Agenda item

To receive a report on the delivery of the London Borough of Culture 2020 (Brent 2020) legacy.

Zerritha Brown (Brent 2020 Legacy Manager, Brent Council) introduced the report. She highlighted the Metroland Cultures Trust that had been established as part of the programme and the Education Partnership. The report set out how the approach to culture across the organisation and across Brent had changed and included proposals for activity for the year. Dr Melanie Smith (Director of Public Health, Brent Council) added that through the legacy work they had been able to engage all parts of the Council, which was critical for the new approach to culture.

The Chair thanked officers for the introduction and invited comments and questions from those present, with the following issues raised:

Regarding how many events were held at a ward level during Borough of Culture 2020, Zerritha Brown advised that as a result of the pandemic all events had moved online. The only event that had been delivered in person was Rise, the launch of Borough of Culture 2020. The work leading up to 2020 did engage across the whole Borough, and there was a physical presence throughout the Borough, notably artistic commissions in all Brent libraries, including 4 community libraries. Dr Melanie Smith advised that one of the most effective pieces of work had been the culture fund, which aimed to support grassroots cultural organisations and individuals throughout the borough and achieved good geographical spread across the Borough. Officers were keen for the legacy to involve all of Brent, both geographically and demographically.

In relation to what was being done to support local authors and archives, the Committee were advised that one of the notable events that preceded Borough of Culture 2020 was the Queen’s Park Book Festival, which had a strong presence from the Heritage Service and Libraries. The Council were working with an author’s family currently in the hopes of securing an archive. Officers were keen to do more and asked Committee members who were aware of Brent authors to let them know.

The Committee queried how performance was being assessed and how resident and stakeholder feedback was being used to tweak the programme based on positive and negative reactions to projects. The Committee were advised that the Borough of Culture programme had been comprehensively evaluated, and it had been successful despite the fact plans had to change quite considerably as a result of the pandemic. The evaluation report highlighted that there was not as many opportunities during the borough of culture year for wider audiences to engage, such as the older population or those living with long term health conditions. This was an area the legacy work was trying to address in terms of arts and health and wellbeing. Some of that work was already underway, for example partnering with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. There had also been learning for how the Community Advisor role could have been approached better in terms of authentically co-producing a largescale arts programme with the community. That learning was now being incorporated for the Council’s approach to co-production.

The Committee wanted to be assured that residents, particularly young people, continued to remain part of the legacy process and were the voice of legacy. They were advised that a Local Cultural Education Partnership had been established, which sat within the Children and Young People Department. A manager had been appointed to that work, working closely with schools and young people in and outside of education settings, with a remit of ensuring young people had access to cultural opportunities and used creativity to unlock critical thinking within the curriculum. Young people were very much at the centre of that work. In addition, applications were being sought from Brent young people for paid placements with Metroland Culture, along with an artist development programme open to new and established Brent artists.

The Chair thanked those present for their contributions and brought the discussion to an end. The Committee RESOLVED:

To recommend the following areas for improvement:

a)    To ensure that community engagement, in particular with children and young people, is central to the delivery of the legacy programme

b)    To map cultural activity in each borough ward, including arts and culture networks, organisations and infrastructure, and share this information with local councillors and their communities

c)    To ensure that publications by Brent authors and on the Brent area are prominently displayed at all libraries within the borough

The following request for information was made:

i)              That the Committee receives the Brent Borough of Culture 2020 evaluation report.