Agenda item

Report of the Director for Culture, Strategy and Engagement. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for  Culture and Leisure.

 

To develop a Culture Strategy for the borough. Our vision is to build strong and meaningful partnerships with local communities and wider partners so that all residents and visitors are benefiting from the social and economic impact of a vibrant cultural and creative Haringey.

 

 

The Leader introduced the report which sought approval of the Arts & Culture Strategy.

 

The Leader of the Council outlined the following:

 

 

-       Being awarded the status of London Borough of Culture in 2027 marked an exciting new chapter for Haringey.

 

-       This was the first Culture Strategy being developed in over two decades, outlining the borough aims, ambitions, and objectives in a particularly timely manner.

 

-       The vision was to foster a new approach to Haringey’s culture and creativity, ensuring that everyone in the Borough can participate in and benefit from cultural activities.

 

-       A key focus of the strategy was collaboration, and the aim was to develop an action plan that will guide efforts and strengthen partnerships across the community.

 

-       Commitment to nurturing and retaining homegrown talent, making Haringey a vibrant hub for creatives. Additionally, aim to expand audiences for civic events, ensuring that they resonate with all residents.

 

-       Whilst preparing for the London Borough of Culture in 2027, goals included inspiring residents, celebrating borough’s rich heritage, enabling individuals to see themselves reflected in borough events, and fostering connections between communities. Ultimately, aspiring to create a long-lasting legacy for culture in the Borough.

 

 

Following questions from Cllr Hakata and Cllr Barnes, the following information was shared.

 

-       In response to delivery of the strategy in the backdrop of financial constraints and maximising output, this was a partnership orientated plan, and the delivery plan would be delivered by partners and also by involving residents. There were already cultural activities organised and contributed to by community groups and partner and agencies. Therefore, the Council were building on the already rich cultural activity that went on in the borough. The Council were envisaging that the joint work with partners, would hopefully enable greater access to external funding and this would be in addition to the £1.3million funding already obtained from being awarded Borough of Culture. There was also opportunity to access heritage funding and other sources of funding as well as the opportunity to seek sponsorship. Therefore, drawing in extra resources was part of the sustainable future for Culture Strategy going forward.

 

 

-       In relation to the recognition of the Borough of Culture being measured, this would be recognised though the level of support that activities and events attract which was already substantial. This was further also already apparent with the activities  set out in the strategy and the variety of venues in the borough working with the Council. The Council would also be considering the locations that people were coming from to the activities in the borough and mapping this to inform the Borough of Culture events and activities. In addition, ensuring activities were for a wide range of groups such as young people and also getting them involved in this early planning work on events and initiatives.

 

-       In relation to the contention of whether there would be a genuinely co -designed Libraries Strategy, the Leader of the Council put on the record that the Council had taken forward significant effort to safeguard all libraries in the borough which was in stark contrast to many other boroughs and the consultation on the future of libraries had been very extensive. The results were due to be processed in the coming days.

 

-       Regarding the wider borough tourism offer, the Council acknowledged that the borough had culturally engaged residents and was aiming to attract wider diversified audiences to the borough by promoting existing venues and their cultural offer and ensuring a variety. This may also mean supporting some venues to help with achieving the aims of the strategy and Borough of Culture aims. This was particularly important post pandemic and cost of living crisis.

 

 

RESOLVED

 

 

1. To approve the contents of the Arts & Culture Strategy set out in Section 4 of this report and approves the attached Appendix.

 

2. To note that this is the Council’s vision for the role of arts, culture and heritage in the borough, which reflects what is important to Haringey’s diverse communities, creates wider opportunities for residents, and attracts the interest of visitors.

 

Reasons for Decision

 

To put in place a five-year Arts & Culture Strategy to underpin, and drive arts and culture in Haringey, thereby supporting the Council’s vision to be a place where arts, culture and heritage is fostered, celebrated and valued and is woven through everything the Council does. The Arts & Culture Strategy sets a strategic direction for all Council departments to consider and lays out ways of improving opportunities for collaborative working with artists, the arts and the wider culture sector, platforming our diaspora and working-class communities, increasing audiences for cultural and artistic events and helping young artists and businesses to thrive. It also lays out the importance of ensuring every child and young person in the borough has access to the transformative effects of cultural experience, not just as spectators, performers and participants, but also as leaders and change makers.

 

The Arts & Culture Strategy will address current inequalities and adheres to the following principles:

 

Access Striving for better access, so that everyone has the opportunity to benefit from, enjoy and participate in arts & culture.

 

Collaboration

Encouraging collaboration, especially where it leads to enhanced Cultural provision, better infrastructure, increased transparency, and better access to information for our creative and cultural communities.

 

Equity

Supporting increased equity, by valuing, respecting, celebrating, taking pride in, and learning from our rich heritage, diverse culture, and histories.

 

Growth

Promoting growth and autonomy for our residents and local businesses so that they can achieve their potential.

 

Life-Long Learning

Ensuring that our children and young people can fully participate in rich and sustained cultural learning, and benefit from the transformative power of arts & culture throughout their lives.

 

Visibility & Representation

All of our communities should be able to see themselves represented in Haringey’s cultural and creative offer and be actively involved in decision- making. The Arts & Culture Strategy, attached as Appendix 1 of this report, sets out the following vision, with three themed aims that are intended to contribute to a set of broad outcomes:

 

To build strong and meaningful partnerships with local communities and wider

stakeholders by:

 

? Celebrating and promoting the great creativity on our doorstep;

? Inspiring our residents and visitors by our borough’s rich history of activism,

innovation and creativity;

? Being more Open to new ideas and ways of working;

? Being more Collaborative in our approach to connecting with internal and

external partners;

? Being more Ambitious in our creative programming;

? And being more Dynamic in our approach to collaboration and co design.

So that people who live in, work in and visit the borough, all benefit from a vibrant, cultural and creative Haringey.

 

Aim 1: Celebrating & Inspiring

 

Aim: Through the celebration of what is distinctive about Haringey – our diversity, heritage, communities, venues and artists – we aim to inspire our residents and visitors to take part in the great culture on our doorstep.

 

Outcome: Haringey’s reputation and profile in London and beyond is enhanced

through its artists, cultural organisations, venues, built and natural environment

and distinctive cultural identity and offer.

 

Success will look like: Haringey is recognised as a hub for creativity and

innovation.

 

Aim 2: Open & Collaborative

 

Aim: We need to be more open to new ways of working and collaborative in our

approach to connecting with internal and external partners, so that the people who live and work in Haringey can benefit from growth in the creative sector.

 

Outcome: By driving growth, skills and employment in the creative sector,

residents and businesses will feel the economic and social benefits of culture and creativity including a greater sense of belonging.

 

Success will look like: More creative and cultural industry organisations are

starting up and thriving in Haringey and there are more opportunities for residents and young people in the creative sector.

 

Aim 3: Ambitious & Dynamic

 

Aim: By taking a more ambitious and dynamic approach to programming and

collaboration, there will be more opportunities for all our residents and

communities to shape, create and take part in arts & culture on their doorstep.

 

Outcome: Residents and communities can connect with great arts & culture in

their borough and collaborate in innovative creative projects and programmes that better reflect the diversity of our communities and our rich cultural heritage.

Success will look like: Our creative programmes, projects and audiences are

reflective of our borough’s communities and heritage.

 

The successful implementation of Haringey’s Arts & Culture Strategy 2024 to 2028 will have the potential to make a significant impact on our residents and on our cultural landscape now, and in the future.

 

Haringey is unlike any other London borough – an outer London borough that is greatly connected to central London, with strong and diverse communities living side by side, high engagement in the arts, from the more traditional to the informal, and significant opportunities for growth.

 

Our Arts & Culture Strategy will help us to further demonstrate the rich impact arts & culture can have on residents from all backgrounds, building effective community engagement and delivering long lasting improvement in our shared outcomes. It will contribute to the delivery of our Haringey 2035 objective to build a borough where everyone can belong and thrive.

 

Alternative options considered

 

We could have kept working without an Arts & Culture Strategy, but that would have meant that there would have been no sense of overall direction that could be shared across departments or to inform our London Borough of Culture aims.

 

Alternatively, we could have had an approach, driven solely by the Culture and Creativity service, but Arts & Culture needs to be a shared endeavour across the Council and partners.

 

We could have devolved the ownership of the strategy to the local arts and cultural sector. Our partners in the local culture sector have been clear that they want us to create the environment where arts & culture thrive, and a Council-led strategy is needed.

 

For these reasons we are recommending that the Council adopts the Arts & Culture Strategy attached as Appendix 1.