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Fairfield Halls needs to look to the future, not the past

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CROYDON COMMENTARY: Politically inspired misinformation shared with  a residents’ meeting and ill-informed Twitter gossips threw into doubt  (again) the future of the Fairfield Halls last week. For ROD DAVIES, questions remain about the  Halls’ artistic programming

Fairfield Halls needs professional arts input.

What it doesn’t need are more councillors and local authority officers imposing their own agendas and prejudices, in spite of the market.

Fairfield Halls is basically an exceptionally good multi-stage venue that has been allowed to decline over decades. At best, it seems to have marketed itself towards mediocrity to survive.

Like venues in other major towns and cities, Fairfield Halls should be able to stage some world-class and distinctive events. There are even young arts professionals from Croydon who are doing this elsewhere who could be persuaded to contribute out of goodwill for their home town.

Why isn’t Fairfield Halls reaching out for young creative people to fill those largely redundant spaces?

These are links to one young Croydon person’s activities elsewhere. It may not be my cup of tea, but so what?

http://vimeo.com/37250491

http://soundsfromtheothercity.com/home/stages/deep-hedonia-faktion-st-phils-church/

http://www.getintothis.co.uk/2014/09/holly-herndon-deep-hedonia-the-hive-collective-syndrome-2-2-kitchen-street-baltic-triangle/

http://www.fact.co.uk/whats-on/current/deep-hedonia-mini-residency-ft-in-atoms.aspx

http://www.sevenstreets.com/how-deep-is-your-love-deep-hedonia/

With all the creativity that exists among Croydon people, Fairfield Halls should be rocking at the head of a foundation of activity.

Instead, it looks drab and lost.

Performers based outside of the south-east of England are looking for venues to perform to inaccessible (to them) London audiences. What is the Fairfield Halls management and the owners, Croydon Council, doing to build the networks to use this demand to raise Croydon’s profile?

 

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