The Peterborough Cultural Strategy Group (a partnership between Peterborough City Council, Arts Council England, Nene Park Trust, Metal and other cultural organisations) is excited to announce that the website for the Cultural Strategy is now live! It’s still a work in progress, but the website now hosts the emerging recommendations, artist commissions, video interviews, workshops with young people and more.
From April 2021, Metal commissioned local artists to inform the 10-year strategy for Peterborough.
Kate Genever, Madhu Manipatruni, Vicky Wild and Aryana Ramkhalawon, Kristine Vaivode, Wanja Kimani and Dan Butt have been creatively researching and capturing the ideas that people share on the themes of heritage, open spaces, venues and festivals. The project aimed to give voice to those that have not been involved in Cultural Strategy consultations. Together with lead artist Kate Genever, Metal has been supporting the artists to generate conversations about culture within their existing networks. These conversations will provide insights to help create a vision of what culture in Peterborough might look like in the future.
“These works are a call to arms. They invite responsible action. And just like the landscapes and people I have met they come alive in the hands of many.”
– Kate Genever
“I believe a reflection of myself in the museum says something about taking up space, about being seen.”
– Wanja Kimani
“I have depicted the story of the women I’ve been talking to, including myself.”
– Madhu Manipatruni
“We all crave to connect with someone in a meaningful way. To be listened to, but more so – to be heard. To be seen, but more so – to be acknowledged.”
– Kristine Vaivode
“Something had to change. We needed to connect with people.”
– Vicky Wild and Aryana Ramkhalawon
“To be able to have this creative outlet has been invaluable to me at this time. With Kate’s help it has really made me think about culture in Peterborough along with how people enjoy open spaces.”
– Dan Butt
From April – July 2021, Sarah Steenhorst, our project manager in Peterborough has been having conversations with people from Peterborough about their experiences, stories and ambition for culture in the city. She asked our interviewees questions that helped inform the Steering Group’s recommendations. You can find these interviews here.
We encourage you to think about these questions and share your answers with the cultural strategy group. We will release new videos regularly!
The first question we asked people is:
‘How would you describe Peterborough if it was an animal?’
Check it out!
