Spring Programme 2023

Seemingly along with every other arts and cultural organisation in the country, we’re announcing a whole raft of projects this week, desperately trying to get things out in the world before the haze of mulled wine and Christmas markets fully takes hold…

This week we’re announcing Let’s Debate, a major national two-day sector-wide conversation exploring how we develop creativity and culture in the UK, surfacing some of the most innovative, impactful and exciting practice taking shape across the creative industries. It’s a delivery contract we secured with ACE more than 18 months ago, which represents an incredible opportunity to translate, engage and inspire around the real life implications and applications of the ‘investment principles’. 

This week we’re also announcing that we’ve been successful in securing Jerwood Arts funding towards the third edition of Immersive Assembly. Our core talent development programme which will create exciting new cross discipline collaboration between UK-based early-career artists and help address a persistent issue around access to training, skill development and mentoring for new and emerging creatives. It will launch via open call in the new year.

Last, but not least, we’re launching a winter festival of creativity as part of Selby Creates, featuring workshops, participatory installations, and live performance in our new home, Selby. It all takes place from 11th February to the 11th March. 

All of the above leads us towards April, when we officially start our period as an NPO, part of England’s regularly funded national portfolio of arts organisations. We’re incredibly honoured and grateful to be included, and keenly aware how brutal a process it is, and has been for many friends and colleagues who weren’t included this time.

The ‘controversy’ and coverage of the portfolio decisions over the last month have been fascinating, from the perspective of a newly added, northern, media arts organisation, expressly added because of our geographic base and community, quality and standards of our work in commissioning, production and talent development, and the fact that we maintain a critical perspective in the work we commission and make. From our perspective there have certainly been a few odd, and some very sad, decisions, and while it’s absolutely not our place to defend the makeup of the national portfolio, some of the national coverage around ENO and the reduction of funding in London has been hard to understand. There’s lots of undeniably sensible points in Charlotte Higgins’ piece on the decision for example, but some distinct tones of derision about presenting works in ‘carparks, in pubs, or “on your tablet”’. The note about seeing a work in a ‘former chapel’, presumably noted to evidence inherent dynamism, accessibility and progressive thinking going on, does remind me of the outgoing chief exec on Radio 4 the day of the announcements, presumably trying to demonstrate how diverse and representative their audiences were, proudly stating 7% of their audience was under 35  (43% of the English population is under 35…). 

We understand and empathise with the loss and disappointment being experienced, but there’s also more than a few glimmers of hope, and things to celebrate in the new portfolio. The incredible Reform Radio in Manchester, built around creating life changing opportunities for young people in the north west, MAIA Group in the Midlands, a Black-led arts and social justice organisation resourcing and supporting artists to change their communities and environments, or perhaps even us…a small arts commissioning agency in Selby, developing, producing, exhibiting and touring work from artists working around the blurred edges of digital art…. Change can be painful, but the next generation are coming.