Place-based schemes being piloted around the UK offer a way to invest in communities and artists. Lyn Gardner considers the "untapped potential" in building from the ground up.
"I have often wondered what might happen and the benefits that would accrue to the whole theatre ecology, if instead of funding venues we funded artists, and instead of funding buildings we funded places. Just imagine the transformations if we stopped building theatres and started investing in the creativity of communities.
There are signs of change. A newer national portfolio organisation such as Heart of Glass in St Helens is an example of a place-based arts company following a different creation model for socially engaged practice. In St Helens, artists and local people are co-creating on projects that last not just two or three but many years.
But perhaps more change is on the way." ... Keep reading on The Stage
"I have often wondered what might happen and the benefits that would accrue to the whole theatre ecology, if instead of funding venues we funded artists, and instead of funding buildings we funded places. Just imagine the transformations if we stopped building theatres and started investing in the creativity of communities.
There are signs of change. A newer national portfolio organisation such as Heart of Glass in St Helens is an example of a place-based arts company following a different creation model for socially engaged practice. In St Helens, artists and local people are co-creating on projects that last not just two or three but many years.
But perhaps more change is on the way." ... Keep reading on The Stage