Why do Artists stay in Winchester?

catherine church, 22 September 2012

I asked this question because we soon have a ‘cultural strategy’ for Winchester and I thought it would be great to get some chunks of feedback that could be part of this thinking.

There were only a few of us in on this chat but here were some of the thoughts:

“There's a nice river” “I like the wharf”

It feeds the spirit..

Resources - University etc..

As opposed to working within London it provides space / countryside / Fresh air - all the obvious things…this feeds into a creativity.

Good schools - so do we have a constituency of mid career artists settling down here?

What flavour does that bring to Winchester? Comfy? Too comfy??

Can we reclaim this conversation and describe this as artists ourselves and feed this into a council agenda?

Winchester - is it just about heritage? How is it distinct from Eastleigh? It is less nuclear around one venue and how can we describe and celebrate this? It is RADIAL - is this a word? with theatre companies / arts buildings / visual artists - its POD LIKE - Outposts of Excellence …

Its not about comparison but it is about distinctiveness.

It would only cost the council a tiny amount to PROMOTE these hidden assets …how would this be done? As part of a heritage story or separate …?

so lets see - not sure this really does answer the question but I think more artists need to be part of the conversation.

IS this just about marketing? And who are we marketing to and why? why do I care about Winchester? Should we? Is it just purely a base for all of us? In many ways this is how it is functioning …. but its not just about tourism thats for sure.

Tags:

winchester, Eastleigh, Cultural, point, Arts, arts, Strategy, the, Point, The, strategy, Winchester, City, Council