Nick Jones offers a guide to using the arts in rural regeneration
In Britain, coast and country have always been in a symbiotic relationship with town and city. Likewise, rural regeneration has been closely influenced by urban needs and aspirations. While the countryside is attracting a growing population of retirees, teleworkers, commuters and immigrants, and although poverty and deprivation are less visible than in towns, educational, employment, housing and transport issues conspire to drive young people away from the countryside and hinder regeneration of areas that are experiencing the decline of traditional agriculture, mining, fishing and associated service industries. This is a cue for the artist!
Recent years have seen more artists occupying affordable housing and workspace on the rural fringes. They are central to successful rural regeneration and to many effective development projects. Stroud Artspace and Welfare States Lanternhouse in Ulverston are just two examples of artist-led initiatives that are making a significant impact on their local communities creating jobs, increasing visitor spend, attracting and retaining more artists, providing new skills& and thats apart from the art!
Based on my own experience, the following are a few key issues that can help make a rural arts project effective in achieving regeneration goals:
Theme, subject, content: your project will be more dynamic and vital if it addresses local issues and reflects what is special and different about the place.
People, place and partners: rural areas are sparsely populated, so think about who you will involve and how. An artist sensitive to the countryside, possibly living in or familiar with the area, is a good start. A local champion is essential, preferably someone who has lived in the area a long time, with information and advice about who to work with. Schools, churches, and local businesses are great ways into the community and sources of support in cash or in kind. Be sensitive and responsive to place, to local materials, traditions and products. This neednt be isolating. Identify and involve as many partners as you can they will provide support, broaden impact, and widen your audience.
Be resourceful: make a virtue of using simple and mobile tools, facilities and resources. Richard Demarco, the inspirational Edinburgh-based champion of the visual arts, recently took over a barn at Skateraw, south of Dunbar. FRED, the Cumbrian visual-arts festival, relies on short-term interventions in surprising places. Digital media, community radio and hi-tech solutions are a vital part of the rural artists toolkit.
Time, space and distance: theres plenty of space, but rural communities can take longer to engage with and involve. Dont underestimate the problems of allowing enough time, of transport and access, or the potential of IT resources to help.
Audience: think about reaching your audience. Andy Goldsworthys work could not be more rural, nor more ephemeral, so he relies on painstaking photography, exhibitions, publications and film.
Evaluation: did the project meet its objectives? What are the outcomes? What lessons were learnt?
Nick Jones is a cultural consultant based in Cumbria. He has a background in delivering arts and regeneration projects in rural areas.
t: 01768 881047;
e: njbj@aol.com;
w: http://www.njarts.co.uk
Arts Council England has recently published The Arts in rural England, which offers an introduction to the subject and a series of case studies.