New Writing North, in collaboration with North Tyneside Council and the private sector, have commissioned a creative professional (writer/artist) to work with local people in two disadvantaged communities in order to generate various participative artworks. By applying professional standards to the aesthetic content and in terms of production quality, the programme aims to nurture endogenous creative capacity within individuals and at the collective level. It is hoped that skills transfer from creative professionals to local people and the commercialisation of local artwork will enhance the prospects for a sustainable local creative economy. The academic component involves real-time observation of the programme and the evaluation of the various domains and processes whereby cultural capital accumulates. The programme funders are particularly keen to learn lessons of how far this approach is generalisable to other disadvantaged areas. An interim analysis has been published as a discussion paper entitled "Creativity and local regeneration: the possibility of hybrid cultures".
New Writing North
Staff involved: Chris Ray
Project duration: 15 months (June 2005 - September 2006)