Launch of new Creative Cluster - Scarborough’s artists, musicians and writers can get more of their work out there with help from mayor's cash
A project to help artists, writers, musicians and othe creative industries in the town has received a cash injection from the county’s mayor.
The £49,600 given to Scarborough Studios Charity Incorporated Organisation will be used to fund the nine-month-long Creative Cluster Project.
Scarborough Studios CIO chair Sally Gorham said: “Scarborough already has an incredible pool of creative talent.
“But too often artists have to juggle multiple jobs or leave the area to make a living.
“This project will change that by giving creatives the tools, skills, and partnerships they need to thrive right here in Scarborough.”
Sally chaired the launch of the project at the Shakespeare creative hub in St Helen’s Square.
“We applied for the funding because we wanted an opportunity for creatives across different types of practices to meet and to help them support their practice and their business,” she said.
“The aim is to support local talent, build new income opportunities and strengthen the town’s reputation for being known for its creative practice.
“The message is getting out. I’ve heard people say that Scarborough has a good reputation for arts and culture and that is what we want,” she said.
David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, said: “York and North Yorkshire have the ambition and the talent to compete globally but with the right support we know our businesses can do even more.
“We are already backing our first wave of businesses and my £5 million Business Innovation Fund is ready to help make even more great ideas happen, like funding the Scarborough Creative Cluster Project, which will mean that more of our creative businesses can stay and thrive in the place that inspires them.”
Over the next nine months, the Creative Cluster will:
Provide networking events for local creatives.
Develop a peer mentoring scheme to support 20 creatives grow their businesses.
Build cross-sector partnerships with hospitality and tourism businesses.
Support artists in showcasing work at Scarborough Art and Scarborough Fringe festivals.
The scheme will allow 20 creatives to have a paid mentor for five hour-long sessions.
Three mentors have, so far, been appointed. They are artist Lindsey Tyson, who is based at Woodend in The Crescent, Scarboorugh, poet Charlotte Oliver and musician Freddie Schmuck, a founder and lead vocalist of The Feens.
Sally hosted an ‘in-conveseration session’ with each of them.
Lindsey, who has exhibited her oil paintings in Scarborough and across the country, including Manchester and Edinburgh, told guests: “You’ve got to commit yourself, it is a full-time job.
“I go into my studio every day and work more than nine to five.
“You have to be original and authentic. You’ve got to find your voice and be passionate about what you do because if you’re passionate, other people feel that and respond to it,” she said.
Poet Charlotte Oliver, who contributed a poem about the sea to a mural at the corner of St Helen’s Square, has had work published in journals and performs at poetry events, echoed Lindsey’s advice.
“There are not a lot of opportunities for poets. You have to be brave and bold,” she said.
Charlotte ‘talked’ her way into the post of South Cliff Garden’s poet-in-residence and was the resident poet for the Scarborough festival, Big Ideas By the Sea.
“You have to be determined and not take ‘no’ for an answer,” she said,
Freddie talked about the four-piece band The Feens, which disbanded after a gig at the Spa this year, how they found producers who helped their work and the importance of marketing.
"Playing and writing music is the easy bit,” he said, “Getting people to hear it is the hardest.”
The Creative Cluster Project builds on the success of Scarborough Studios’ work transforming disused buildings into cultural spaces, including the Old Parcels Office and properties around St Helen’s Square, which provide opportunities for artists to make and show their work.