‘Bristol needs to re-imagine who culture is for’

“Culture” is a tricky word as Raymond Williams once pointed out. We use it to mean the western tradition of the “high arts” such as opera, ballet or classical music,  and we also use it to describe a way of life or pattern of habits, especially if these are other people’s: “It’s their culture”, “It’s a cultural problem”, “The culture is very distinctive”.

But we also use the term in the sense of encouraging growth, as in horticulture or agriculture: “cultivation” is vital to ensuring health and vitality and to prevent stagnation.

Culture is essential to the quality of life of a city; it contributes to good health, and to the social glue that holds communities together and makes life worth living. But “good culture” doesn’t only have to mean the big institutions such as theatres, galleries and concert halls, important though these are. 

Here in Bristol we have a reputation as a city with a rich cultural life which is broad and varied, from the venerable traditions of the Bristol Old Vic to the graffiti of Banksy, and the Bristol music scene which produced Tricky and Massive Attack.

These are all “cultural” activities, but they don’t all fit conventional expectations. Crucially, too, while Clifton, the city centre and Stokes Croft are well served by both traditional and less traditional cultural activities, many of Bristol’s outer suburbs, and especially areas of economic deprivation, are not so well served. 

Bristol’s cultural economy is also seen as an important driver of employment and wealth creation for the city; culture attracts tourists, new jobs, and new people to Bristol, and developments such as the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone are building on that vitality. 

In our manifesto and election pledges Marvin and the Labour Party promised that we would champion culture and the arts in Bristol and also indicated that we wanted to see the cultural offer extended so that is genuinely inclusive and democratic.

We emphasised that we see culture as a central part of the Bristol story. This is not just about making high culture available to everyone but about re-imagining who and what culture is for. Culture is about everyday lives, experiences, places, customs and habits.

It is also about securing opportunities for everyone to fulfil their dreams, use their talents, and develop their skills. We do not want to see Bristolians simply making the sandwiches and cleaning the floors in the Temple Quarter. We want them to be the decision-makers and cultural entrepreneurs. 

That approach is already shaping the arts and culture policy. While we have agreed to invest in the future of the Colston Hall, the Old Vic and St George’s Hall, this is not about “business as usual”. These are our big city centre venues, and it is important that Bristol’s centre continues to have a “mixed economy” of activities if it is to thrive.

But such support also comes with the proviso that these institutions contribute in demonstrable ways to extending access to music, drama and performance across the whole city.

We want to see Bristol’s citizens in every corner of the city able to participate in and contribute to its cultural life, and to have that contribution valued and rewarded. We have just started that work.

These are difficult times, financially, of course. Local councils cannot continue to fund everything. We can, however, set challenges and create opportunities in partnership with others. Watch this space for what happens next.

Estella Tincknell is a Labour councillor for Lockleaze and cabinet member for arts, culture, strategy, democracy and the international.

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