Creativity and inclusiveness top of the Arts Collective’s priorities
WILSON Arts Collective is a group for young people aged 15 -25 who love the arts and are on a mission to make Cheltenham a more creative and inclusive place.
When the group heard about Cheltenham Borough Council’s “vision about how people can work together to realise the ambitions and aspirations of the town, and make sure Cheltenham remains an amazing place, a place where everyone thrives”, they wrote a poem which would speak about their own experiences.
It was written with the support of poet, performer and Cheltonian JPDL.
Thinking of my home town, and I love this place Stepping over broken paving stones n feeling safe.
I’ve lived on Bath Road and up Pittville Gates
To down the lower end and the villages that frame it.
Well I was never really one for sports or horse racing
Me and many others didn’t choose to be creative
The reasons inexplicable it’s just the way we’re made
Now why not settle in the leafy place we’re born and raised in? Why have I seen so many pack and move away with
Aims of obtaining their artistic aspirations
Why does it seem that part n parcel of the game is Landing in a new location makes your goals legitimate Pointing fingers is pointless if we all just wanna fix it Pondering what changes here would work when implemented
To keep the future makers here and truly reap the benefits
If it’s a case of asking them then this is what they said, it’s.. Simply make some money from selling my creations
To make a show take it up to Edinburgh and write things
A youth led festival run by under 30s Create an open cinema for independent local film
Just to make a living solely from illustration
More of a platform with more chance of progression
Ability to hire kit at affordable pricing Bringing all art forms together would create a scene
More understanding as to what we need Make a radio show make a web series Funding if there’s pots of money then we need to know Stability in finance opportunities to grow Let people experience what they’ve not been able to
Run an organisation that supports artists properly Aimed at a range of ages Accessibility.
These are answers to the questions in the place strategy Ambitions Aspirations
How will you achieve them? Don’t get me wrong, I do not think you’re the ones to blame
That private businesses shut down or changed the way they operate
But you do have the influence to plant the seeds of something great Who knows what could bloom from the right creative space Where access to the funding that’s available is displayed With a skilled practitioner helping facilitate
And nurture roses rising from the pot holes in the pavement
You know as well as I do that something has to change
To realise the visions and ambitions that we crave
It seems the three splinters of the strategy will play
A part in one another’s success if it’s obtained
A thriving scene would see young people coming here to stay And maybe native makers would know they’re appreciated Provided with a platform to learn and ply their trade
A direct consequence would be they’d put their pens to page
To jump up and perform if presented with a stage
Access to a space could be the offer of their place
Maybe build the opportunity to earn themselves a wage
For some a job in retail purely means the bills are paid
And quality of life includes the art that they create Outside of conventional parameters could be the case Performing what they want to is the crux in this equation Local art unbound from genre based restriction
May become contagious amongst those who watch and listen Well…. The very fact I’m writing this to me is an indication
That some of you have seen the issues raised and want to change them
It starts with those who sow the seeds, making certain decisions
It’s up to them to till the earth for younger generations
For more information about Wilson Arts Collective contact learning@ cheltenhamtrust.org.uk
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