Agenda item

That Cabinet:

1.    Approves and adopt the draft Cultural Strategy, included at Annex One.

2.    Delegates authority to the Strategic Director for the Economy, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for the Economy, to complete a designed version of the strategy and publish the document.

3.    Delegates authority to the Strategic Director for the Economy, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for the Economy, to develop an implementation and action plan.

Councillor Andrew Jones stated that this strategy followed the recommendations from the Council’s community-led Arts Commission, which concluded in 2021. The Cultural Strategy was developed following extensive consultation and its structure set out an overall vision, supported by four strategic themes with actions. It aimed to develop a Cultural Compact to manage the strategy, implementation, and action plan, reporting to stakeholders and the public.

Councillor Jones added that this strategy was the foundation to make a bid to the Mayor of London’s London Borough of Culture (LBOC) award in 2025 or 2027. After this Cabinet meeting there would be a low-key informal event, with a larger scale formal launch being planned to mark the submission of the bid on 30^th November 2023.

The Leader noted that the following Culture Stakeholders were present at the meeting and invited Amy Belson to address Cabinet.

·         Amy Belson – Executive Director, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre

·         Claudia Suckling – Chief Executive Director, William Morris Society

·         Harry Fisher Jones – Deputy Director, HQI

·         Angelique Schmitt – CEO, Kindred Studios

·         Rosie Whitney-Fish – Chief Executive, DanceWest

Amy Belson stated that she had just attended the launch of the Theatre for Every Child - a project seeking to ensure every political party ringfenced funding to help make sure every child had been to the theatre by the time they left school. This made her realise that Hammersmith & Fulham was leading the way in access to culture. The Lyric Theatre partnership with the Council ensured that every primary school child would get the opportunity to see their Panto. As this Culture Strategy rightly stated, “culture is at the heart of this borough’s identity”. The Lyric Theatre was proud to have been the creative heart of the borough for nearly 130 years. This strategy and LBOC bid crystallised the role of culture in the borough.

Councillor Adrian Pascu-Tulbure asked the reason for the strategy aiming to develop partnerships only with European cities and not worldwide.

The Leader replied that the Council was currently twinning with many European cities and were looking into other cities around the world. The reason for European cities was that they were closer and shared values.

Councillor Jones added that they were also considering global twinning as the borough had a rich global diversity.

The Leader complimented Councillor Ben Coleman’s work on this strategy as Chair of the Policy and Accountability Committee. Over 60 people from different arts organisation had come to a meeting of this Committee to tell the Council what they would like to see on the Cultural Strategy.

The Leader added that the Council had provided significant support to help the cultural sector thrive during challenging times (including the Irish Cultural Centre, Lyric Theatre, Bush Theatre, and other organisations). The Civic Campus would also provide an artistic rejuvenation of the area with a cinema, arts gallery, concert hall and arts taking place in the new square.  Arts at Hammersmith & Fulham was not seen as a luxury but as fundamental to life.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY BY THE CABINET MEMBERS:

That Cabinet:

1.    Approves and adopt the draft Cultural Strategy, included at Annex One.

2.    Delegates authority to the Strategic Director for the Economy, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for the Economy, to complete a designed version of the strategy and publish the document.

3.    Delegates authority to the Strategic Director for the Economy, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for the Economy, to develop an implementation and action plan.