The FAB Creativity and Culture strand, led by Professor Sue Rigby, Vice Chancellor at Bath Spa University, has been highly successful in bringing significant regional funding to Banes to support a number of creative and cultural projects.
Professor Rigby sits as Chair of the West of England Cultural Compact, which ‘aims to focus and amplify the role of culture in the region, as a driver for economic success, placemaking, community cohesion and personal wellbeing’ making her leadership of this Future Ambition Board strand perfect to align actions across Banes with wider regional objectives and funding opportunities.
In fact, Bath Spa, in collaboration with other local organisations including Little Lost Robot and Bath and North East Somerset Regeneration Team, has a track record of securing grants for local creative and cultural projects, with over £250,000 secured in 2022/23, and a further £580,000 in 2023/24. The Creativity and Culture strand brings together local organisations to deliver these activities and projects to communities across Banes.
Through Creative Twerton, set up in an empty shop on Twerton high street, free sessions including Art Lunch and Afterschool clubs are offered, ‘Community Treads and M/Others who make’, community theatre sessions, Warhammer paint and play sessions and a community hot-pot event.
In Radstock, the Old Printworks building has been secured and is being transformed into an accessible community artspace, with free sessions daily including stained glass painting, maternal journal, M/Others in the library, Youth Connect South West painting sessions, lego club and Sunday Socials aimed at local teenagers.
Leading these projects on the ground, Ruby Sant says: “We typically see at least between 150-200 people through our sessions each week, and this is growing. We currently have 19 artists in residence across three sites, and we employ 15 freelancers regularly to deliver sessions, of which 30% are Gypsy, Roma, Traveller or People of Colour, and 90% of which are from low income communities. Our team includes Bath Spa University graduates, and young people – continuing to offer opportunities for employment in the creative industries locally while also giving everyone opportunity to access the arts is core to our mission.”