Westminster City Council launches new arts and culture strategy (23/05/2008)

Arts and culture should be used to help break down social barriers and unite the capital's increasingly diverse communities, Westminster City Council told civic leaders at the launch of the new Strategy for Arts and Culture today (23/05/08).

At the heart of the strategy is a drive to ensure people in Westminster of all ages and backgrounds have the opportunity to take part in innovative cultural and creative activity.

Cllr Audrey Lewis, Cabinet Member for Customers and Neighbourhoods, said:

“A vibrant and thriving arts and cultural scene is the mark of a dynamic society – and here in Westminster we have some of the the most admired and envied cultural and artistic resources in the world."

The strategy emphasises the council's role as a broker and facilitator within the cultural sector and between this sector and local people or other agencies.

“Westminster’s One City project 'Cultural Activity for Young People' will develop an offer for Westminster secondary school students to atend a free cultural event once a term. One City is the council's overall vision for the city over the next year.

“By 2013, we want every young person in Westminster to feel entitled to walk through the doors of any art gallery or museum in London or any theatre in the West End with confidence to express themselves creatively or to believe they could make a career in the creative industries if they choose.

“We need to bring down the barriers that stand in the way of local people benefiting from the rich blend of cultural provision that is available in Westminster and ensure that all residents are able to experience, enjoy and contribute to the city’s unique cultural offer. It is by working together as one community that we can make a difference from the grass roots up.”

The strategy was developed through a consultative process that included participation and feedback from valued stakeholders including Westminster’s partners in the arts and cultural sector, statutory agencies, Local Area Renewal Partnerships (LARPs) and colleagues in the council.

Westminster’s Strategy for Arts and Culture incorporates its plans for the run up to the Olympics, called the Cultural Olympiad, which aims to promote cultural learning and understanding among all sections of the multi-cultural community in a four-year long celebration of its rich diversity.

Branded as Westminster’s Festival of World Cultures, this will be a themed celebration of all the cultures of the world as reflected in Westminster’s own communities - home to 240,000 residents from 180 countries, with over 150 different languages spoken in schools, and visitors from all over the country and the world every day.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Presently, 95% of the 30 million visitors that come to London each year visit Westminster, corresponding to a total of approximately 28.5 million visitors per year.

The National Gallery and Westminster Abbey are among Westminster’s most popular visitor attractions, attracting approximately 4 million visitors per year each.

The Olympiad events will represent an increase in Westminster’s already vibrant cultural programme and will focus on local communities.

The Cultural Olympiad will be funded and delivered in partnership with arts and culture organisations and bodies around the UK, with the support of, amongst others, Visit London, New West End Company and LOCOG.