Hammersmith & Fulham is in the process of drafting a new ten-year Cultural Strategy. The strategy will seek to shape the future of the borough’s arts and culture scene.
The strategy will align and build upon the work of the Arts Commission, to provide a strategic framework that reflects the borough’s aspirations. It will:
- Represent the whole borough and those contributing to and participating in the arts. It is not just a strategy for the council.
- Act as an anchor document to support fundraising and inward investment for the H&F arts sector.
- Inform arts and cultural programming for our new Civic Campus.
- Align with our Industrial Strategy.
Strategy timeline
The strategy is currently being drafted and will be completed in early 2023. The plan is to build a coalition of support by engaging with partners in the sector.
Phase 1 (August – November 2022): Launching initial engagement and doing the groundwork. This covers two workstreams:
- Engagement with a range of stakeholders ranging from grass roots community organisations to major cultural institutions.
- Compiling a sound evidence base.
Phase 2 (November – February 2023): Collaborating to develop the strategy.
- Developing a shared future vision and strategy for borough.
- Mobilising the strategy.
Get involved
If you would like to be involved in the development of the Culture Strategy, please contact: arts@lbhf.gov.uk
We are also setting up a new Arts Network for businesses to network and engage in. If you are interested in attending or would like to know more, please contact: arts@lbhf.gov.uk
Arts Commission
The vision
The independent Arts Commission was made up of residents, volunteers, art experts and local arts organisations.
It built on the success of the council’s Arts Strategy 2016 to 2022 (pdf), with recommendations to further boost the borough’s already thriving arts scene so all residents regardless of their background can get involved.
Recommendations from the Arts Commission were as follows
- Make a new cultural strategy.
- Amplify and celebrate the diversity of the borough.
- Embed culture into Planning Policy Framework.
- Uncover local strengths, wants and needs.
- Join up what’s going on in the borough.
- Shout about what’s going on.
- Build capacity inside the town hall with a fully resourced and staffed culture team.
A number of themed sessions over the course of the commission covered topics including:
- Existing activity - What cultural activity is happening across the borough? Where isn’t it happening? How much of it is excellent and what would it take for it to be better supported and developed?
- Social impact - What challenges are there in our borough that could be addressed with arts and culture, and what steps would we need to take to make this happen more?
- Diversity and inclusion - How might H&F make diversity and inclusion a more central focus of its plans for arts and culture?
- Cultural hubs and town centres - How have other boroughs, cities and countries created rich cultural hubs that are vibrant, relevant and sustainable, and what would it take to create more of these in H&F?
- Residents’ priorities - What do residents and workers in H&F value about the arts and culture scene and how would they like to see these develop? How might arts and culture meet the needs of younger residents?
- Participation and engagement - What role does arts and culture play in the skills and employability of people in our borough and what could be done to enhance and improve this?
- Artists leading change - How can artists and cultural leaders shape and enhance communities and places and what steps should we be taking to enable that?
- Long term strategy - How have other boroughs and places created change through investing in and enabling arts and culture and how long did it take for that impact to be realised?
Arts Commission Final Report
- Arts Commission Final Report (plain text version) (pdf 406KB)
- Arts Commission Final Report (pdf 4.3MB)
Briefing papers
- Briefing paper 1 - Existing Activity (pdf 526KB)
- Briefing paper 2 - Social Impact (pdf 544KB)
- Briefing paper 3 - Diversity and inclusion (pdf 615KB)
- Briefing paper 4 - Cultural hubs and town centres (pdf 1.5MB)
- Briefing Paper 5 - Long-Term Strategy (pdf 943KB)
- Briefing Paper 6 - Participation (pdf 748KB)
- Briefing Paper 7 - Art and Culture in Extraordinary Times (pdf 7.4MB)
The commission is chaired by Jonathan Church, a celebrated theatre director, whose first three shows were staged at the Lyric theatre in Hammersmith. He is currently the artistic director for Bath Theatre Royal’s summer season of shows.
“The borough already supports an extraordinary wealth of arts experiences ranging from internationally recognised institutions to true grass roots individuals and companies,” said Jonathan.
“There are many questions to be asked about how this can be built upon and how arts and culture can be part of improving the quality of life for the borough’s residents.”
Cllr Andrew Jones, H&F Cabinet Member for the Economy and the Arts said: “We want to build on the success of our Arts Strategy. This independent commission will come up with recommendations to help us make H&F an international beacon for the arts which all residents regardless of their background can enjoy and participate in.”
The commission will produce a set of recommendations for the council.
The commissioners
- Jonathan Church – Chair
- Cinzia D’Ambrosi
- Nathalie Carrington
- Steve North
- Becca Pelly Fry
- Chris Tranchell
- Muz Azar
- Ella Golt
- Sarah Ahern
- Victoria Brignell
For any further information please contact arts@lbhf.gov.uk