Arthouse Jersey's response to Government's draft Arts Strategy
‘AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CHANGE’
ARTS CHARITY PRAISES ITS AMBITIOUS VISION, FOCUS ON ARTS EDUCATION, WELLBEING, CONTRIBUTION TO ISLAND IDENTITY & CULTURAL TOURISM
ArtHouse Jersey has formally responded to the Government of Jersey’s draft Arts Strategy, showing strong support for its ambitious vision whilst particularly welcoming a focus on arts education, recognition of the sector’s impact on Islanders’ wellbeing, and the economic potential with Jersey cultural tourism. We expressed our belief that Jersey is on the cusp of a step-change with the trinity of the Strategy, an uplift in funding and enhanced policy brainpower, representing a once in a generation opportunity for change.
ArtHouse Jersey, which receives a grant from Government in pursuance of its objective to serve the Jersey public through the development and promotion of the arts, welcomed the opportunity to make observations as part of an ongoing consultation process. We recognise that the development of this new strategy provides the Island with a landmark opportunity to encourage the growth of the arts sector over the coming years and to reaffirm the role and value of art to the life of our community.
The response in full can be read here. Below are some highlights.
ACCESS TO ARTS EDUCATION
One of the most important aspects of the draft Strategy relates to education: ‘...schools, art organisations and artists work in partnership to co-design and deliver arts education and embed creative approaches across the curriculum’. We firmly believe that creativity needs to be made a fundamental part of education, an area of work already robustly undertaken within the remit of the ArtHouse Jersey’s programme.
ARTS CONTRIBUTION TO ISLANDERS’ WELLBEING & IDENTITY
It is broadly accepted that making and experiencing arts and culture can positively transform the quality of life for both individuals and communities. The analysis of the range of strategic documents provided by Government to date reveals a distinct lack of references to the arts as a contributor to stated goals of the Common Strategic Policy, of which improving Island wellbeing is a fundamental objective. ArtHouse Jersey agrees that it is paramount that future strategies recognise the manifold ways the arts can help improve Islanders’ wellbeing. The draft Strategy will also support Assistant Chief Minister, Deputy Carolyn Labey’s work on the development of Island identity.
EMBRACE OPPORTUNITIES IN ARTS & CULTURE TOURISM
ArtHouse Jersey offers the Island the opportunity to establish a distinctive ‘arts and culture tourism product’. Amanda Burns and Visit Jersey have been pushing forward on this and it is good to see recognition in the draft Strategy. We believe that an independent observer would reach the conclusion that to date there has been an overwhelming focus on more traditional economic sectors as these are perceived to bring more immediate value to the economy. This has been to the detriment of the arts, creative industries and wider economic diversification efforts and resulted in significant missed opportunities. The development of the draft Strategy is a significant step in putting this right.
“We recognise that the development of this new arts strategy provides the Island with a landmark opportunity to encourage the growth of the arts sector over the coming years and to reaffirm the role and value of art and culture to the life of our community. Despite the challenge of this being produced remotely at a time of pandemic, a good understanding of the situation in Jersey has been gained with an appropriate, well-thought out strategic response developed, culminating in an ambitious vision. We truly believe that the Island is on the cusp of a step-change with the trinity of this report, uplift in funding and enhanced policy brainpower representing a once in a generation opportunity for change. But this will only come to pass if the Strategy is backed to the hilt by departments across government and implemented in its entirety to support the important work of Assistant Minister Kirsten Morel and his team.”
