Torbay Council and Torbay Development Agency have facilitated, with public funding from Arts Council England, the development of a ten-year cultural strategy which is calling for people from all walks of life to get involved.

The strategy - Enjoy, talk, do, be - was officially launched on Monday 8 December and has vision, ambitions and principles which aim to outline how Torbay could be in ten years time. Culture outlined in the strategy includes visual and performing arts, build and natural environment, heritage, libraries, media, museums, play, sport, tourism and informal leisure pursuits.

Torbay’s Mayor, Gordon Oliver, said: “We have seen many positive changes in the Bay over recent years and this strategy is a great opportunity for us to move forward together with our partners. Cultural activity can be extremely powerful on social, economic and environmental levels. It can also help to transform communities impacting positively on health and well being. So I welcome this strategy and look forward to seeing its aims and objectives coming to fruition.”

Mary Schwarz, one of the team undertaking the consultation to pull together the strategy, said: “From our research and conversations, we have discovered that many people recognise the richness of cultural experiences in Torbay but there is also the desire to do more, different and better, involve a greater number of people, and make a more lasting impact.

“The strategy covers the whole cultural sector and supports individual strategies through its collective voice. It focuses on what can be achieved through working together, using culture to drive a better quality of life and address post-recession challenges in imaginative ways.”

The strategy’s ambitions are split into the following:

Enjoy - enabling more people to take pleasure from cultural activities
Talk - encouraging purposeful exchange to share, reflect on and enhance our cultural offer
Do - inspiring more people to shape and make cultural experiences
Be - celebrating the uniqueness of Torbay’s cultural past, present and future

A new Torbay Culture Board, supported by an executive post, will oversee the implementation of Enjoy, talk, do, be and an accompanying rolling three year delivery plan. The delivery plan will be reviewed and updated every year to ensure that the overall aims of the plan remain relevant.

An open call has been issued for Board members - individuals with strategic understanding of the cultural sector and its contribution to sustainable economic and social development in the Bay.

In addition, a Torbay Culture Forum will be set up and is open to anyone who is interested, or who has a stake, in cultural development in the Bay. The Forum will meet regularly to discuss cross sector topics, provide networking opportunities and ensure the strategy remains pertinent.

Board and Forum members will nominate Torbay Culture Ambassadors who will be advocates of culture from all walks of life. Ambassadors will champion culture with their colleagues, customers and communities.

To find out more about Torbay’s Cultural Strategy and how to apply to be a member of the new Torbay Culture Board, please visit www.torbaydevelopmentagency.co.uk/cultural-strategy.

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