Agenda item

The Committee considered the undernoted report:

 

“1.0     Purpose or summary of main issues

 

1.1        The purpose of this report is to:

 

-       Seek approval for the activities set out in the year 2 delivery plan of the 2016-2020 Cultural Action Plan including approval to enter into relevant legal agreements and Service Level Agreements with named delivery partners.

 

2.0       Recommendations

 

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

 

-       Note the contents of this report and;

-       Agree the year 2 delivery plan (2017/18) of the 2016/2020 Cultural Action Plan including the associated budget requirements, as set out in Appendix 1.

 

      

3.0       Main report

 

3.1       Key Issues

 

            The Cultural Framework was launched in October 2012. This Framework was created in consultation with the culture, arts and heritage sectors across Belfast and an action plan for 2012-15 has been delivered.  A report in April 2016 also set out a further four year action plan (2016-2020) which helped re-focus efforts on areas of opportunity, in line with the original framework.

 

3.2       The vision for 2020 was that: ‘everyone in Belfast experiences and is inspired by our city’s diverse and distinctive culture and arts. Arts & Heritage are valued for enriching quality of life and creating wealth and the city’s culture and creativity is renowned throughout the world.’

 

3.3       The framework contains four main priorities for action, namely;

 

-       Distinctly Belfast

-       Attracting audiences

-       Inspiring communities

-       Strengthening the sector.

 

3.4       The support is delivered through a range of mechanisms including grant funding, development work with key bodies such as the Festivals Forum, Visual Arts Forum and strategic investment in areas such as audience development. Key to successful delivery of this framework is the ongoing need to work in partnership with city stakeholders including government agencies and the cultural sector itself.

 

3.5       Some of the priority activities delivered in 2016/17 are set out below.

 

            Key Successes 16/17

 

-       Approximately £1.4m invested in supporting 56 key cultural organisations through Core Multi Annual Funding

-       Successful Festivals and Visual Arts fora are operating in the City

-       33 Community Festivals supported across the city through the Community Festivals Fund with match funding being provided by the Department for Communities (DfC)

-       £160,000 invested in supporting 29 culture, arts and heritage grants

-       City as a Gallery initiative delivered on behalf of BCC by PLACE.  A programme of free events ran along a route from Botanic Gardens in south Belfast to the Waterworks in the north. Events included photographic exhibitions, art trails, art collages in café’s, sculpture, music and temporary art installations

-       Irish premiere of outdoor spectacle Mù performed on 16 October in Ormeau Park as part of the International Festival

 

3.6       The Belfast Agenda identifies the contribution culture and arts to the city helping to improve quality of life, drive the economy and make Belfast a shared, welcoming and proud city. 

 

3.7       A vibrant and animated city is an essential element of strategies to improve the quality of life for the city residents. Equally it is a key element of the investment proposition for a city, focusing on a diverse cultural offer involving a mixture of indigenous talent and international events. Cultural Tourism is also a critical element of Belfast’s tourism offer and one of the key customer segments in the city is the ‘culturally curious’.   

 

3.8       The year 2 delivery plan has been drawn up to support the implementation of the 4-year action plan (2012-16) and is included at appendix 1. The plan has taken into consideration the range of actions to be delivered over the 4 year period and has identified a number of priorities to be delivered in 2017/18. As in previous years, partnership working is essential to the development and delivery of actions within the cultural framework and action plan. As government resources come under increasing pressure, it is important to retain focus on the cultural sector and to explore new partnerships and ways of doing business.   

 

3.9       Across each of the 4 themes, some of the proposed actions for 2017/18 include:

 

-       Distinctly Belfast:

 

-       Deliver a ‘Cultural Animation’ programme in partnership with other internal departments including the City Regeneration Team and City Events.

 

 

-       Inspiring Communities

 

-       Deliver an artist in residence programme in a number of key locations across the city, funded through the Peace 4 programme.

-       Develop a capacity building programme to enhance the skills of the sector across a number of key areas including marketing, product development, strategic and financial planning and social enterprise support. 

 

-       Attracting Audiences

 

-       Develop and deliver a tailored programme on audience development based on the baseline research undertaken by Audience NI to:

 

-       Establishing a framework for capturing audience information for festivals, events, galleries and community arts organisations who do not operate box offices 

-       Work with a number of key organisations including the Festivals Forum to create opportunities for collaborative marketing and clustering to increase the profile of events across the year and increase ticket sales

 

-       Strengthening the Sector:

 

-       Establish Memorandum of Understanding with key partners including Arts Council of Northern Ireland, to agree a range of targeted interventions that will enhance the sustainability for the sector.  

-       Deliver a skills development and training programme that promotes innovation amongst the sector in partnership with a number of key organisations such as Arts & Business.

 

3.10     One of the key areas for consideration in this year’s delivery plan is how the sector can be mobilised and brought on board as part of the development phase for the European Capital of Culture bid for 2023. If the bid is to be successful, the Council may need to consider the level and focus of its current investment in the sector as the Capital of Culture designation requires mobilisation of cultural assets in the run up to the year and notes the requirement for consideration of legacy after the event. The Council is working with the Arts Council to consider how collectively, we can make investments that will support the resilience and sustainability of the city’s flagship cultural infrastructure    

 

3.11     Targets set out in the Cultural Framework Action Plan 2016-2020 will be monitored on a quarterly basis and reported back to Committee annually. Data collated will include number of participants, number of events, geographical breakdown of attendees/participants in events.

 

3.12     Financial & Resource Implications

 

            The Year 2 Delivery Plan will be supported by 2017/18 Tourism, Culture & Arts budget. The funding required has been set aside in the departmental budget for 2017/18 which has been approved by this Committee.

 

3.13     Equality or Good Relations Implications

 

            The full Cultural Framework Strategy was subject to an Equality Impact Assessment. This updated action plan will continue to be monitored accordingly.”

 

The Committee adopted the recommendations.