Arts Council England's New Ten Year Strategy Comes to Bath

23 January 2020

Wera Hobhouse has announced an arts conference in Bath which will put Arts Council England’s new ten year strategy at the centre of discussions about the future of arts and culture in the city.

She said: “I am delighted to be able to team up with the Arts Council to hold this event in Bath. We have such an incredible arts community here and I want to see us working closely with Arts Council England to deliver arts and cultural events for all our residents for many years to come.”

Phil Gibby, South West Area Director, Arts Council, said: “Over the past two years, we have consulted widely on a future vision for art and culture. Over the next decade we want England to become a country where individual creativity is valued and given the chance to flourish, and where every person can access a rich range of high-quality cultural experiences. We will publish our new strategy, and how we aim to achieve this vision on the 27th January and are pleased to kick start a conversation in Bath, to consider this ambitious vision for creativity and culture for all.”

The conference is taking place on Friday 7th February at Bath Spa University’s School of Art and School of Design at the new Locksbrook Campus. Wera said: “I am very grateful to Bath Spa University for generously hosting us at their amazing new campus in Locksbrook Road. It’s such an exciting space. And I also want to thank the Bath Cultural Education Partnership (BCEP) for helping to facilitate the workshop session.”

Dr Penny Hay from Bath Spa University and House of Imagination said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for the arts community to come together to both hear from the Arts Council and also to discuss how we might respond on behalf of our community. It’s great that Wera took the lead in making this event happen, and we are certainly committed to making it a creative and successful day. BCEP’s steering group currently involves colleagues from Bath Spa University, Bath Festivals, House of Imagination (formerly 5x5x5=creativity) and the egg theatre, but we are keen to invite collaboration across the arts and cultural community in B&NES. Our workshop will help to gather ideas on how to take this forward, to co-create something for the city and the surrounding areas."

Wera added: “There are very few places left, but I really want to hear from anyone who is involved in creating cultural events in their communities. Come and be part of what we hope to achieve. Let’s embrace this new funding strategy and make it a success for our city and the surrounding communities. This could be a very exciting year for the arts in and around Bath.” For more information, please email [email protected].