#RSASouthampton December Update
With the festive season in full swing, this update includes details of our festive drinks with the CHAOS and Purple Cow Film Networks, as well as a full report from our November event (Unleashing the Potential of Southampton's Creative Businesses).
As we're developing our programme for 2025 we would value any thoughts you have about our events this year, or ideas you may have for the RSA Southampton group in 2025. Please do contact Fred Bassett (FRSA) with feedback or ideas - good or bad!
Looking forward to seeing many of you on December 12th, and wishing everyone happy holidays!
Fred & the RSA Southampton Team!
UP AND COMING EVENTS
DEC 12th: RSA Southampton Festive Drinks
Mettricks, Guildhall. Thursday December 12th, 1730-1930
Join us on December 12th for an informal meet-up at Mettricks. No agenda. No panellists. No Q&A. Just an opportunity to enjoy the company of Fellows & friends.
Following our Creative Industries event last week (report below), we've invited members of the CHAOS Network and the Purple Cow Film Network, creating the perfect blend of art, commerce and those fine Ascapart brews available only at Mettricks!
Please?sign up?in advance so we have an idea of numbers.
REPORT: Unleashing the Potential of Southampton's Creative Businesses
On a chilly November evening a group of fifty-five people met and had a positive, wide-ranging and energetic discussion about how creative businesses in Southampton can be supported and grown.
At the start Fred Bassett (FRSA) emphasised that the focus was on commercial creative businesses who derive their income from fees such as architects, marketing agencies and film production companies.
These businesses were placed in the broader context of the creative sector including cultural institutions and universities. The RSA had recently published their ‘Creative Corridors’ report investigating at the geographic and cultural drivers of growth and this provided additional focus for the discussion.
Participants on the night included members of Southampton based cultural organisations, leaders of commercial creative businesses, freelancers, cultural strategists and Southampton citizens.
Panellists included:
Edgar Lushaju who is developing his design studio in Southampton
Daisy B. , a marketeer who hosts the Inner Avenue podcast focused on creatives and creativity in Southampton
Evan Preston is a Southampton based award winning film director and co-founded the Purple Cow Film Network
ED GOULD has led one of the City's leading marketing agencies for over 30 years.
Brent Meheux is Academic Head of Art and Music at Southampton Solent university
Tom Stratton is Chief of Staff at the RSA and led the Creative Corridors report.
Clear themes were highlighted by the panellists and discussed with those present. These are summarised below and include the creation of a long-term plan for the sector in Southampton, the development of ‘connective tissue’ between businesses and institutions across the M27 corridor and the nurturing of a vibrant creative community in Southampton that spans the full breadth of the sector.
Summarising, Fred stated that the RSA would host a follow up meeting in the new year to continue to build momentum and relationships in the sector.
Theme: Developing Business Skills & Mentoring
Daisy & Edgar both highlighted the transformative support they have benefitted from to date. In Edgar's case this included early commissions from local organisations such as Go!Southampton, Southampton Forward and the Business and IP Centre.
Daisy and Edgar emphasised the need for support in developing business skills as well as mentoring from people with a similar specialisms – for example design or podcasting.
Brent emphasised the history of Southampton Solent University in providing industry-relevant courses and described the ‘multiversity’ – The transition that Southampton Solent University is undergoing to provide shorter courses and continuous learning opportunities.
Brent further emphasised the need for the University to remain relevant by continuously engaging with industry and the creative sector and highlighted the critical role that local creative businesses can play helping students transition smoothly into the workforce.
Theme: Signposting of Training & Mentoring Opportunities
The consensus amongst panelists and participants was that there are opportunities for training and mentoring within the city and region, but that these are not always well signposted for those that would benefit the most. Brent highlighted the breadth of opportunity at Solent University and participants highlighted other city and regional resources that would benefit from broader awareness amongst creative businesses.
Theme: Community Development & Action
Evan Presto spoke to the benefits of building the Purple Cow Film Network as a community for practitioners in film, TV and video. He unveiled his plan to shoot a feature film entirely in Hampshire and Southampton that will highlight the breadth of talent in the region and act as a focus for the film and broader community.
The importance of networks (such at the Purple Cow Film Network) and communities of practise in the creation of a vibrant creative economy was highlighted by Ed Gould. He cited the entrepreneurial community catalysed by VentureFest South as an example of what can be achieved when a broad sector is nurtured as a community and brought together.
This need for community cohesion and action was emphasised by the panellists and participants who highlighted that there are several practise-based networks in the city and region, and the City would be benefit from these being better connected to create a broader creative community.
Theme: The Time Is Now!
The exciting national context for the creative industries was highlighted by Tom Stratton. This context includes the Governments prioritisation of the creative industries in the Industrial Strategy and the potential benefits of devolution for the region.
Theme: Building A Coalition Across Sectors and Geographies
Tom Stratton introduced the RSA Creative Corridors RSA report, stressing the importance of creating ‘connective tissue’ that enhances the Southampton creative community and extends further to foster regional collaboration. Tom cited the One Creative North initiative as examples of public and private sector collaboration across a large region catalysed through a broad coalition of people and organisations.
There are many benefits to this approach including coordination of training and skills, increased innovation that comes from the interaction of different sectors and sub-sectors and the ability to attract inward investment.
Tom emphasised the need to build the coalition by starting with the community and including different types of people and organisations, whilst recognising that there is no fixed form. Only by starting with the community will any plan resonate and gain momentum.
The Creative Corridors report provides some guidance for how a community can form a coalition that catalyses action. Tom ended by emphasising how excited he was to be present with people and organisations who could form the nucleus of such a coalition and pledged the support of the RSA in creating forward traction.
Theme: Creating A Long-Term Plan
The need for a long-term plan that is consistently supported over time was reiterated by participants during the discussion. The maintenance of momentum was discussed as a critical consideration, especially in the
Theme: Be More Nick Fury!
Panellists were asked for the one action they would like to see following the meeting. Specific suggestions included:
Perhaps the most creative suggestion was made by Edgar who suggested we should be ‘more Nick Fury’ – bringing together all our talents as a community to build a vibrant culture for creative businesses in Southampton.
Fred Bassett
08/12/2024
LINKS & RESOURCES
RSA
The RSA Website?https://www.thersa.org/?
The Creative Corridors report ?https://www.thersa.org/reports/creative-corridors-connecting-clusters-to-unleash-potential-report
RSA Southampton
The #RSASouthampton Mailing List?https://forms.gle/aMjT3DDqQE9wk8se8
The #RSASouthampton Newsletter?https://www.dhirubhai.net/newsletters/7183904896797024258/
Edgar Lusaji
Website?https://www.edgarlushaju.com/
Daisy Burns-O’Keefe
Inner Avenue Podcast details?https://linktr.ee/inneravenue
Evan Preston
Presto Films and Purple Cow Film Network?https://www.prestofilms.co.uk/
Ed Gould
Carswell Gould website?https://carswellgould.co.uk/.
Details of VentureFest are here
Brent Meheux
The Solent University event schedule?https://www.solent.ac.uk/media-hub/events
Narrating Creative Regions (January 17th)?https://www.solent.ac.uk/media-hub/events/narrating-creative-regions
UK Industrial Strategy
The UK Industrial Strategy Green Paper can be found here
Mental Health Quality Assurance Lead at West Sussex County Council
2 个月It's great to read about Southampton's RSA Fellows getting really engaged in discussions about creative growth in the area, particularly growth being led by networked small community organisations. This really builds on what has gone before in terms of RSA work in the city and wider afield.
Transformation leadership and skill building. Helping people and places thrive with inspiring stories, community engagement, and creative computing.
2 个月Sounds like a wonderful event. Thanks for sharing the key points Fred Bassett (FRSA). Definitely some common themes popping up re. our work in East Sussex, e.g. need for signposting learning opportunities.