Inspiration from So Festival

I attended So Festival today and went along to one of the series of talks, which was led by Paul Bristow from Arts Council England. The room was busy with a brilliant mix of people to talk about… How can cultural investment and focus help change and develop a place and community.?

To see and be part of a group that understood and championed the role of culture was not just a privilege but felt inspiring. I came away wanting to shout from the rooftops about how important culture is to the economy, to jobs and skills, to visitors and communities.?I hope I’ve captured a flavour of the discussion in this article…

Thank you to all that attended and participated, particularly to Paul Bristow for leading the discussion and James Brindle for bringing in such a variety of voices.?

This was not ‘the same faces’, it was new and exciting. Inspired by examples from Sweden, Denmark, Austria and places across the UK, including Cornwall, Worcester and Stoke, as well as closer to home in Grimsby.?

Paul captured our attention with indisputable evidence of the role a strong cultural offer can have on driving change and benefiting the economy. “Culture IS the fastest growing sector and with lots of jobs NOT lost to AI.” Paul demonstrated the importance and intrinsic connectivity of culture to the economy, not just in big cities but how creative micros clusters in rural locations can uplift and create jobs. He stressed its importance to the visitor economy in creating experiences and providing new purpose for the high street.?

Investment is needed and it’s been heartening to see both culture and heritage identified as priority sectors in levelling up funding and towns fund, which we’ve directly benefited from in East Lindsey!

We heard how important a cultural sector vision is but we must have a?whole place approach including integration with the visitor economy - music to my ears!

Culture brings communities together and supports health and well being. Paul stressed the importance of people: “Human capital matters! Do we have the right skills?” A local artist, Lucy challenged us to reach out to new people, link to communities and find ways for partners to come together.?

Paul continued to champion places that invested in ideas - one council changing perception of place by bringing in a sea monster! He also highlighted how Cultural Compacts were bringing together different sectors. We have a great example of this through our partnership working between East Lindsey, Magna Vitae and Mellors to develop a bid for funding to support culture in Skegness. Claire from Mellors talked about how a cultural offer supports the visitor economy and Mellors investment into the Pier.?

Peter from Sweden advocated for culture which is accessible to all, “not just those in big houses!” He gave an example of designing and developing a new play area and how they really listened to what the children wanted - the result was a pink park with a tower and a dragon! They felt informed and involved… and there was funding left over to enable the park to be a hub for events and activities.?

Finally - and the icing on the cake - was hearing from local artist Lisa, who has been supported through Grimsby Creates to connect with her local communities and establish a network to support the creative industries in North East Lincolnshire. Thank you Lisa for bringing energy and inspiration to us all.?

The So Festival is led by Magna Vitae and supported by Arts Council England and East Lindsey District Council. SoFesival.org