We recently attended the Festival of Flourishing Regions 2025 (#FoFR2025).  The Festival aims to promote and celebrate the role that cities and regions play in the economy and prosperity of the country and look at how regions can drive the growth agenda of the government. Emma Harvey, CEO of Trinity Community Arts and a key partner Citizens for Culture, blogged about attending:

“At the heart of this week’s Festival of Flourishing Regions 2025 (#FoFR2025) at the Watershed was a recurring question: Who truly benefits from growth? Economic expansion and large-scale developments continue to bypass existing communities, leaving people clinging desperately to their sense of place, fearful of disruption. Nimby-naysayers, blocking our prosperity.

Bristol City Council leader Tony Dyer began with early reflections – and perhaps a warning – about the risks of growth without stability and prosperity without equity. He highlighted the need to shift toward preventative public services that operate proactively rather than merely reacting to crises. This was echoed by experiences of Stephen Peacock, the leader of the Combined Authority, who highlighted the real pressures of escalating expenditure on temporary accommodation hindering efforts to implement permanent solutions. 

Palie Smart from the University of Bristol captured a key theme: The power of powerful relationships… only when we get together can we tackle complex challenges. But, how do we come together to build a vision for region that flourishes for us all when so many are paralysed by the continual threat of precariousness? As Andy Westwood surmised, people are putting more in than they’re getting out”. Why should any of us care about an empty promise of productivity when wealth accumulates at the top while wages stagnate in the middle and those at the bottom are propped up by a living wage that can’t keep pace with an out of control rental market? Why should  I care who’s in charge if power remains centralised and only deepens the majority’s sense of powerlessness? As Arrested Development’s lyrics go, the word ‘cope’ and the word ‘change’ is directly opposite, not the same. 

If we want real progress, we need to move beyond survival and towards meaningful transformation. 

Iain Gray spoke about the need for innovation and the importance of setting clear priorities and pursuing them ruthlessly and talked fondly of memories of the 2012 Olympics. While many remember this fondly for artistic ceremonies celebrating the best of British culture, I can’t help but think about what that ruthlessness looked like in reality; the permanent loss of century-old  covenanted land, the Manor Gardens allotments. I think about that and wonder, more than a decade on, do people still feel the benefits of that cement walkway in the same way as the communal land it replaced?

This tension between social mobility, productivity and asset-based community development ran through many discussions. Harriet Fear touched on the power of new ideas in old buildings with an example of a startup thriving in a former pigsty. It was a reminder that we overlook the value of what we already have we lose those in unusual corners and crevices where minds connect, imaginations are ignited and ideas are formed.  

From public infrastructure projects, the much lambasted HS2 to regional funding pots and the constant churn of central government infrastructure funding pots locked needlessly to short-term political cycles. That churn of out with the old in with the new. 14 growth strategies in 16 years. Yet here we are, no closer to a solution that works for everyone.

Jim O’Neill places some of that blame at the foot of the merciless 247 news cycle that reduces everything to 15 seconds of infamy. As does former Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees who talked of the toxic trolling limiting our ability to attract and keep people even wanting to work in a political space. 

With so much focus on productivity centred around, aerospace, tech, and defence, what actually makes a city like Bristol ‘sticky’ place people want to call home? It’s all about food and friends and gigs and carnivals and sound systems and heritage, and culture and and and…yet if it wasn’t for Katy Shaw who said, “culture isn’t an add-on—it’s intrinsic to regional growth strategies”, you’d be forgiven for thinking our route to happier healthier lives could be delivered by chips and wings and missile nose cones.

When mulling over our collective lot, we can all be too good at talking about what we don’t have. The poverty of capacity, devolved funding for culture that still remains fragmented, or the challenges in land use, where freehold sites are given away for developments never realised. Using your powers wisely, has never been more important. This tied directly into Trinity’s work with partners to deliver Roots of Resilience, which explores how community buildings can be leveraged by the voluntary sector to safeguard spaces, creating a holistic approach that blends the old with the new. 

If we start from a place of what we do have – our wealth of talent, ideas skills, assets – as investment decisions shift to combined authorities – we can try to ensure that investment isn’t just about top-down economic development but enables communities to shape their own futures. As Nick Pearce spoke of the urgent need to structure deliberative democratic processes as part of these devolved regions – ensuring citizens have a direct say in how their regions evolve – I was bouncing out my seat ready to shout about our work to deliver the first regional Citizens’ Assembly for Culture, in September 2025 – giving people a stake in shaping the future of devolved investment in the creative and cultural industries.

In a fractured system where few understand how regional authorities operate, John Denham noted, rarely do we get a chance to sit down and ask, what do we have in common? Citizens for Culture is an opportunity to do just that – in a region of rural and urban wealth and deprivation how do we build a shared identity, weaving and crafting an authentic narrative to define our place in the world.

This isn’t about growth. It’s about betterment. Creating places where people can hope for more than just to survive. Where economic strategies don’t just serve a privileged few but create lasting, equitable prosperity. 

The Festival of Flourishing Regions made it clear: the power to shape our future exists, but only if we have the courage to grab hold of it.”

Emma Harvey, CEO Trinity Community Arts

#FoFR2025

 

We’re pleased to share this dedicated website for the Citizens for Culture project. This platform marks an exciting next step towards the planned Assembly this year and it is designed to share news and updates on the project, including the latest events, blog posts and ways to get involved.

What you’ll find on the website

• Latest news – stay informed on the development of the Citizens’ Assembly for Culture, and hear from citizens in the region on community and cultural engagement
• What’s on – explore upcoming events, including information sessions and workshops
• The project so far – read up on the history of Citizens for Culture, from its beginnings in 2021 through to our current work

Alongside the website, we’ve set up a LinkedIn page – please do have a look, connect with us, and pass on to your networks.

Future plans and feedback

We will be adding new features to the website as the project develops, this will include a page for Associates as well as public access to free and open source resources.  We are collaborating with Wecil who are providing expertise on the sites features and accessibility, we know this is always a journey so if you have any feedback about the site please do get in contact with us.

We look forward to sharing more of the Citizens for Culture journey with you and creating new ways for you to collaborate and contribute to the project.

We spoke with Cleo Lake, an artist, producer, and community leader with nearly 20 years’ experience in curating performances, cultural events, and engagement activities.

In this interview, Cleo highlights the importance of equitable funding, accessible spaces, and fresh, inclusive cultural experiences. 

“We will all need to be prepared to be open to whatever is presented if we are truly to have something democratic.”

Tell us a bit about your work in the cultural sector and what drew you to this field.

I didn’t consciously enter the cultural sector, but went from an underground dance artist to doing a dance degree and then curating performances for myself and other artists. Over the last almost 20 years I have produced a number of cultural events spanning music, theatre, dance. I have also led community engagement activities and most of my work tends to relate to my African descent heritage.

What do you feel are some of the current challenges within the cultural sector and how would you suggest these could be addressed?

The challenge will almost always be funding and also spaces to create and deliver at free or low cost. Also, I think the distribution of funding is unequal because organisations with more staff and capacity will likely do better than those who don’t. I like the redistro model of funding.

How do you think the regional cultural sector could benefit from a Citizens’ Assembly model or other democratic decision-making tools?

It will open things up and get the views of ordinary people – not just middle class in-the-know artsy types. So we will all need to be prepared to be open to whatever is presented if we are truly to have something democratic! On the whole I also see it as an opportunity to lobby and/or put forward a collective view.

What are your hopes for the future of Arts and Culture in the West of England?

I hope we’ll have more opportunities for different people to be excited, moved, challenged and energised by totally new and fresh ideas and experiences. I also hope for high streets to be reignited with art, and funding to be more fairly distributed.

What are your thoughts on the upcoming Citizens’ Assembly for Culture in the West of England?

It will be interesting and I hope that there will be a broad mix of people from all backgrounds. The ballet go-ers to the ravers!

Anything else you would like to add?

Arts and culture can bring people together and keep people well. I hope this platform will further champion the necessity of arts and culture.

Follow Cleo on Instagram