Arts Council England
Developing BME arts organisations in east England
the hub was invited by ACE East to develop a pilot programme to understand and respond to the needs and ambitions of BME individual artists and arts organisations in the East of England.
We started the programme with a one-day seminar (Stage 1) that enabled a wide range of individuals and groups to come together to discuss their own ambitions and the hurdles they felt stood in the way of achieving them. The day allowed for networking amongst the attendees and also presented guest speakers and performances. From the intelligence gathered at this initial event we developed a small-scale business development programme (Stage 2) for eight organisations that allowed them to explore what they stood for, where they wanted to go and what steps they needed to take to get there. From this group of eight the three groups with the most potential to develop and expand their artistic offer and their organisation were invited on to stage 3 of the project. Stage 3 allowed them to undertake business planning with the hub and included discussion and action around artistic vision, operations and structure, working with venues and partners, fundraising and marketing. We also provided support and direction with their Grants for the Arts applications and helped them develop a timetabled action plan.
This whole programme has provided valuable insight into what support BME arts organisations in the East region need and how they can be best served by ACE initiatives and develop their share of funding both within and outside of the public sector. It also demonstrated the importance of both supplier (the hub) and client (ACE)remaining open-minded and flexible about the format and content of a programme in order that the interests of the recipient organisations involved are best served; the programme we ended up with is different for the one we set out to deliver.
At the end of this programme a final report for ACE East will give practical pointers on how they can best serve and develop relationships with the organisations involved and how they can use what we’ve learnt to create and maximise development opportunities for BME groups in the East region.
For more information on this project please contact wendy@thehubuk.com
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