Prof. Daniel Ashton, Dr. Aiysha Jahan & Prof. Will May (Southampton University), Diversifying Capacities: Understanding and developing creative communities, connectivity, and capacities

Bridging the Gap: Uniting Creative Freelancers and Local Government in the Solent Region

Tucked away in a charming café in the heart of the Solent region, a group of us – academics, local government officers, and advocates for the creative sector – are gathered. The air is filled with the rich aroma of coffee and an undercurrent of excitement about the future of our creative and cultural industries. Today, I'm eager to share insights from a recent symposium presentation that struck a chord with me, and I believe, will resonate with you too.

This next paper explored the work of the AHRC-funded Diverse Capacities research team from the University of Southampton – Professor Will May, Professor Dan Ashton, and Dr. Aiysha Jahan. They focused on a strand of their recent project which helped to connect artists – the people that shape our places – with councils, who serve the people that make them.

The paper began by outlining the wider policy and research context, drawing on the KPMG report emphasising the need for deeper connection between deeper connections between different layers of government and diverse local communities to find ‘augmentation of local capabilities’ (Selfin: 2020). This is particularly timely for the creative and cultural sector. Recent research on arts governance shows the work still to be done on regional collaboration and connectivity: O’Brien, Rees and Taylor note more innovative networks and structures are needed if regional arts is to have a ‘genuinely transformative role’ (O’Brien et al: 2022).

The 2021 LGA Commission on Culture and Local Government has noted that despite the £1billion spent per year on culture by local councils, strategies for regional cultural communities are often fragmented, relying on often under-engaged decision-making processes (Young: 2021). Regional connectivity is often related to bidding capacity, meaning councils in areas with greater civic resources or cultural infrastructure receive more help.

The project, structured in four phases, began with workshops involving local government officers from various councils, including the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth. These workshops aimed to map connections, identify gaps, and set aspirations for regional cultural activities. The second phase bought creative practitioners into the fold, exploring existing and potential relationships with local government officers.

Through a series of interweaving workshops bringing together creative freelancers with local government officers, they developed an intriguing approach: they used postcards to introduce and build relationships between these distinct groups. Pre-project engagement with these groups had shown low levels of mutual understanding, and sometimes points of friction. Existing research and policy guidance highlights the need for ‘innovative and original approaches’ to engage communities in conversations about culture (LGA, 2020: 10). Many of the project participants lived in areas with significant tourist economies, and postcards were a chance to speak back to the ways their places were marketed vs. the year-round experiences for communities who lived there.

They invited participants to use art practices reflecting a range of communities from their areas, including Warli art, a South Asian art form which records narratives, beliefs, and customs using triangle, circle, and square patterns. Existing research has shown how the coastal tourist economies of the UK often silence racial difference, and many of the districts our LGOs represented had significant South Asian communities who were underserved in the current culture offer.

In the first session, LGOs created their own postcards, drawing representations of their communities and the intricate networks within them.  Creating postcards which represented themselves and their networks was an effective way of telling their story and humanising them as individuals rather than simply as representatives of local government. As our workshops with freelancers were scheduled between sessions with LGOs, postcards were a creative and engaging way to begin a dialogue between the two groups that could continue afterwards via email, creative collaboration, and finally face-to-face meetings.

The questions posed by local government officers on these postcards were particularly revealing. They asked how they could support freelancers, what deterred freelancers from working with them, how they could work better together, and how they could help freelancers navigate complex systems. The responses from freelancers highlighted a need for better visibility of support, streamlined tendering processes, and more effective consultation to understand each other's limitations and needs.

One of the most striking outcomes of this project was the emphasis on mutual understanding. Freelancers expressed a desire for local government officers to recognize their position of power and the impact it has on opportunities for self-employed individuals. They called for a consultation process that would lead to co-designed opportunities, benefiting both groups and enriching the community. In particular, they noted the importance of:

1. Building Bridges: Creating platforms where freelancers and local government officers can connect, share experiences, and understand each other's challenges and needs.

2. Streamlining Processes: Simplifying the tendering and application processes to make them more accessible to freelancers.

3. Fostering Mutual Understanding: Encouraging an ongoing dialogue that acknowledges the power dynamics and works towards equitable collaborations.

4. Co-Designing Opportunities: Working together to create opportunities that are mutually beneficial and community-focused.

The inventive approach of this project offered new ways to think about building relationships and networks in the region.

As we finish our coffees and prepare to part ways, I leave you with a thought: How can we, as members of the Solent region, take these insights and apply them to strengthen our own creative and cultural ecosystem? What steps can we take to ensure that our freelancers feel supported and our local government officers are effectively engaged in the cultural sector?

I invite you to ponder these questions and consider how you can contribute to this evolving narrative. Let's not just be observers of change; let's be the catalysts, driving forward a vibrant, inclusive, and dynamic future for the Solent region's creative and cultural industries.

This blog post is a summary of a presentation given at the Networks of Practice symposium at Solent University on Friday 19^th January 2024. The event was sponsored and hosted by Creative Network South with support from Solent University. The event was convened by Dr Roy Hanney, Associate Professor Media Practice.

You can download a copy of the presentation PDF: Will-May-Danial-Ashton-Diverse-Capacities-Solent-20234.pdf