Creative Crawley founder Louise Blackwell issues rallying call to people of Crawley

SussexWorld

Creative Crawley launched their new space in County Mall Shopping Centre this week. Founder Louise Blackwell gave a speech and issued a rallying call to the people of Crawley to keep arts in the town and help with funding.

Transcript

00:00So I'd like to finish with a rallying call. It's a significant moment for arts and culture

00:05in Crawley. It feels like we're at a fork in the road. There's a year or so left on

00:10the Towns Fund project, a cultural port of feasibility study is practically complete,

00:16a cultural strategy for the town almost done. Will we be in a combined authority with Surrey

00:23or in a mayoral authority with Brighton & Hove and Sussex by June next year, 2036? Who knows?

00:29But I know which one I'd prefer. The partners involved here have decisions to make. Trust,

00:37invest in and support the collaborative creative community here to move forwards and positively

00:42impact the reputation of the town and the residents who live here. Or make choices to

00:49invest elsewhere, block innovation and allow arts and culture to remain a nice-to-have

00:55tucked away in the back end of a shopping mall. Evidence shows that it takes time to

01:01capitalise on initial investments like this. There's momentum here. We must harness it

01:07or the moment will pass. We live in challenging times where the President of the United States

01:14can take over the chairmanship of a major arts centre in the US in the blink of an eye.

01:19Artists feeling unsafe to take risks in a context of trans and homophobia, racism and

01:26sexism. Where a small number of people are able to decide what art should be allowed in a place

01:31based on personal preference rather than celebrating diversity and difference. Arts

01:37events in Crawley have had to be cancelled recently due to threats of violent protest.

01:42A unity pledge has been created by Crawley Borough Council in which community groups

01:47have pledged their commitment to diversity which is a really positive move. We are in

01:53a place where difficult budget decisions are having to be made. We are all working

01:59in challenging circumstances. The arts community in Crawley are experiencing these challenges

02:05globally and locally. The loss of Crawley Town Centre Business Improvement District

02:11is a massive blow to arts and culture in this town. I want to thank Wendy and Sam who are

02:15here for the work that they've done.

02:24Crawley Town Centre Business Improvement District I would argue has been one of the biggest investors

02:29in the arts in this town apart from UK Government and Arts Council England. And so my question

02:36to leave you with is this. Do you want Crawley to be a progressive, healthy and economically

02:43flourishing town? If the answer to this is yes, then please invest in, support, engage

02:54in and champion culture. It's the only way.

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