Margate Open Space Event Group 1
Session 1
Culture and art are for everyone. How do we engage all communities? This is not just for artists – it’s for all.
Discussion led by Carla Wenham-Jones
Key discussion points/themes:
- Elitism within the arts & culture: 
importance of ownership; engagement; accessibility.
- Communication: on local and national levels; its role in raising awareness; source of information.
- The case for arts & culture specifically in Margate: history/heritage; funding; sustainability.
- Public/local engagement: making use of local resources; cultural diversity within Margate.
- Entrepreneurial opportunities within Margate: their link to arts & culture.
Action points:
1. Eliminate elitist status of arts & culture and ensure its sustainability – address exclusion and lack of engagement in arts & culture.
2. Use of multiple media forms for access and communication (e.g. website devoted to Margate’s arts & culture, as well as alternative non-internet based forms of communication).
3. Key role of Turner Contemporary in establishing Margate’s arts & culture scene and its use in effective communication.
4. Funding – seek alternative sources, also bearing in mind future sustainability.
3 comments:
Hi this is a test to make sure the blogs are working well - hope culture and art for everyone group is progressing!
Art for the elite is a tired and misunderstood argument.
Can we just accept that "Art", making and viewing is,( if it's done with any real conviction), complicated, difficult at times, provocative yet ultimately rewarding?
Is a "Times Crossword" any more elitist than a " Daily Mirror Crossword"?
Art makes culture visible, if we aren't willing to see what might be reflected back, then we don't need to look.
If the local press are anything to go by, they and their letter writers don't want to want to see, or be reminded of just how bad things have become in Thanet.
To take your second comment first -I had more or less given up on the local press, but the Isle of Thanet Gazette of 21 March has a surprisingly hard-hitting 3-page feature (pp. 7 - 9) entitled "Traders fight to save town centre shops" which pulls no punches in describing how Margate traders are teetering on the edge of bankruptcy and feel let down by the Turner delays.
On your first point - yes, art can and sometimes should be difficult and provocative. With reference to Thanet, however, some of Gormley's projects have shown how art can be worthwhile and at the same time stroke a chord among the public and be popular - this is the kind of effect we could do with in Thanet to pull in some visitors before it's too late (and my belief is - one more bad season and it WILL be too late!).
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