Ealing Council has revealed a new five-year cultural manifesto and action plan for the borough with the aim to increase and improve local arts, culture and creative industries.
The plan was unveiled at a special event held in Park Royal on Friday afternoon (31 March 2023) which saw a number of creative people perform and show their work including: UFO Steelband, Hip Hop MCs, DJ Chantz, graffiti art by Fibz The Creator and mosaic and clay work by Carrie Reichardt.
The council says the plan has been put together through a “culture task group” comprising a range of local sector representatives, Arts Council England, the Greater London Authority’s culture team and the University of West London.
The manifesto complements existing council plans and aligns the cultural commitments.
In a statement, the council says of the three commitments:
“Fighting inequality – introducing more diverse types of art in the borough. Local culture hubs in all seven towns will increase community empowerment, activism and cohesion by responding to local need and talent”
“Creating good jobs – through the Cultural Education Partnership with Ealing schools, skills providers and employers. Stimulate business growth and create flexible entry and progression routes into the creative industries though upskilling workshops and career videos (Creative Enterprise Zone, New Gen festival)”
“Tackling the climate crisis – making our events and festivals more environmentally sustainable.”
The council added that in 2022, it visited each of the borough’s seven towns with a creative installation to get residents feedback to help develop its cultural manifesto, through an arts and culture survey.
Among the top level comments from residents who take part in the arts were: arts are extremely important because of its benefits on wellbeing, they take part in arts, culture and creative activity (78.7% respondents), cinema, workshops, community art is what most residents are engaged in.
Among those who don’t take part they cited that they don’t have time. It also revealed that more Ealing residents take part in outside of Ealing that inside the borough.
Ealing Council’s leader, Councillor Peter Mason said: “Our cultural manifesto is an ambitious plan to not only unlock the potential and creativity of everyone living in Ealing, but also to make it easier for the arts and culture sector to thrive.
“We have already achieved things we are incredibly proud of, such as investing in our heritage buildings Gunnersbury Park Museum and Pitzhanger Manor and Gallery; setting up a Cultural Education Partnership so all our children and young people can access great art; adopting an arts charter for our schools; distributing half a million pounds in grants to our creative and digital businesses; opened a creative Enterprise Zone in North Acton and Park Royal. We can’t wait to build on these successes together with our residents, partners and creatives.”
Councillor Jasbir Anand, cabinet member for thriving communities said: “Ealing’s art and culture is both historic and cutting edge. In the 10 years since our previous cultural strategy was developed, there have been significant changes in the cultural landscape. To ensure that Ealing will still be at the forefront of British arts and culture, we have developed this dynamic cultural manifesto so we can address geographic inequities in access to culture in our borough, and be proud of Ealing’s cultural heritage in years to come.”
Tonya Nelson, area director of Arts Council England, said: “Creativity has the power to energise and strengthen places, and this cultural manifesto is all about ensuring creativity is at the heart of Ealing and its multi-cultural communities, as well as supporting the immense talent and potential of residents. The Arts Council looks forward to working with the council to help deliver on its mission, which rhymes with our own strategy for 2020-30 called Let’s Create.”
Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, Justine Simons OBE said: “I am delighted to support Ealing Council as they launch their ambitious manifesto, putting cultural strategy at the heart of their borough. Culture has the power to inspire our next generation, bring communities together and drive the local economy. Following the successful launch of the Mayor of London’s Creative Enterprise Zone in Acton and Park Royal, I look forward to continuing to work alongside Ealing Council to support the creative industries as part of our work to build a better London for everyone.”
