1. Introduction

2. Overview & Partners

   1. Arts Partners
   2. Arts Strategy & Policy
   3. Groundwork's Arts Policy

3. Good Practice

4. Project Examples

5. Useful Contacts

6. Groundwork UK

Groundwork's Arts Policy

(Adopted August 2000)

1 Groundwork is a national environmental regeneration charity which exists to help local people in our most deprived communities take more control over the social, economic and environmental factors that affect their quality of life. Central to Groundwork’s mission and philosophy is the belief that truly meaningful social, economic and environmental regeneration can only be achieved by adopting an holistic approach. We aim to take into account and nurture the full range of activities and dynamics that make up a healthy and sustainable society.

2 We recognise that creative endeavour in all its forms is a vital part of the whole picture, fundamental to the well being of individual human beings, of communities, of businesses - of every part of the world we live in. Through creativity and imagination we can see beyond the ways things are to the way they might be; we can look at things from new perspectives and hear new voices; and we can become empowered in new ways to act for positive change.

3 The arts offer benefits relevant to Groundwork’s core aims and objectives. They can enhance the aesthetic quality of an area, contribute to social cohesion, build local capacity for organisation and self-determination, help develop local identity and a sense of belonging, enhance individuals’ confidence, skills and employability and promote social inclusion. As such, they have a significant, positive impact on places, people and communities.

4 This is why Groundwork takes the arts seriously, and believes that work with artists and arts organisations should be a core element in our ongoing activity, appropriately planned and managed to ensure optimal benefits for all concerned.

5 It is Groundwork’s policy to :
• ensure that arts and cultural activity are integrated into our overall strategies;
• ensure that arts and cultural issues are considered, debated and developed within the governing structures of our federation, at local, regional and national levels;
• ensure that appropriate staff resources are available regionally and nationally within Groundwork; 
• ensure that each Groundwork Trust has provision for developing and managing arts and cultural activity;
• invest in building Groundwork’s capacity through staff training and personal development in support of arts and cultural activity;
• collaborate within the federation and co-operate with external partners, by pooling resources to co-ordinate strategies, projects and funding bids, to enhance the impact on arts and cultural activity;
• work closely with Regional Arts Boards* and other agencies, contributing our experience of partnership building to the development of arts and cultural strategy;
• explore and expand the range of ways in which we work with artists, committing ourselves to partnerships that expand our mutual knowledge and respect.

* Now Arts Council England

1. Groundwork Arts Toolkit

   Lockside
   5 Scotland Street
   Birmingham B1 2RR
    
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