Creative Crawley launched their new space in County Mall Shopping Centre this week. Founder Louise Blackwell gave a speech and issued a rallying call to the people of Crawley to keep arts in the town and help with funding.
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00:00So I'd like to finish with a rallying call. It's a significant moment for arts and culture
00:05in Crawley. It feels like we're at a fork in the road. There's a year or so left on
00:10the Towns Fund project, a cultural port of feasibility study is practically complete,
00:16a cultural strategy for the town almost done. Will we be in a combined authority with Surrey
00:23or in a mayoral authority with Brighton & Hove and Sussex by June next year, 2036? Who knows?
00:29But I know which one I'd prefer. The partners involved here have decisions to make. Trust,
00:37invest in and support the collaborative creative community here to move forwards and positively
00:42impact the reputation of the town and the residents who live here. Or make choices to
00:49invest elsewhere, block innovation and allow arts and culture to remain a nice-to-have
00:55tucked away in the back end of a shopping mall. Evidence shows that it takes time to
01:01capitalise on initial investments like this. There's momentum here. We must harness it
01:07or the moment will pass. We live in challenging times where the President of the United States
01:14can take over the chairmanship of a major arts centre in the US in the blink of an eye.
01:19Artists feeling unsafe to take risks in a context of trans and homophobia, racism and
01:26sexism. Where a small number of people are able to decide what art should be allowed in a place
01:31based on personal preference rather than celebrating diversity and difference. Arts
01:37events in Crawley have had to be cancelled recently due to threats of violent protest.
01:42A unity pledge has been created by Crawley Borough Council in which community groups
01:47have pledged their commitment to diversity which is a really positive move. We are in
01:53a place where difficult budget decisions are having to be made. We are all working
01:59in challenging circumstances. The arts community in Crawley are experiencing these challenges
02:05globally and locally. The loss of Crawley Town Centre Business Improvement District
02:11is a massive blow to arts and culture in this town. I want to thank Wendy and Sam who are
02:15here for the work that they've done.
02:24Crawley Town Centre Business Improvement District I would argue has been one of the biggest investors
02:29in the arts in this town apart from UK Government and Arts Council England. And so my question
02:36to leave you with is this. Do you want Crawley to be a progressive, healthy and economically
02:43flourishing town? If the answer to this is yes, then please invest in, support, engage
02:54in and champion culture. It's the only way.