Regional literature development research project
Report
May 5 2004

PRIME OBJECTIVES
This research project was set up to explore:

• regional literature development and promotion support needs
• what local authority or other partnership funding might be available to add to any funding available from ACE SE

METHODOLOGY
Action research
An open invitation was issued to individuals and groups involved in literature development and promotion in the south east

Respondents were invited to a forum event - the South East literature Forum on Friday March 6 in the restaurant at the University of Brighton. Attendance was incentivised with the offer of refreshments and a half price ticket to THE SOUTH's Don Paterson event the same evening.

After a short introduction the participants were split into 4 groups to discuss two key issues:

• How can we develop radically innovative approaches to presenting live literature in the South East?
• What support and professional development do you need to help you achieve this?

Desk research
Desk research has been conducted by telephone and on line. Contact has been made with many of the local authority arts development officers in the region.

All have expressed their support for a new literature promotion initiative especially if linked with their existing literature development, arts and health and reader development priorities. Partnership financial commitments should be forthcoming once a formal proposal has been circulated. Many authorities offered support in circulating a proposal and information to relevant interested parties and to holding a meeting of ADOs.

A number of commercial organisations have been approached and support in kind will be available via THE SOUTH from Southern Paper and Curious Design.

OVERALL FINDINGS from the FORUM MEETING

• How can we develop radically innovative approaches to presenting live literature in the South East?
• What support and professional development do you need to help you achieve this?

1 INNOVATION
The forum believes that there is no shortage of innovative thinking and action in relation to live literature in the region. It was perceived that there is a shortfall in accessing budgets appropriate to innovative aspirations, especially where new technology is involved. There is a building momentum for innovative events and projects involving literature in the region. New technology has thrown down a gauntlet to literature presentation that cannot be ignored. Salon and cabaret events and cross-arts multi-disciplinary events are important in attracting new audiences but were highlighted as problematic in that they do not fall into the conventional categories of arts funding. Events ostensibly labelled literature are likely to be funded at a far lower level than projects labelled as other art forms, in spite of the fact that all the same techniques and technologies are involved (direction, staging, lighting, audio reinforcement, projections, framing, printing etc.)

There is a trend towards multi-layered events with different entertainment, educational, professional development and artistic strands that offer more to audiences and participants. For example, a live event combined with learning opportunities (workshops, symposia, discussions).

2 PROFESSIONAL FUNDRAISING ADVICE
There is a perceived a need for a professional advisor in the region to support literature activists in making grant applications and fund raising. This was considered an appropriate area for support from ACE SE

3 MARKETING HUB
The forum sees a role for a central live literature coordinating and marketing hub in the region implementing offline and online solutions as well as supporting sponsorship development. This hub would actively encourage cross regional links. The hub would also provide nitty gritty advice on marketing and promotion. Again this was considered an appropriate area for ACE SE support

4 INFORMATION SHARING
There is a general need for more information about potential audiences and for information sharing between literature activists

5 LITERATURE CENTRE
There is a general desire for a physical place as a meeting point, venue and central point of reference for literature in the region. The new library was cited as an excellent opportunity to create such a centre in Brighton & Hove. There is a need for similar focal points in West and East Sussex and in other counties and areas. Each community with a library potentially already has such a focal point.

6 REGIONAL IDENTITY
The literary identity of the region needs to be interpreted, defined and promoted in contrast with for example, the North East or London.

The detailed responses from the Forum groups can be found in Appendix 1

Compiled by John Davies
THE SOUTH
April 2004

Appendix 1

HEADLINE FINDINGS from the FORUM MEETING

The key points discussed by the break out groups fall under the following headings in alphabetic order. Many points of discussion were common across all the groups.

ARTS COUNCIL ENGLAND SOUTH EAST

• Disappointed Keiren Phelan not here
• Should we take money from ACE SE?
• Need for funding?
• Growing momentum in region - needs support
• What are the Arts Council looking for?
• What do they want? ACE need to explain
• Does ACE exist to support us or vice versa?
• Poetry and creative use of language needs to be supported/under attack

ARTS & HEALTH

• Importance of art & healing (Hospitals, OAPs etc.) as innovative practice

DEVELOPING NEW AUDIENCES

• Can we go to new areas?
  • venues?
  • footy games?
  • businesses?
  • musicians?
  • shops? (Bite-sizes)
  • menus?
  • projections on churches?
  • surprise people?
  • crap poems in bins?
  • projected writing in pubs and clubs
• Brighton version of 'Poems on Underground' Pier? Buses? Find out if people want it
• If audiences don't come 'F… O…'
• Cross fertilization
  • audience development and development of artist networks
• Audiences move outwards
• Problem of same old crowd/usual suspects

EDUCATION LINKS

• Literature in schools/youngsters

EVENTS

• Events atomised
  • scaffold with workshops
  • forums
  • other activities

FUNDING

• How many have applied? Almost all
• How many have received? Almost half
• Funding is a vague area
• Loss of funding creates vacuum
  • no institutional memory of previous initiatives etc

FUNDRAISING SUPPORT/ADVICE

• Practising artistes not fundraiser or admin
  • too much time on apps/admin
• Everyone here has done lots for free
  • may have vision, need form filler
• Professional fundraiser
  • explain application questions
  • get help filling in form
  • peripatetic form filler
• Professional management to take over grants type stuff to free up creativity.
• Arts council direct support in getting funding
  • fund raiser/applications advisor
• Professional development
  • artists v admin
• Sk/ill sharing
• Artists learning finance

INFORMATION

• Ask audiences, what info do other organisations have?
• What are other people doing?

INNOVATION

• Is the need for innovation from artists or innovation from ACE?
• There are very unusual/imaginative/multi-dimension innovative projects in progress
• We shouldn't be complacent
  • gauntlet thrown down by technology
• Need to continue/extend innovative practice
• Artistes do develop innovative ideas
  • individuals and partnerships
  • addressing innovation
  • cross-pollination (different arts) (+ wine!)
  • casual events
  • don't fall into any particular category
  • SURPRISE
  • creation of artefacts
• Already doing it
  • give us support
  • uncertainty of literature forms
  • cabaret
  • salon
• Radically innovative approaches
  • mix of live events, learning and workshops rather than one-off events
  • one place/organisation to bring groups together
  • writers centre - independent - new library?
  • live literature tour to broaden audiences
• Salon events
  • non lit audiences come
  • difficulty understanding
  • pot of funding for cross-over

INTERNET

• What to check out? Internet information
• Website for region
• Publishing opportunities etc.

MARKETING

• Posters and mailing lists.
• Danger in having central control?
• How do you stop promoting only 'old' things?
• Separate and individual groups apply
• Co-ordination
  • draw info together
  • hub sends out info

NETWORK

• Network for SE?
• Artists coming together, bouncing ideas
• Give funding to artists - split fund evenly
• Academy model, Wales - embraces big area, momentum.
  • representatives who monitor group
• Academy-admin/artist (P Finch)
• Poetry Can, New Writing North
• Dorset literature network (supported by SW Arts)
  • present a united voice
  • coherence - coherent arguments
  • use talents of writers
  • organisations working together
• Research/attendance
• Develop THE SOUTH as a literature network
• Need now that local literature advisors have been done away with
• Beware dilution of an original idea (Irish Festival)
• Need for representation from other/marginalised groups
• Get people involved who value our work
• Wide range West & East Sussex, B & Hove
• MORE LINKS ACROSS REGION

PHYSICAL LOCATIONS

• Use libraries and/or administrator(s).
  • one place we could meet - provide a centre?
  • New central library?
  • Notice boards - periodicals
  • One place/organisation to bring everyone together/independent
  • BRIGHTON centric?
  • Visible place in new library
  • 2 Universities
  • town centre

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

• Bursaries
• Commissions
• Support and professional development
  • Recognition of individualism
  • Bringing together and recognition of differences.

QUESTIONS
How can we develop radically innovative approaches to presenting live literature in the South East?

What support and professional development do you need to help you achieve this?

• What does radical mean? Effective is better?
• Does first question apply to individual practice or SE region?
• Questions suggest approaches haven't been developed
• Questions are fundamentally disrespectful to writers
• Live literature - what is it?

RURAL COMMUNITIES

• Villages as a joined up network
• The local angle - coherence
• Ask villages what they want

SOUTH v NORTH

• what's the literary identity?

SPONSORSHIP

• Sponsorship = audiences
• Audiences = sponsorship
• Double bind