What is a Cultural Compact?
When the UK Cultural Cities Enquiry report was published in 2019, one of the key recommendations was the creation of Cultural City Compacts. Compacts, it said, should draw together partners from across city government, culture, business and higher education, effectively strengthening the framework that allows place-based arts and heritage to thrive.
In 2020, while getting to grips with screen sharing and social distancing, key cultural organisations in Herefordshire were invited by Arts Council England to establish a Compact.
This work is now underway, led by Herefordshire Cultural Partnership as part of the consortium's long term mission to enrich the lives of all who live, work and visit Herefordshire by building on existing arts and culture programming and generating new opportunities and more engagement.
Compact ambitions
Establishing a Herefordshire Cultural Compact will bring about the step-change and strengthen the cross-sector partnerships that will enable our county to be a culturally vibrant, prosperous and sought after place in which to live, work, study and visit.
Backed by Herefordshire Council, which has been supporting cultural development through its contributions to the Herefordshire's A Great Place programme (2018-2021) and being an active member of the Cultural Partnership, the ambition is to develop an independently chaired Compact that links our rural cultural sector to the broader aspirations and priorities of the county so that more people and more places can engage with and benefit from culture and creative opportunities.
As well as facilitating engagement, information sharing, and strengthening of relationships with local, sub-regional (the Marches), regional (West Midlands) and national organisations, having a Compact in place will result in a three-year business and investment plan to deliver the Herefordshire Cultural Strategy’s priority objectives in 2022-2025.
It will also create space for the sector to get involved in, and benefit from, capital investment schemes like the ongoing Towns Fund programme in Hereford and the Heritage Action Zone in Leominster.
Ultimately Herefordshire Cultural Compact will move the county forward and enable all those involved in arts and heritage leadership to respond effectively to the unprecedented disruption that Covid-19 brought to the sector and our communities.
Find out more
To find out more about the development of Herefordshire Cultural Compact, including how you might get involved - whatever sector you're involved in - please contact Nic Millington, acting chair of Herefordshire Cultural Partnership, at nicm@ruralmedia.co.uk.
For an informal call about this work, call Lauren Rogers on 07729920681.
