Minutes Mtg 2 December Present: Maria Bota (Rolling Chair) Keith Nimmo Peter Ursem Paula Hammond Carrie Creamer Deryck Newland Tracy Sullivan (Development Manager) Context Setting: MB – As WAP is coming to the end of a funding period with the Development Manager’s contract coming to an end at the end of January 2011 we need to identify how WAP ought to proceed in terms of the need it fulfils for Wiltshire and the mechanisms and resources it requires to achieve the identified objectives. This Core group meeting is to identify key headings that may go to inform any G4A bid and be the basis from which we look at WAP’s function with the wider WAP membership. PH – was part of the exec group for Somerset Arts Promoters and offered to share with us SAP’s exit strategy so that we might learn from the experiences had in Somerset. Headlines were: o SAP was 16 organisations o Met over a period of 15 years on an adhoc, responsive to need basis in the outset o Received funding through the Thrive project, creating more challenges, focusing more on running an ‘organisation and staff team’ than being innovative and responsive to need o Challenges around shared leadership and communication o SAP succeeded in being a place where exciting ideas grew creating good collaborative working organising retreats for arts professionals SAP worked well as a network when there were perceived threats MB- felt that PH’s learning is helpful but at this point may not require the time for a focused presentation MB – Finances more positive than had previously reported due to consolidation from back dated bank statements. Current balance £24,584 including all payments to Development Manager (excluding expenses) to the conclusion of the current contract. DN- it is important to look at the outcomes of the sort of development work that strategic organisations such as WAP create, the impact should be Long term, impactful, and transformational Wiltshire Arts Promoters, Development Manager, Tracy Sullivan, C/O Arc Theatre Trowbridge, College Road, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 0ES Tel: 07540 938936 email wiltshireartspromoters@gmail.com
KN- Should be successful if we have a strong centrally held plan, collectively owned which is beyond the delivery of each organisations individual programme, no matter the funding situation. MB- need a collective vision that we hold to whilst remaining flexible inorder to respond to changes in the need PH- Can we have effective partnership working when there is such a diverse membership? TS- There are challanges around the mechanisms of delivery for WAP, but the working groups are a method which we are using to being together individuals or organisation people CC- Reported that she had recently attended a meeting about an Arts In Education Partnership, that is being strongly directed by ACE to look at applying for National Portfolia status as a strategic/ broker partner. ACTION: CC to share notes on this with us, see attached. MB: Strength of WAP is it’s lightness of touch, but needs also to be able to deliver. WAP needs to be clear about it’s own vision and assert it, there is a threat in WAP responding only to the requirements of the Local Authority and or ACE. CC- added that she understood any organisation taken on as a Strategic/ broker partner with ACE would be expected to work to ACE’s priorities. PH- suggested that the Arts In Education work is another area that should be referenced in any G4A bids as a demonstration of an understanding of the wider ecology. Membership Felt that we need to ensure there is a representative membership and be aware of and utilise the skills there are across the network. Question If WAP’s work goes well, what will it look like in 3 years time? Need a vision that’s relevant to the whole network Needs to be sufficient strength at the centre holding network together whilst ensuring that all feel part of it IDEA: WAP may benefit from having a figure head, passionate about the arts, independent, represents the collective, influential, unpaid chair to work alongside the Development manager. This would provide consistent leadership and a voice that may be able to influence other organisations at a board level. Possibly also have high profile patrons PH – SAP brought in a Director as it was felt that the members weren’t able to do the work effectively. Need Collective vision to be central – relevant to all – aware of what’s going on elsewhere – aware of how Wilts Council and ACE are changing – informed about funding changes/ opportunities PU - Arts and Health South West stopped charging membership fees, that were at a similar level to WAP’s membership grew from 220 to 550. Wiltshire Arts Promoters, Development Manager, Tracy Sullivan, C/O Arc Theatre Trowbridge, College Road, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 0ES Tel: 07540 938936 email wiltshireartspromoters@gmail.com
WAP’s fee in order to demonstrate a commitment to WA’s vision, not intended to be a barrier. Only 1 member did not pay their fee this year. PU also shared that Arts and Health South West’s work is supported by ACE with the proviso that the PCT’s match fund it, the current levels are £3000 per trust. WAP is in no way to take the place of organisations but aims to be more than the sum of its parts. PU illustrated that with WAP at the centre of a network of artists there is a more direct accessibility to that network. DN – Threat might be that by identifying an individual as ‘leader’ it may be perceived that that person is driving the decisions as opposed to identifying a common purpose. However there does need to be someone to drive forward the agreed priorities. Need to be transparent about how priorities are identified and driven forward. DN noted that at present time notes from all mtgs are not accessible to all members as the terms Of Ref state they should. ACTION: TS reported this is going to be a function in the new website that is currently being developed. PH- suggested that along with a rolling chair that there could be a rolling core group, that every year 2 people leave and 2 new seconded on. DN- reminded the group that WAP did hold a visioning day 2 years ago for the full membership where key priorities for all were defined. MB- It is key that we look at where we are now and take stock Suggested model: to have project champions to lead members forward on particular areas of work, ie Michelle leading on Cultural Olympiad producers work. Continue with a rolling chair, PH commented that she felt SAP would have benefitted from this. Others felt the Chair role would benefit from independence and capacity and that maybe this should be a funded post. MB – gave an example of the street art group ISAN who have a Chair for a set number of years. PU – felt that WAP has been successful in achieving goals in regards to Wiltshire Council and ACE but less so for its members. Need to focus on what Wiltshire requires, to know what artists and practitioners on the ground need and that WAP should be strong in this through the intelligence it can gather through it’s members. DN – having a representative network to inform the need of the ecology is key, and is identified as such in the ‘Creative Wiltshire’ model and the Creative Producer element is the tool through which capacity to support such a network is provided. An example of how his will be made to work in the CW model is through open space events where everyone will have a part to play, priorities identified with people in one place. Project co-ordintaors – an example fo the sort of work that could be championed was given as that of adults in social care. Wiltshire Arts Promoters, Development Manager, Tracy Sullivan, C/O Arc Theatre Trowbridge, College Road, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 0ES Tel: 07540 938936 email wiltshireartspromoters@gmail.com
Needs to be right type of communication Need to have good lead times ‘Mark the difference then make the difference’ DN – believes bringing Creative Wiltshire and WAP together draws together Capacity with the Network MB – pointed out that a key difference between WAP and CW was that the Project Champions came from within organisations DN – responded that CP’s would be embedded into organisations PH – that as there would be no delivering of projects from the CP’s there would be no competition with any organisations Funding: KN asked how the group felt funders would feel about funding a consortia PH- responded that funding would be applied for through a lead organisation CC- What would happen if RIO were given the remit to be strategic/ broker partner for Wiltshire RIO would be given the funding to given that wider geographical remit, so they might need a WAP to support this work. TS asked whether it would be timely to speak to RIO now about what their plans are and ensure that they are aware of WAP’s work to identify any opportunities there. ACTION MB suggested that CC provide us all with further detail and keep us up to date. Where we want to be in 2 – 3 years time Need to identify VISION – HOW WE GET THERE Celebrate what’s happening, be Louder and Prouder collectively Presentations, collective will and advocacy Making arts arguments – more politically – evidence based Support the development of the vision and framework across which artists can flourish Identify the changing landscape of the region Voice and Action 2 way communication important with network, need to have access to meeting notes and papers Membership fee? Project Champions Who holds us to account? KN suggested that it was important to get people to sign up and commit to WAP’s objectives as we need an active network and that signing up and a small fee demonstrated that commitment. The Network benefits from the work done to grow the arts ecology but also from their own CPD MB- highlighted key areas of work! Automatic Tranmission Website, (in partnership with Arts Service and Visit Wiltshire) Wiltshire Arts Promoters, Development Manager, Tracy Sullivan, C/O Arc Theatre Trowbridge, College Road, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 0ES Tel: 07540 938936 email wiltshireartspromoters@gmail.com
Programming group, drawing together a Wiltshire Wide offer for the Cultural Olympiad Do we have enough resource to develop these areas of work PU – talks again about Vision needing to be at centre: Communication: With Local Authority and ACE Core Group and Members Audience PU-felt that WAP have been successful in the first two points but that we need to be Louder and Prouder in our communication with Audiences WAP is felt to have been affective in retaining the arts as a top priority About being proud came about the question of quality. KN – stated that ‘beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder and that we should make judgements about the quality of the work of our members. TS- shared that there is an action for WAP in the future to put a working group together to explore peer review, mystery shopping type activity through which we can be ‘critical friends’ within the membership. So four key headings emerged: 1. Continued work the local authority and ACE 2. To be Louder and Prouder about Wiltshire Arts offer 3. Communication with the broader membership 4. A need to be mindful of the changes within the resource and priorities of the Arts Service and how WAP can support/ fill any gaps Who is WAP here for? Local authority ACE Members both organisations and individuals Audiences Re Creative Wiltshire, and WAP roles: CW key is to develop artists WAP key work around communication? As an attempt at looking at a 3 year plan the group came up with the following: Heading 1 – Communication with LA and ACE: including continued representation at Wiltshire Assembly and Local Area Boards, continue to gain and share knowledge about developments regionally and nationally and be a place for knowledge of others to be centrally held and support a mechanism through which each member does there bit in support of the ecology. I day per week for Development Manager Heading 2 – Louder and Prouder Need a central resource – website, Wiltshire Arts Promoters, Development Manager, Tracy Sullivan, C/O Arc Theatre Trowbridge, College Road, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 0ES Tel: 07540 938936 email wiltshireartspromoters@gmail.com
has everything we do powerful advocacy message interactive feedback performance and participation activity In partnership with Visit Wiltshire WMC may have the capacity to be part of the website working group on the appointment of their new marketing person who has a strong background in developing successful websites. Needs Jobs, what we’re doing, feedback, What’s on, outreach activity, regional and national updates, be self archiving Needs to clarify who the audience is, look to include the rural cinema scheme. Suggested R&D process up until April, work towards August launch. TS- commented that the What’s on part of the website, thus the community being an audience for it as well as arts professionals has come out of this as a priority for Wiltshire Council tat hey would like to find a solution to in partnership with WAP. 3. Communication Between core group and full membership Intelligence/ knowledge transfer Broadening the membership was discussed, so that there can be work taken on and influence had by more than just the RFO organisations. It was felt that members are more likely to join if there is a project to be part of, ie, how we relate the commissioning, provide a shop window for artists, ‘warm’ the commissioning environment to the notion of arts delivering direct outcomes. That commissioners may commission the expertise that is within WAP. Need to work on being a centre for information gathering. We need to maximise the learning from Automatic Transmission, support it’s delivery outside of Children and Young People as is the current brief. The time needed by the Development manager to deliver the key areas of work was discussed. Initially MB mooted that this is a full time post. DN expressed a real concern about the likelihood of such a level of funding being successful. It was then thought that 3 days per week of the Development Managers time, on top of the 1 day per week for 16 months through the Automatic Transmission work, if bid successful, would be sufficient. Update on Creative Wiltshire, (Since be renamed Creative Works: Wiltshire) -
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Team have decided to go ahead with applying for National Portfolio status as it would be beneficial for Wiltshire to have a NP strategic partner, whilst being mindful of the challenges of a new model organisation going for this without being tried and tested. ACE’s Paul Goddard has been consulted on this. The G4A is to be submitted in mid December which is for a pilot year of action research. DN believes that ACE are looking for innovative thinking and leaps of imagination. CW: Wilts looks to broker relationships and empower the sector.
Wiltshire Arts Promoters, Development Manager, Tracy Sullivan, C/O Arc Theatre Trowbridge, College Road, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 0ES Tel: 07540 938936 email wiltshireartspromoters@gmail.com
DN feels sure that CW: Wilts will be stronger with WAP part of it and would help demonstrate to ACE, in the NP bid the strong will and background of partnership working in Wiltshire. KN felt it was important to look at the complementarily of the roles that WAP and CW: Wiltshire would play. KN mooted the difference might be: WAP = audience facing TheatreWorks and Wiltshire dancing = artist facing TS didn’t entirely agree with this differentiation feeling that WAP as a network has done very little work in building audiences directly but more about supporting an ecology in which artists could thrive. MB suggested that by audience we mean Local Authority, ACE etc as well as participants and audience members. ACTION: For TS to support KN and DN in putting together some words of complimentarily. It was thought that a central agency would help towards better efficiency. DN – need to be mindful of the resource available and how we maximise that: Need to ensure model is fit for purpose Protect the capacity of individuals by creating less ‘tables to sit around’ Ensure opportunities for professional development for artists as well as wider audience development. Artists need WAP as an opportunity to network. DN- feels that WAP’s development manager is essentially a Creative producer, as defined within the Creative Works: Wiltshire model and that it would sit easily within the ‘breathable’ CW model. It was acknowledge that there is a lot of creative energy within WAP which needs to be harnessed more effectively, but is there the capacity? The work needs to be co-ordinated, and fund raised for. WAP’s work and any bids coming from it are more powerful and demonstrate more sustainability coming from the membership. Need to look at the Direction of travel of WAPs work in line with the ecology. It was felt that the arts ecology is a buyers market and that in order that we attract artists to live in Wiltshire we have to work to increase the demand for artists to work in the region and provide opportunities for local artists to develop their skills. Along side this it was felt that this new model may need to be more audience focused in order to grow the demand. WAP needs to provide a window within which artists can identify opportunities, WAP become an interface/ brokerage between artists and opportunities. PH and DN agreed that what is described above is a real need within the ecology and that it is that that CW: Wilts will provide the resource to deliver. PH went on to say that it is hoped that CW: Wilt’s CP’s will look to embed within existing organisations and that she sees the SIAF office as being a place that would work well for both CW:Wilts CP’s and SIAF. MB- doesn’t see Creative Works: Wilts being able to add to the work of SIAF DN- responded that whilst a larger organisation like SIAF may not feel that they will benefit from CW; Wiltshire the many individual artists and smaller organisations might. An emphasis for CW; Wilts is a shift of power and decision making to the ground up. Develop and support artists To identify opportunities to nourish the ecology Wiltshire Arts Promoters, Development Manager, Tracy Sullivan, C/O Arc Theatre Trowbridge, College Road, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 0ES Tel: 07540 938936 email wiltshireartspromoters@gmail.com
It feels that there may be issues around the ownership of the model going forward. Creative Works: Wiltshire G4A is due to be submitted two weeks from the date of this meeting. PH- identify a risk in that Creative Works: Wiltshire is creating it’s identity whilst WAP is developing their existing one. In terms of any funding applications it was agreed that an understanding of other initiatives needs to be articulated and there needs to be a clarity of place for each. KN articulated a need develop audiences by developing a relevant programme of activity by identifying need which will bring with it opportunities for artists to develop. So from the audience up. Another view is to develop new work collectively to drive forward audiences. MB- felt we needed to consult with the wider Core group and then the wider membership. So present the headings from today’s meeting as a draft to work from in a wider consultation. DN- Do the wider group need to be asked whether they would like WAP to be part of a NP bid? PH – suggested that such decisions are the remit of the Core group. ACTION: TS to ask the wider core group to respond to the agenda of this meeting. ACTION: KN and DN to put together some words around the complimentarily between WAP and Creative Works: Wiltshire Creative Works: Wiltshire = about developing an ecology within which artists can develop WAP= more audience facing? AOB: KN shared that the BME work that WMC have been undertaking is due to come to an end in the summer. In order that this has a strong legacy WMC would like to identify possible partners to carry on this work. ACTION: TS to ask the wider membership if they have an interest in this work to come forward and opportunities could then be explored.
Wiltshire Arts Promoters, Development Manager, Tracy Sullivan, C/O Arc Theatre Trowbridge, College Road, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 0ES Tel: 07540 938936 email wiltshireartspromoters@gmail.com