The South Croydon Community Association is to stage a local arts debate at the Croydon Unitarian Church on October 10.
“Croydon is London’s largest borough with the highest number of young people,” Charlotte Davies, SCCA chair, said. “Its demographic is similar to Leicester but whereas Leicester aims to be the UK’s City of Culture in 2017, Croydon lacks a coherent arts vision.”
The arts debate will start at 7pm, and will be chaired by Lord Harries, the former Bishop of Oxford, who has been selected “on the grounds that he is a person of standing who is independent of any Croydon interest groups”, Davies said.
The debate next month comes after community meetings earlier this year from which the SCCA produced a report which include among its recommendations the establishment of an independent body, possibly a charity, for arts in Croydon.
The debate will allow for presentations on the current state of the arts in Croydon, followed by a proposal to set-up an annual Croydon Arts Festival each July. “If you are interested in speaking, please register in advance so that a full list can be presented to the chair,” Davies said.
“Please email your name and organisation, if applicable. For ballot papers to be prepared, persons wishing to stand as a member of an arts festival steering committee are asked to send in their name, organisation, if applicable, political party, if any, and a brief personal statement no later than Tuesday October 1. All emails should be sent to artsscca@btconnect.com.
Meeting chairman: Lord Harries
“The objective of an annual Arts Festival is to provide the basis from which a pan-Croydon strategic arts charity can be formed in order to bid for funds from charities and other agencies to develop arts in Croydon,” Davies said.
“Out of this evening, we hope to create a vision that will enable us, as a community, to develop a strong Arts culture throughout Croydon.”
Croydon Unitarian Church is at No1 The Croydon Flyover, CR0 1ER.
For more information, visit the South Croydon Community Association’s website.
Coming to Croydon
- Three plays in a pub: The Ship, Sep 24
- Have a cup of coffee and help fight cancer: Sep 27
- Help break the chains of human trafficking: Sep 28
- Multicultural entertainment, St James the Great: Sep 28
- Tea at Five at the Spread Eagle: Oct 2-4
- Minster’s musical celebration for Silver Sunday: Oct 6
- Rent at the Secombe Theatre: Oct 9-12
- Inside Croydon: Croydon’s only independent news source, based in the heart of the borough – 262,183 page views (Jan-Jun 2013)
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