Opening doors, widening access

Southbank Centre will celebrate its 75th anniversary next year. Opened as part of the Festival of Britain in 1951, Southbank’s Royal Festival Hall was built as a ‘beacon of change’ – a place of hope that invited everyone from all walks of life through its doors.

The introduction of an Open Foyer policy in 1983 provided public access to our foyer areas for the first time. It was a groundbreaking shift in the way our spaces were viewed and used and still shapes the way we approach our site today. 

Before that, the venue was only open a few hours before concerts or for special exhibitions, but now as much open access as possible is embedded in our DNA –  from free exhibitions and regular participatory events, alongside spaces to practise creativity, eat and drink, work, socialise and simply be.

This is all part of what makes the Southbank Centre unique and helps maintain the idea of being a place built to serve the nation. Today, we are the largest arts centre in Europe with over 5,000 events taking place each year, half of which are free.

Reaching the greatest number of people

Our team of programmers and producers are focused on ensuring great art reaches the greatest number of people. As our programming is supported by public funding, we have a civic responsibility to ensure the widest possible reach.

Our role is to provide multiple and alternative ways to engage with the arts, removing barriers and ensuring everyone feels welcome. We consider the whole experience, from the language and images used in marketing, to access and costs, as well as whose stories and experiences are shared on stage.

Access to culture and creativity is vital to a sense of self, helping to spark new thinking, develop interpersonal skills and improve mental health and well-being. While it’s undoubtedly important for arts organisations to work together to prioritise creativity in the curriculum, it’s also vital for culture to be experienced on one’s own terms – at any time of life.

As children progress through the education system, their engagement in the arts reduces and drops again more substantially once they finish formal education. We aim to remove perceived formalities and expectations about cultural activity,  providing relaxed and playful opportunities to engage. We want to instil the notion that the arts are more than merely subjects learned at school; they are for lifelong enjoyment, in whatever form young people chose to engage with them.

Providing for family audiences

A key focus of our work is provision for family audiences – a chance to be creative and enjoy that experience as a family. We don’t design events to teach skills formally, rather to encourage growth and exploration of creative potential together. And the programming is purposefully diverse in terms of artform and artist representation as building lasting connection requires people to feel seen and heard.

A flagship programme is Imagine Festival – a multi-artform celebration of family creativity and fun – with our latest edition attracting over 15,000 children. It’s all about sparking creativity through world-class performances, dance, music and storytelling, with much of it completely free.

Continues…

Imagine Festival. Photo: Pete Woodhead

Removing cost barriers helps open our programme to more audiences, showing diverse stories that audiences can see themselves reflected in, providing a warm and safe welcome to all, whether or not they’ve paid to be there, and building their confidence to return knowing the Southbank Centre is a place for everyone.

More recently, we launched Open Doors, a series of regular free events, offering creative activities, workshops and performances for all ages. Its Saturday Sessions – some of them relaxed – are specially designed for families who’d benefit from them.

These are yet another way we encourage long-term engagement with culture as a whole family unit.

Culture for everyone

So, what do we ask of government? First, as we firmly believe all young people could benefit from access to creativity in schools, we support any programme to get creative subjects back onto the curriculum.

We also urge government to support local authorities to restore funding to cultural organisations. Many deliver impressive results from a relatively small financial investment. This is especially important for family audiences; local, on-the-doorstep facilities, particularly when children are young, are vital for access and community building.

But we shouldn’t only be looking to the largest institutions; all of us are part of the arts ecosystem. Local grassroots venues are equally important to developing creativity and confidence in arts engagement from a young age among the communities they serve.

I’d also encourage arts centres to consult more with the communities they serve. Be intentional. Connect with those that aren’t engaging with your offer. Find out why. What are the barriers for them? Look to build equitable long-term relationships to create a sense of community through culture. Over time, that commitment leads to a real sense of trust, and the belief that cultural activity really is for everyone.