#WednesdaysWeekly - Culture Coop- The beginnings of Rochdale Boroughs BIGGEST Creative project

This document is the overview and below are some Q&A’s and we’d love you to join the conversation!

Culture Coop Q&A

Why are we working on Culture Coop?
We want to stimulate more creative and cultural activity in Rochdale borough. We want to work with residents, artists, providers and partners who believe that amazing and diverse cultural experiences enrich the lives of individuals, builds communities and positively transforms a place.  We will have a particular focus on families and on working with people who are the closest to the boroughs problems, especially those effected by inequality.

What does Culture Co-op pay for?
Rochdale Borough has received a £1million grant from Arts Council England to fund community-led cultural programmes over a three-year period.

The programme includes recruiting to several roles (community producers, audience development, admin support programme director etc)  The Engagement role will sit with Action Together, other roles will sit with other organisations- to be decided.  The project would fund a programme of commissioned creative activity, involving multiple arts organisations in the borough and supporting artists, both established and emerging. Digital and accessibility costs are embedded in the programme. Part of the project includes creating a ‘shop’ where people can get creative supplies, join creative experiences, run creative activities and take part in creative fun, another part is investing in local creative people with training and support so they can produce creative work like community festivals, public artworks or performances.  Another part is supporting cooperation between communities, arts organisations and artists to create exciting collaborative work to engage new people in arts experiences.

Why the Co-op structure?
Inequality cannot be eradicated unless we design it out.  Creativity and culture are powerful methods to connect and strengthen communities, tackling inequality.  Local businesses, community groups, public sector partners and VCFSE can collaborate through Culture Co-op. The Culture Co-op is based on the original 1844 Rochdale Co-operative principles, creating cultural opportunities around neighbourhoods and across communities.

Who is behind the project?
The local Culture Co-op consortium, who put together the bid, is led by local charity Action Together and includes Rochdale Borough Council, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, The Co-operative Group, and charity Your Trust. The consortium aims to build on the recent success of cultural projects like Gaia, the stunning replica of planet Earth at Number One Riverside, The Walk of Little Amal, and the Radical Kindness mural on Baillie Street by developing more public artworks and opportunities for cultural engagement.

We want to work with arts organisations, charities and community groups, volunteers, faith based organisations, social enterprises, artists, residents and people who make decisions in the borough, to create, share and enjoy the programme.