Last Friday, the Open Source Arts team were invited in by Leeds City Council to facilitate a crucial discussion and a collective visioning of the future of arts and culture in Leeds. A diverse range of attendees from the arts, music, and cultural sectors congregated beneath the spacious arches of the beautiful Left Bank Leeds church building on Cardigan Road. The aim was to think big beyond Leeds 2023 Year of Culture, ensuring the cultural legacy lives beyond its 12-months lifespan.
The journey towards Leeds 2023 began almost nine years ago as a bid for the European Capital of Culture. Whilst Brexit put UK cities out of the running, Leeds persevered and brought the vision to life by independently hosting its own Year of Culture. Now in its Summer phase, the city is abuzz with weekly community festivals, exhibitions and workshops. This high-energy chapter is an exciting celebration of Leeds’s spirit and Friday’s event focused on harnessing this energy and carrying it into a sustainable cultural legacy for the future.
During the morning session, we encouraged attendees to reflect upon the rich cultural landscape of Leeds, appreciating all the amazing things already existing in this great city. Participants then shared their wildest dreams for the future of Leeds culture and engaged in practical discussions about the necessary steps to transform those dreams into reality. The visions put forward encompassed diverse aspirations, ranging from individual organisations’ ambitions to grow to envisioning a car-free-centre, scrapping tick-box funding applications and paying artists guaranteed salaries to create.
Using participatory methods, the Open Source Arts team invited everyone in the room to actively shape the days agenda. Over the course of an hour, over 30 sessions took place, fostering dynamic conversations on a wide range of topics chosen by the participants themselves. Discussions spanned from exploring how the cultural sector can face up to the climate crisis to encouraging new volunteers in the arts and brainstorming ways to make funding applications accessible to all. Participants also delved into envisioning the collective festivals of the future and how they might evolve to reflect the learning from 2023 and the changing needs and desires of all communities in Leeds.
Many participants met for the first time, shared contacts and set dates to meet for further connecting conversations. Networks across the cultural landscape of the city were strengthened. Working groups were independently established following the rich discussions that took place on the day.
Open Source Arts’ facilitation was divided between four team members who spoke from different points round the space each time they addressed the room. These methods of facilitating discussions broke down the speaker-audience dynamic and reflected the power back on the attendees, promoting a truly participatory exercise. These are principals we practice at Open Source Arts to enable greater creativity, empowerment and trust in our team which allows both individuals and our collective to flourish.
Open Source Arts remains committed to engaging all of Leeds’ communities in shaping the future of arts and culture in the city. By fostering participatory dialogue and collective visioning, we aim to support actions that create a lasting legacy well beyond Leeds 2023. As part of a supportive ecosystem of arts and cultural organisations, we will continue to celebrate, nurture and show-up to the vibrant cultural tapestry that makes Leeds a beacon of artistic expression and community engagement.
