Officer presentation and discussion
Minutes:
Robin Campbell, Head of Communications, outlined the progress on putting together a South of the borough event. In 2011 the council had made an overall cut to its events programme of around 25%. That meant that several festivals had lost all of their council funding. However, events were considered important for community cohesion so it was proposed that there would be three major events delivered by the council each year. One of these being the South of the borough event. The event would continue to celebrate diversity and allow for input from new groups whilst building on previous partnerships. Lots of ideas had been put forward by various groups and the challenge was to turn those into an event. The overall budget was £54,000 for the marketing and structuring of the event. The consultation had been running since January 2012 with lots of local meetings held and online surveys completed. A steering group of 10-15 people had been set up to shape the programme.
The proposal was to showcase the best talents and creativity in the local community. There would be three pop up stages/platforms, one in each ward. The steering group suggested days that focus around three national events, for example: Halloween, Christmas and St. George’s Day. The plan was to engage local performers and provide a market place for local artisans and traders. Locations and timings were yet to be fixed by the steering group. The plans would be co-ordinated, managed and supported by Southwark’s communications team.
A community arts showcase would also be delivered which would be an extensive programme of inclusive arts workshops. It would be led by local artists and bring together different generations, areas and businesses together. The culmination would be a live outdoor showcase event. There could, for example, be a parade down Lordship Lane and an outdoor exhibition. The event would be appropriate to the agreed venue.
In response to questions, Robin said the events would probably be on a weekend and could be either one or two days depending on what the steering group suggested. The showcase event would potentially be in May.
Members emphasised that the Halloween event arrangements should include close working with the Police and community wardens to avoid potential problems at that time of year.
The chair summarised that there was broad agreement that the plans were moving in the right direction.