"it’s important to be ambitious for your city, to know your stories and to be proud. Not because it makes you better than anyone else. More because it makes everywhere else more interesting to visit and be. And to recognise and that in being proud and ambitious, culture is the activity that often gives life to such pride and ambition."
Celebrating Culture and Leisure in Nottingham
Please find -
a welcoming speech to Euro-Cities culture committee in Nottingham, celebrating culture (below);
a link to a web-page on Labour's achievements for culture, media and sport;
an extract from the Guardian whereby leaders of the arts world recognise the achievements made by the Labour Gov't (below);
reasons to be proud of culture and leisure in Nottingham;
a speech on transforming neighbourhoods, the final third of which describes how our culture and local history can give pride and identity to neighbourhoods;
(Nottingham's Digital Challnge bid also features culture in 3 of its 5 main components.)
Euro-Cities Culture Cttee. in Nottingham
Culture specialists from across Europe are in Nottingham (in June) to attend a forum organised by Eurocities, a network that brings together European cities to share ideas and collaborate on cultural projects. Over 60 culture vultures from every major European city are here for the weekend, so what better opportunity for Nottingham to showcase its myriad of cultural attractions? Delegates will be enjoying all that Nottingham has to offer, including visiting the Brit Art Show 06 and exploring some of the 300 caves beneath the city.
Extracts from welcoming speech -
Welcome to Nottingham. And welcome to England. You can’t have missed the flags, I’m sure. They’re everywhere. You’ll notice a certain air of optimism and expectation as you go around.
There is a technical term for this display and for this mood. It’s called - “before the completion of the quarter-finals stage of the World Cup”.
Now we’re very proud of Nottingham, and we’ve go lots to tell you.
We have a great night life. And loads of restaurants where you can enjoy our most popular English dishes. Lasagne. Chicken Tikka Masala. Nottingham is home to the widest range of restaurants in the country. And for all the displays of national pride, you’ll see from the food and drink, that the British have truly embraced the experience of the global village.
So much of what we English hold dear is in fact imported. Reflecting our history as a trading nation. Even fish and chips draws upon Jewish and Belgian cultures. So enjoy England and don’t be too surprised if it feels like home. We borrow the best from everyone.
We enjoy life here - satisfaction with the quality of life is higher than many places in England, including many of the better off areas.
We’ve plenty of things to be proud of. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance scanning was invented here. The inventor won a Nobel prize. Ibuprofen was developed here too. We’re the home to one of the most effective commercial data businesses in the world. Such innovation in science and business is vital to our economic well-being.
The creative industry sector is also vital to Nottingham. And we have Games Workshop and a lot of gaming software is written in Nottingham. So culture and leisure contributes too to our city’s well-being in many ways and the range of what is available to see and enjoy is part of the reason people like me chose to live in Nottingham.
And we are investing in our culture and leisure. Currently, we’re redesigning our main square - so that we have a better arena for the wide range of events we provide. We’re constructing a new centre for the contemporary arts. We’re hosting a British Arts festival. And last years, thousands came to see the Pre-Raphaelite exhibition; and Andy Warhol before that.
Part of that festival is taking place at the castle. Nottingham’s castle was once the biggest and strategically most important castle in the country. It’s probably why the Tales of Robin Hood became about Nottingham. We still have the Sheriff of Nottingham. But you can be assured that these days, we are most decidedly against the outlaw. The castle served its military purpose and has been the site of a mansion for nearly 200 years. It’s now the home of our arts gallery and I can’t think of many nicer examples of turning swords into ploughshares.
So lots going on. ... I hope you’ll leave Nottingham thinking that in our new global village, it’s still important to be ambitious for your city, to know your stories and to be proud. Not because it makes you better than anyone else. More because it makes everywhere else more interesting to visit and be. And to recognise and that in being proud and ambitious, culture is the activity that often gives life to such pride and ambition.
During the Euro-Cities visit, BBC2's Culture Show highlighted the British Art Show 6 in Nottingham.
And then the Arts world chose to celebrate Labour's national achievements.
Arts and museums urge ministers to keep up good work - from The Guardian , Friday June 9, 2006
... artistic leaders including Sir Nicholas Serota and Nicholas Hytner praised the government's record on the arts and set out their ambitions for cultural life over the next 10 years.
A decade of strong funding under Labour has transformed society, says their manifesto, Values and Vision: the Contribution of Culture. There has been an "explosion of creativity" said Hytner, artistic director of the National Theatre. Britons now engage with culture "to a degree undreamed of a decade ago", according to Sir Nicholas, director of the Tate. Seven of Britain's top 10 attractions are museums or galleries; 85% of foreign tourists visit for our museums; 66% of the population attended at least one cultural event in the past 12 months.
None the less, say the artistic leaders, it is vital that government investment remains strong. By 2015, they want 85% of the population to attend or take part in a cultural event, and every child to visit a museum or attend an arts event at least once a year. They want Britainto become the key destination for cultural tourists. Their plea is set against the background of the run-up to the 2012 Olympics, and the government's spending review, which will set departmental budgets for the next decade.
[Last updated 2006-06-12]
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