art city publication

What is this?

In 2015 6 arts organisations in Stoke-on-Trent — AirSpace Gallery, B Arts, Cultural Sisters, Letting In The Light, Partners in Creative Learning and Restoke — mapped the artistic sector of the city. They focused on the needs of artists and organisations and their ideas for how the sector can be made more resilient and effective — how it can better support those who are already living and working in the city, and how it might encourage more artists to remain after studying or move to the city.

The six organisations are working for the next four years on art city: a programme of work with the aim of making stoke a better place to live and work in through the arts.

art city Page 3 Cultural Mapping Report

Who was involved?

Birmingham University’s centre for urban and regional studies and Staffordshire University’s creative communities unit worked together to design the research framework and compile the findings.

Six arts organisations based in Stoke worked together as cultural researchers to carry out the research. A collaborative, artist-led

contemporary visual arts space and organisation.

A participatory arts organisation specialising in the Arts and Health sector.

Designers and deliverers of creative learning projects in businesses, schools and communities.

A socially driven performance company that combine dance, music and visual art to breathe new life into forgotten spaces.

An artist and producer-led organisation that has been working for positive change in the city for thirty years.

A creative, participatory and visual arts organisation.

The research was commissioned by B Arts for the artcity partnership and supported by Arts Council England.

art cityPage 4 Page 5 Cultural Mapping Report

What was the research activity?

Artists and creative practitioners were separately interviewed by researchers.

An online survey was available for 14 days and was completed by 74 respondents, of whom 50% were self-employed artists.

24 hours of cultural activity on Wednesday 18th March mapped in one hour’s collective research involving Facebook and Twitter surveys; phone surveys of artists and organisations; and a review of media outlets and a review of online ‘what’s on’ listings.

Focus groups that were held on themes such as developing the sector for emerging artists.


The three maps

The research was geared around three maps that depicted the cultural landscape of the city:

· A physical map of arts venues and activities (existing resources).

· A map of networks and connections between individuals and organisations in the local area that comprises the social capital of the arts community.

· A map of needs of and opportunities for local arts practitioners.


Visual Burslem School of ArtPotteries Museum & Art Gallery

Spode Museum Trust

Participative Junction 15Cultural Sisters

AirspaceSpeight of the Art

B ArtsHullaballoo

Letting in the Light

Performance Mitchell Arts CentreNew Vic

Creative StokeRoyal Shakespeare Company

Regent TheatreBrighter Futures

Education UnitySta�ordshire County Council

Stoke College ConsortiumLibrary Service

Newcastle CollegeArts Connect WM

Stoke-on-Trent CollegeCreative Catch-up

SchoolsChildren’s Centres

Special SchoolsCreative Partnerships

BitjamRegent College

Keele UniversityNorth Sta�s Chamber of Commerce

Stoke City CouncilSta�ordshire University

Newcastle CouncilPICL

Dance AppetiteFrontline Dance

Ace

Health Art BrazilCombined Healthecare NHS Trust

RestokeHospitalsLive AgeWMPAF

WMAHWAiming High for Disabled Children

SCVS

Proson AuthoritiesYouth Justice


Sta�ordshire County Council

Proson AuthoritiesYouth Justice


What are the barriers?

From the interviews and focus groups three main barriers emerged that were holding the creative sector back in the city.

The image of Stoke-on-Trent:Stoke-on-Trent was seen by those elsewhere as an ‘uncultured’ city. Inside the city the arts had a low priority and was not seen as an asset that the city should shout about.

The economy of Stoke-on-Trent:Like artists in many other cities there is not enough funding. but this was made worse by the low incomes of potential audience members and the impact of cuts in the city to the infrastructure artists and organisations are trying to operate in.

The city as a physical barrier:The federated ‘six towns’ nature of the city presented particular problems for artists: in particular concentrating audiences in one town, trying to spread activity across all six towns and the lack of a clear centre for activity.


What are the key findings?

A greater than anticipated range of arts activities being carried out in the

snap-shot exercise.

Evidence of strong interaction between sectors, although the ‘pure arts’ sectors of

visual arts, performing and dance sectors tend to be less well

networked and supported.

Options for improving the cultural environment

in the Stoke-on-Trent area suggested better

signposting of the arts, more accessible spaces for work and

performance, and a city-wide communication

strategy.

The main gaps identified were lack

of physical resources in which to create

new work, the lack of human resources to provide support, and the lack of a clear arts

‘hub’.

Guidance for arts students who

wish to practice in the local area

included seeking experience and being confident and dedicated in one’s approach.

The three main barriers to artist

development were the economy of

the local area, the image of Stoke-on-

Trent and the six town structure.

Guidance for arts practitioners in the local area included

enhancing personal

development and business skills.


Where are the gaps?

The lack of resourcesNot just physical resources, such as suitable space to work in, but also human resources particularly the shrinking human capacity within Stoke-on-Trent’s cultural infrastructure and the knock-on effect this is having. This reflection on infrastructure was also found in the many observations relating to gaps in local networks, links and support.

The lack of informationThe final main theme for gaps relates to the city’s strategic infrastructure as recognised in a perceived lack of mechanisms for the city-wide (and broader) sharing of information and lack of understanding strategically of the wider benefits of the arts.

The lack of accessMany from the focus groups added that there were difficulties in trying to access the cultural scene as a participant and that there was no clear point of access or hub.


What do students think about the city?

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“The arts scene in stoke was completely invisible to me whilst I was a student.”

Of the six priority options to help retain creative graduates in Stoke-on-Trent identified through the interviews and focus groups the survey respondents ranked them as follows:


What do artists need to develop their careers in the city?

Improved profiling/signposting of artists, organisations and venues

More accessible space in which to work and perform

A city-wide communication strategy

Better strategic understanding of the arts

More access to training and support for arts practitioners

More opportunities for networking

Easier access to professional support


recommendations

The co-produced research process was enjoyable for all, repeatable in stoke-on-trent or in other cities, and manageable within a limited time frame and budget.

The maps will also contribute to art city outcomes because the research process itself has enhanced the social capital of the arts community in Stoke-on-Trent.

The research process itself was of value in that it built links between arts practitioners and arts groups, built on existing local knowledge that added robustness to the research, and upskilled the local arts practitioners who were part of the artist research team.

Encourage more potential commissioners of cultural work to see arts as an asset that can deliver more than entertainment (i.e. health, education, economic activity, community pride etc.).

The research found that, for the art city project, there exists in the Stoke-on-Trent area a base of arts practitioners, networks and activities from which to build a stronger cultural environment to support local artists.

For the Stoke-on-Trent area, the research has demonstrated that, if the arts are going to play an increasingly important role in the future of the area, the promotion of the arts and of the local area are as important as the artist population and financial and infrastructural resources for arts practitioners.

The findings of the research support the aims of the art city project and the approach it is adopting in terms of developing further venues for artists and supporting arts graduates.

The broad set of cultural maps that were developed from the research will help guide the art city project in terms of local priorities.


“Stoke is full of wonderful surprises, there’s magic here.”

“It’s hard to connect because of the geography of the city.”

“I’ve got no one to go for a coffee with.”

“We don’t shine the jewels that are here.”


Reflections of the researchers

The process itself has been useful—it has got people talking, got people connected, generated ideas, generated activity. The mapping process in and of itself has been of value.

The idea that we would end up with a graphic map that captures everything is not realistic. Our initial vision of the famous ‘London tube’ style map is to simplistic to reflect the complexity of the cultural landscape the process uncovered.

From an art city perspective, the real strengths of the maps generated is that they represent the idea of a cultural map presented from different perspectives—gaps and barriers, advice to new artists, networks and connection, desires for future etc.—rather than just being a simple representation of geography.

The fact that this process has produced recurring themes gives credence to the findings but the different prioritisation given to these themes by the different research audiences (interviewees, focus group participants, the online survey) means further reflection on the results is going to be required.

The process led us to the conclusion that the cultural map needs to reflect the social capital of the artists in Stoke, and the process has actually added to their social capital.

One of the objectives of the research was to produce a map that could be produced for other cities, so that the cultural maps of different cities could be compared. This has not been possible in terms of final product but we believe it is the process that could be duplicated elsewhere.

Our conclusion is that the process is the significant element, and the value of the map is in the process which brings artists together and enhances social capital.

A baseline and process has been established that can be revisited in future years to evaluate ongoing impact and progress.


art cityis an arts programme in Stoke-on-Trent that aims to make the city a more interesting place to live and work. It is an artist-led intervention designed and delivered by the key independent creative and cultural sector organisations in Stoke-on-Trent to:

Increase arts activity in the city;Keep more creative graduates living and working in Stoke-on-Trent;Attract more artists to live and work in the city.

To make this happen we are opening up spaces in the city that otherwise would be disused; we are supporting creative graduates to start their careers; and we are working with artists to make more art in Stoke-on-Trent.

art city is delivered by a consortium led by B Arts with airspace gallery, The Cultural Sisters, Letting In The Light, Partners In Creative Learning and Restoke with the support of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Stoke City Council and Staffordshire University.

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