Each week we are asking one member from each Working Group to share what they discussed at each meeting and plan to do for the next session. Here is the final Culture Working Group overview:
Our final meeting was, inevitably, a drawing together of loose threads. In particular, we began filling in the gaps on our How project list – this would continue online – and discussed the presentation which would coalesce around it. The meeting was largely organisational, and the focus was on practicalities and funding, with a side order of what needs to change.
Our Project and How-To List
The project list starts with four Big Picture themes, such as Cultural Strategy, and continues with Research Development & Data, Community Build Initiatives, and finally Projects – a series of relatively inexpensive ‘quick wins’. Did we think that there was anything missing? Very little was, as it happens, but we did have ideas for the detail of how a cultural collaborative network could be delivered, and who would be involved.
City centre regeneration impacts city-wide
Our initially-nominated presenter sought and received assurance that no further research was required and was offered assistance in preparation, which was gratefully accepted. We discussed the detail and accessibility of various funding streams and relevant regeneration projects, in terms of city centre infrastructure. It was noted that what central Winchester delivers could define what happens elsewhere in the city.
Culture Collaborative
Perhaps most importantly, the collaborative message was underscored. Too much focus was given to physical outcomes, whereas the actual mechanism for progress lay in human networks. The diversity of our group, and what we had been able to achieve, was a positive example. As amply evidenced from some recent funding decisions, what was missing from current cultural practice was a sense of being In It Together.
Featured image: Winchester Bollards, The Colour Factory.
Read more from the Culture Working Group: Week 3 Week 2 Week 1
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