Banish the winter blues!
People who study group dynamics talk about three stages of development – Storming, Norming and Performing. The ABCD Plan was born out of a storm of ideas shared during the consultation in 2020. The baton was picked up by the Working Groups, who developed a connected set of projects to start to realise some of the aims of the Plan, and then commissioned a set of fantastic organisations to deliver them. Now, it’s time for those projects to perform.
Third Thursdays Brighton hit the streets in December, and you can read about what’s coming from curators videoclub in January here on Culture in Our City. It’s one of the projects happening in partnership with Brilliant Brighton Business Improvement District, and it’s been great developing that relationship and exploring new ways for culture and creativity to animate the city centre. Follow it all on #ThirdThursdaysBrighton.
Brilliant Brighton is also helping us paint the town – literally! If you walk past Boots on North Street this week you will see artist Dave Pop spreading a little love with his fabulous mural. Others will follow and you will also see splashes of colour appearing on lamp posts, bollards, litter bins, planters and bus stops around the Brilliant Brighton area as part of the Enliven Brighton Art Trail curated and designed by Richard Wolfströme, and featuring the work of six Brighton artists and seven members of Rocket Artists Studio. Rocket are a not-for-profit, artist-led group who celebrate diverse identities, abilities and art practices. They develop collaborative, inclusive strategies for working alongside learning disabled people and those with complex support needs and make art together from their studios in Brighton. You can find out about all the artists and see the full trail on the Brilliant Brighton website. There will be some special offers coming up for people who follow the trail, so keep an eye out for those!
Booking is open for the Igniter Event Series – four inspiring webinars with some fantastic local, national and international speakers, and for Creativity & Meanwhile Use – read Jen Storan’s blog to find out more.
We’ve also just announced the cohort for the REGROUP ‘n’ RENEW Leadership Support Programme and you can read about this exciting group of Brighton creatives in the News & Insights section.
More projects are in development, including the Alternative Tours of Brighton & Hove being developed by Sussex Dance Network, who are working with four fascinating artists to uncover lesser known stories of the city. More next month.
It’s great to see these projects out in the world, contributing to the life of the city and the recovery of its cultural sector.
We hope you enjoy them.
Polly Gifford
ABCD Programme Manager
