projects, CEZ, Whitgift Foundation, ZooCo
• Nominations for additional members – both artists and arts organisations will open on 3^rd December
• Selection of remaining places will take in to account our aim to be representative of Croydon and to include young people on decision making bodies
• Membership to be rotated with half the members serving one year and being replaced to maximise involvement and half serving 2 years to ensure continuity
• Steering group to be involved in devising main delivery framework and in allocating funding for guest artistic directors / executive producers
• Week commencing 17^th January – Steering group first meeting