The Place Partnership programme explained
The Place Partnership programme was developed by more than 50 of the town’s cultural organisations and individuals, with a collective vision to develop and increase participation in local arts and culture – and to celebrate and shout about Swindon’s cultural life.
We aim to embed a culture of cross-sector collaboration that will create opportunities for cultural creators, organisations and the wider community beyond the 2-year programme.
The programme will be delivered by the Swindon Culture Collective CIC steering group and delivery partners through five inter-related workstreams.
What is and isn’t it?
What it is:
- Support for coordinating work across the arts and cultural sector, to achieve the aims defined by the network
- A way for the collective to commission individuals and organisations fairly across the sector to help deliver this work
- A way to help up-skill the sector and facilitate professional development
- A way to for Swindon’s arts and cultural sector to be stronger through working together
- A way to elevate the profile of the cultural offer of Swindon, both inside the town and outside
What it is not:
- A core funder of individual projects – Arts Council Projects grant, and other funding sources are still the place to go – but we can advise!
- A shortcut to Arts Council funding for the two years of the programme – this is about coming together to deliver more, collaboratively.
The five workstreams
The programme was developed by Swindon Culture Collective (previously known as the Magic Swindon Network), and will be managed and delivered by the Collective through five inter-related workstreams.
These workstreams will be underpinned by the involvement of local grassroots artists and young creatives to grow reach, impact and participation. It will provide easy and fair access to funds and support to create, innovate and collaborate.
The strength of Swindon’s cultural offer is in the shared ambition of the arts and cultural sector of Swindon. This workstream is to build on the work of the Magic Swindon network, which is carried on as the Culture Collective.
This workstream will establish core team capacity to support:
- sector networking, conferences & skills workshops
- the sector’s role in wider town placemaking
- access to funding to ensure a legacy
- sector skill development in:
- inclusive & accessible programming
- co-creation
- environmental sustainability
There is a huge amount going on in Swindon, but it can sometimes feel disjointed or hard to access for visitors and creatives alike. We already have a number of large or established festivals across the year, and we want to make those deliver more for the whole sector.
This workstream, working with a volunteer delivery group, will:
- Bring together existing but isolated events that punctuate Swindon’s “cultural year” to create year-round cultural programme
- Grow grassroots & emerging artists’ involvement
- Embed co-creation & act as a catalyst for new collaborations
With the vast range of creative individuals and grassroots organisations, one common need was raised again and again by the network. We need more spaces for creativity – whether that’s for exhibitions, rehearsal space, studio space, grassroots music venues, space for young creatives, or a whole lot more.
So, we’ve put together some resource, and a volunteer Delivery Group to:
- develop programme of meanwhile use in empty retail units
- improve promotion of existing community spaces
- support greater & more innovative use of public spaces
- engage with strategic redevelopments to increase supply of creative spaces
- engage communities through non-traditional spaces & artistic innovation
- develop toolkit to support future opportunities
One of the ways that we’ll do this is through commissioning rounds to support individuals and organisations to deliver the activity.
One of the things which the network said was that people sometimes don’t know where they can go in Swindon to develop their creative practice, whether they’re young person just starting out, or developing their creative outputs later in life. We want to make sure that where there are opportunities in Swindon that people can find them, rather than feeling like they need to go elsewhere or give up on their ideas.
So, we have a stream of activity which will:
- identify & promote existing pathways into & through the creative sector in Swindon
- explore ways to make Swindon a nationally significant focus for STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) learning
- deliver careers roadshow & schools activities to reach >44,000 young people
- deliver online sector “Talent Pathway Guide”
- establish “Swindon Cultural Passport”
- develop work placement opportunities for students
- engage with expected changes to careers teaching & play active role in Art Council England’s forthcoming national cultural education network
We already know that Swindon has an incredible ecosystem of organisations delivering a rich and varied cultural offer all year round. But we think we need to do more to shout about what we have, to make it easier to find for people, and easier to promote for organisers.
So, we’re working to:
- Develop a clear, compelling brand for Swindon as a festival town, with year- round opportunities to participate in a broad range of cultural activities
- coordination & amplification of messaging
- champion Swindon as a cultural powerhouse
- Grow festival audiences by 20% & cultural visits to the town by 5% from 2024/25 baseline
This won’t be a brand that will drive visitors away from the offer that exists, but instead be a brand which is proud to boast about the cultural offer we have, and then to push that offer to the forefront. It will designed to support and showcase, not to lead for its own sake.
How you can get involved
There’s a variety of ways you can get involved, depending on your interests, age, background and experiences:
As Cultural Creators
- Networking & development: Cultural creators can attend meet-ups, annual conferences and training workshops to support networking, collaboration and skills development in inclusive programming, environmental sustainability and co-creation. Sign up to our newsletter to find out about these.
- Funding: Cultural creators (including grassroots artists and emerging creatives) and organisations can apply for paid commissions across the programme’s workstreams. This includes developing empty retail spaces for cultural use, creating new works for festivals and supporting youth engagement.
As Young People & Students
- School and career programmes: Young people and students can participate in specific school activities and a large-scale careers roadshow.
- Skills and experience building: Students can take advantage of work placement opportunities, use the new ‘Swindon Cultural Passport’ or explore cultural career options via the online ‘Progression Pathway’ platform.
- Youth-led spaces and activities: Young people can get involved with the dedicated ‘Young People’s Hub’, participate in youth music events and help create content for local radio broadcasts.
As Volunteers
- Volunteering: We will link local people up with opportunities to volunteer to support local festivals, events and activities, with opportunities expected to grow alongside the town’s festival audiences.
As Audience Members, Visitors and Participants
- Attending festivals and events: Local people can attend events across the town’s annual cultural programme, which includes festivals, online events, and temporary ‘meanwhile space’ activity.
- Accessibility: For those who experience social or financial barriers, the programme will work with event organisers to offer accessible events, sensory zones and complimentary ticket allocations for under-served groups and communities – building wider and more inclusive audiences.
The partners
The Place Partnership programme is led by Swindon Culture Collective CIC, directed through Steering Group partners and many additional partners. These are:
Lead Body
Swindon Culture Collective CIC
Initial Steering Group Partners
Swindon Borough Council, South Swindon Parish Council, Festival of Tomorrow, GEL Studios, Podpad Studios, Prime Theatre, Swindon Music Service, Wyvern Theatre, Morgan Thomas.
Additional Steering Group Partners
Paul Gemmill (Swindon Shuffle), Changing Suits, Create Studios.
Further Partners
Artsite LTD (including Swindon Paint Fest), BBC Wiltshire, Business West, Friends of Swindon Museum & Art Gallery, Great Western Hospital, McArthur Glen, Mechanics Institution Trust (Swindon Preservation Trust), Neon Dance, Network Rail, New College, Reach Inclusive Arts, SCOAP (Swindon Circus & Outdoor Arts Project), Richard Jefferies Museum, Swindon 105.5, Swindon Dance, Swindon Hub, Swindon Festival of Literature, Swindon Makers Space, Swindon Open Studios, Swindon Town Football Club, The Swindonian, Tangle Theatre, Total Entertainment Swindon, Voluntary Action Swindon, Wilkes Academy.