Agenda and minutes

Apologies for Absence had been received from Councillor Harry Phibbs. Following the meeting Councillor Lucy Ivimy sent her apologies for having missed the meeting because of an urgent personal matter.

* See note below.

Councillors Fennimore and Connell declared that they were members of the trustee board of the Lyric Theatre.

Members are asked to elect a Vice-Chair for the 2016-17 Municipal Year.

Councillor Ivimy was elected as Vice-Chair of the Committee for the Municipal Year 2016-17. The vote was unanimous.

The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed to be accurate.

Donna Pentelow explained that she was pleased to be discussing the new Arts Strategy on the second day of the H&F Arts Fest. She explained that the new strategy was the result of an extensive consultation which had created a lot of enthusiasm. Over 130 organisations had been invited to participate, a dedicated arts email address had been set up to receive responses, which would continue to be used by the council, whilst workshops had been held on a the strategy’s key themes. She was grateful to all those who had participated.

Ms Pentelow said that the strategy’s vision was for Hammersmith and Fulham to become:

-       One of the country’s most popular destinations for people to participate in and enjoy the arts.

-       A place in which greater creativity and innovation thrive and the arts are experienced by more people from a wider range of backgrounds.

-       A place where local residents and cultural organisations drive more clearly how the council supports the art, ensuring that every penny of arts funding is even more focused than now.

-       A place where the arts are at the centre of a dynamic local economy, leading to new jobs, businesses and economic growth.

She then explained that the strategy had three core themes: Destination – Boosting the local economy by developing and promoting a thriving borough for the arts, Creation – Supporting people to create and produce excellent art of all kinds and Inclusion – Giving residents from a wide range of backgrounds more opportunity to experience and participate in artistic activity.

An action plan had been developed to deliver the strategy’s vision; this plan included a large number of activities and had been prioritised. The key actions for the first year would be to create an arts network, to seek funding for an arts development officer and to work on setting up an Arts and Culture Trust, which could administer an Arts Endowment Fund. Donna Pentelow explained that there would also be more work to extend the offer of libraries to include more arts and culture.

Donna Pentelow explained that the administration was committed to displaying the Cecil French Bequest, and that two of the paintings were soon to go out on loan with an exhibition tour across Europe; the paintings would eventually be displayed in London as part of that exhibition. In addition the Council had acquired high quality prints of the works which would be displayed at Hammersmith Town Hall.

The Chair said that he was pleased to see that the comments made at the PAC meeting in September 2015 had been reflected in the consultation process and in the new strategy. He noted that the prints had been a suggestion of a resident and felt that their being created and displayed showed that the Council really valued the opinions of residents.

Members of the public said that they felt the strategy was a good one which reflected the aspirations they held for the arts in the borough;  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The next meeting will be held on Tuesday 5 July 2016. The meeting will be held in the Courtyard Room, Hammersmith Town Hall from 7pm.

Members noted that the next meeting would be held on 5 July 2016 in the Courtyard Room, commencing at 7pm. Members also noted the committee’s work programme for future meetings. A resident said that they felt it important that the committee discuss the council’s archives as well as libraries at its next meeting.