New cultural blueprint for the Isle of Wight

In the week John Constable's 'The Cornfield' went on display in Newport High Street, the Isle of Wight Council underlined its focus on culture-led regeneration by adopting a new cultural strategy.

The cultural blueprint aims to place the arts, culture and heritage at the heart of Island life and build a reputation for the Isle of Wight as a place where creative people want to study, visit and work.

Developed by the sector itself as a catalyst for change, the plan will help shape the future of culture and creativity on the Island, ensuring it is well placed to attract investment from UK government, trusts and foundations.

And while it fell upon the council's Cabinet to approve the document last Thursday (8 June), councillors were clear that it very much belonged to the Island.

The strategy was developed by The Island Collection, a local organisation committed to improving the quality of life for all those who live and who visit the Isle of Wight, and is based on four key goals:

Culture is a difficult thing to define but in simple terms it is about how we live or lives, who we are, our heritage and our future.

It is often viewed as arts, festivals, music and film. But it is also about the distinctive character of people and places.

Councillor Julie Jones-Evans, Cabinet member for economy, regeneration, culture and leisure, said there was a real community appetite and momentum for culture and creativity to be a major catalyst for change on the Island.

"A strong cultural sector can help grow the economy and create new jobs, enrich people's lives and make the Island a more attractive and welcoming place to invest and visit," she said.

"Having a cultural strategy in place that is transformational, ambitious and realisable.

"The cultural strategy is, above all, a way of helping the Island make those connections, to grow and enjoy its talent, and share the cultural offer far and wide in the world."

The Island has a rich cultural history and a vibrant cultural sector which is often the reason people both visit the Island and decide it's the place they want to stay and call home. 

World-class artists who have lived and worked on the Island include England's most renowned romantic poet, Tennyson, and the early pioneering photographer, Julia Margaret Cameron.

The council has supported the sector through projects and programmes delivered as part of its regeneration strategy.

This includes:

• a successful bid for funding to Historic England for Ryde and Newport to become Heritage Action Zones;
• working with Shade Makers in Ryde in a £2.3 million bid to Arts Council to restore the former Packs Department store in Cross Street as a new cultural and community hub; 
• agreeing to the disposal of land at Kingston, East Cowes, for a new film studio which could create hundreds of jobs and new business opportunities in that sector;
• plans for a new cultural centre, heritage centre and archive on Newport Quay.

Describing the strategy as a set of guiding principles, Gavin Stride, executive director of The Island Collection, said: "It's about all the ways in which we describe who we are, the encouragement we give to our young people, the ways we find purpose in our work, and the way we interact with each other.

"If we get that right, then the Island has a greater chance of being able to flourish. The strategy's ambition is to shift the perception of the island for those who visit, those who don't, but, most importantly, those who live here to raise our collective ambition.

"This is not a missionary model. This is not about leading people up the path to great culture. This is about all the ways in which we describe who we are and how we live our lives. And I do mean everyone.

"Since being on the Island I have been amazed at the range of good and purposeful people trying to make a difference to their communities right across the Island — that's every age and every place. This is not a poor place culturally.

"I think what we need to do is better coordinate those efforts. We need to champion them both to ourselves and to the world, and I think we need to connect people so that we make better uses of the efforts and the resources that we already have."

Read the
cultural strategy in full on the council's website.

More information about The Island Collection is available on its website.