Stories of arts & culture across Gloucestershire

How joined up local alliances create new opportunities in communities…this one in Gloucester with Culture Matson.

Would you like an update on our Data Journey? CG’s data guru Alan Inman Ward shares his insights into where we are now and where we are heading. Read on!

A brand new toolkit to help you sort your board out - so everyone on your board knows what they're doing and you've got the paperwork all sorted!

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Ready to be inspired? Discover how a pioneering group in Gloucestershire is transforming the landscape of health through collaboration. The HCT Co-lab isn't just a programme; it's about building a fairer, healthier future, together.

The HCT Co-Lab is a personal development programme all about creating the conditions in Gloucestershire for fairer health. Amy Aitkens, one of the HCT Co-lab participants, reflects on her time on the programme.

Pippa, CG’s founder and director and Naomi Draper, CEO and Artistic Director of GL4, attended the Creative Health APPG ( All Party Parliamentary Group) hosted by Stroud MP Simon Opher. Read Pippa’s key takeaways.

Create Local is Create Gloucestershire’s transformative programme that addresses the unmet demand for arts, culture, and creativity in Gloucestershire, particularly in communities that have historically received limited public funding. It connects artists with individuals who are passionate about enhancing the creative fabric of their area, and collects data to showcase the transformative impact of community creativity, paving the way for increased investment and decision-making by the local community.

We are very pleased to annouce that Pippa Jones (or Philippa Claire Jones as we now know her!) has been an awarded an MBE in the New Years Honours List published today, for services to the Arts.

Welcome to Lucy J Turner, the newest member of the CG team who is our artist in residence on the Healthy Communities Together Co-Lab programme.

Image alt-text: Co-lab participants Alan, Kia and Sophie in a lively discussion.

In Spring this year two Gloucestershire secondary schools took part in a new creative programme called ‘Create Your Future’ (CYF). It was designed by Abi Nicol, founder of Creative Communities, an arts organisation based in Cam & Dursley, supported by Create Gloucestershire and funded by NHS Gloucestershire’s Integrated Care Board.

The Art Road Trip van will in Gloucestershire from 13th - 28th July. with opportunities for people to get involved with the road trip in 4 locations around the county. No need to book, just drop in!

Welcome to our new board members bringing a wealth of experience to the team. Anne has worked in broadcasting and journalism and led the University of Gloucestershire School of Creative Industries. Jacqueline is a coach and writer and will be our voice for nature, supporting innovative approaches designed to engage creative practitioners, community groups to address the intertwined ecological and climate crises that we are grappling with.

The first Art Road Trip events have taken place in Derry/Londonderry in Northern Ireland, kicking off a year of arts activities which will be wendign their way to Gloucestershire this Summer.

“We are all creative in our own ways and we all have such potential, but we don’t all have the same opportunities for this to be expressed or realised. It is great to be working with colleagues at Create Gloucestershire to positively address this challenge.” Matt Little, Chair

In 100 days the National Gallery will begin a year long celebration to mark bringing people and paintings together for 200 years, called NG200. And Create Gloucestershire and partners are taking part in ‘The Art Road Trip’ bringing the celebrations to communities in Gloucestershire!

Last week Culture Matson had its second visit from Sir Nicolas Serota, Chairperson of Arts Council England. The group ‘got out the good biscuits’ before sitting down and talking through the amazing journey they have been on in the last 5 years.

Pippa Jones, CG’s founder and director was speaking at the Culture, Health & Wellbeing (CHWP) Alliance Conference in Barnsley as part of a panel convened to discuss how arts organisations and the health sector can work better together.

This is the first in a 2 part series of blogs from a conversation where Pippa and Debbie look at the story of Culture Matson. In this blog they look back at how Culture Matson came about and how the group has developed.

In 2023 Culture Matson started a trial to develop a ‘Community Chest’. A community chest is a shared investment fund that supports health and wellbeing and joins up money from the NHS, local authorities, and other sources. Read how members of Culture Matson met the challenge of running a community chest to collectively decide how best to use the money for their neighbours.

Find out more about the Off we Go project and the impact joining in with the activities had on those taking part.

KICKSTART BLOG

Evie and Jimmy both got paid apprenticeships through the Kickstart Scheme. Jimmy was at Deepbed radio and Evie worked at SVA. Watch their video to find out what they got up to…

Dr Alex Waldrop was our “keynote listener” at glosdataday. She dedicated her time on the day to listening. She heard what was being talked about, she noticed who was there and who wasn’t and she took notice so that she could give all those voices the opportunity to be heard. After a day of dropping into workshops and joining open space sessions Alex presented back to the room. This is what she heard:

But we knew it was important and we had a strong desire to make it happen!

Create Gloucestershire were one of the four partners who came together to host the dataday. Back in the Autumn of last year we began conversations to imagine this event. It was going to be unashamedly about data and it was going to inspire, inform and empower everyone who came along. That was the plan.