Transcript Careers in theatre - Rose Bruford College

Culture matters
Julian Bryant
Cultural activity – more than just a
play
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“The set of distinctive spiritual, material,
intellectual and emotional features of
society or a social group, and that it
encompasses, in addition to art and
literature, lifestyles, ways of living together,
value systems, traditions and beliefs".
UNESCO, 2002
Different definitions of culture
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According to Raymond Williams:
1 “a general process of intellectual, spiritual and
aesthetic development”
2 “a particular way of life, whether of a people, a
period or a group”
3 “the works and practices of intellectual and
especially artistic activity”
Williams R: Keywords London, Fontana, 1983 p87 (cited in Storey)
Aesthetic / cultural
Art for art’s sake
 “The best that has been
thought and done”
 Development of the
spirit,
 Psychic well-being
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Developmental - education
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EXAMPLES of Cultural
and Creative Entitlement
• A chance to work with a wide variety of artists
• To travel to places outside immediate environment
• Work with highly experienced artists
• Have someone to introduce you to experience to feel comfortable to go yourself
later
 • Gallery space planned into school buildings
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DESIRED OUTCOMES
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• Seeing children being open and expressive
• To be supported into adult life to continue arts activity
• Diverse introduction to diverse cultural experiences
• Changing perspectives on the world
• An enriching experience for all
• Something that encouraged whole school change
• Full participation
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Creative Partnerships http://www.creativepartnerships.com/resources/resourcefiles/42248. July 2004
Arts Employment
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At the end of 2000, 760,000 people were employed in
cultural occupations in the UK, compared with 610,000 in
1993. Since 1993, unemployment within the pool of
cultural labour has declined from 9.5 per cent to just 2.5
per cent.
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Artists in figures: a statistical portrait of cultural occupations ACE 27 Sept 2003
'The arts are a growing source of employment and an
increasingly important part of our economy. Just in terms
of hard economics, people working in the arts and
culture contribute more to society than they take out –
and that's before taking into account their positive and
transforming impact on the quality of life in this country.’
 Peter Hewitt, ACE
Economic
Olympics
 Community
regeneration
 Driving economic
activity
 Raising aspiration in
education
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Creative London
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London is the national base of the creative industries in
the UK:
80% of the UK Film and Television industry
90% of music industry business;70% of recording
studios
80 – 85% of UK fashion designers are based in London
52% of the UK overseas visitors market
3 world heritage sites: The Tower of London,
Westminster and Maritime Greenwich
11 museums of designated national importance and 19
national museum venues
Stratford Circus and Three Mills
City Fringes
Excel
Canary Wharf
& Trinity Buoy Wharf
Deptford
Creative Enterprise
Zone and Creekside
World Heritage Site
Royal Arsenal, Woolwich
Greenwich Peninsula
Economic impact of theatre
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The economic impact of UK theatre is £2.6 billion
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The economic impact of theatre beyond the West End is £1.1
billion
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The economic impact of West End theatre is £1.5 billion
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Every audience member spends an average of £7.77 on food,
transport and childcare when they visit a UK theatre outside of
the West End
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Every audience member spends an average of £53.77 on food,
transport and childcare when they visit a West End theatre
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There are at least 16,000 volunteers working in the UK theatre
sector
 ACE, The Economic Impact Study of UK Theatre 5 May 2004
The ‘Cultural Economy’
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The cultural industries are:
 Bigger
than the engineering sector
 Employ 5% of the UK workforce
 Create 10% of GDP
 Earn 10% of export earnings
 A fast growing, and stable, employment sector
Social
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Culture as class
Social
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Culture as class
Social
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Culture as class – Lear or Eastenders?
Culture as politics
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Local authorities – Culture plans
Tessa Jowell – “The public realm”
 'Established
value' is something on which everybody
agrees and which is embodied in the work of the
listings and scheduling systems. But there are other,
more contested aspects of heritage value such as
aesthetic value, community value, evidential value
and historical value.
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keynote speech at the 'Capturing the Value of Heritage' event at the Royal Geographical Society Jan 26
2006
Culture as politics
Whose culture?
 Whose voice is to be
heard?
 Whose isn’t?
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Some issues
What is the role of artistic heritage?
 Is ‘technique’ a neutral matter?
 What kind of theatre/performance should
we be making, which “we”, and for who?
 What is the role of public subsidy? In
whose interest is it operating?
 Is culture another commodity?
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College activities:
Partnerships with FE Colleges
 Contacts with TiE/community companies
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 Half
Moon; Theatre Venture; GLYPT; Bubble
 Talawa; Tara; Nitro; Yellow Earth
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Working with the local community
 Festivals
 Specialist
schools