Seminar for artists, photographers, curators and creative rural communities.

A one day seminar about new developments in the field of contemporary rural arts, rural photography/documentary, and rural arts and cultural funding policy which may also be of interest and benefit to rural development NGOs, including RDPE/LEADER LAGs, the National Parks, National Trust, and other rural community-led social, cultural and creative economy initiatives.

11.00 am - 5.00pm., Friday 25th July
The Merz Barn, Elterwater, Cumbria LA22 9JB

In recent years the Rural Cultural Forum, the Arts Council, DEFRA/RCPU and
DCMS, etc., have all produced reports and discussion papers which in various ways advocate for a new role for the professional arts, media, photography, and cultural sector in support of rural regeneration, the creative rural economy and related rural community development programmes. These include the Rural Cultural Forum's rural cultural strategy “..a radical rethinking of arts and cultural policy from new rural and agricultural perspectives." http://www.ruralculture.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/RCS_web.pdf and also the Arts Council England's recent Arts and Rural Communities 'position paper'. http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/what-we-do/research-and-data/rural-positioning/

The seminar is being organised by the Rural Cultural Forum www.ruralculture.org.uk Littoral Arts Trust in partnership with Grizedale Arts http://www.grizedale.org/ and includes short presentations by representatives from some of the leading rural arts, rural development, and rural commmunity NGOs from Spain, Australia and the UK.

These include: Fernando Garcia Dory (Campo Adentro, Spain) , Esther Anatolitis Director Regional Arts Victoria, Australia , Dr Richard Povall, Director of Arts Learning at Dartington, Devon, http://artslearningatdartington.info/?page_id=2 ", David Gaffney Arts Council England,
Nick Hunt Director Mid-Pennine Arts, Helen Ratcliffe/Alan Smith AllenHead Arts ,
Janet Ross Visual Arts in Rural Communities VARC Alistair Hudson http://www.grizedale.org/ Grizedale Arts, Pete Flowers, Green Close Studios , Steve Messam artist in residence Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, http://www.stevemessam.co.uk/projects/sentinel.html (tbc), Frances Rowe, rural arts PhD researcher Newcastle University, Vicky Prior The League of Culture (Rural Cultural Summit) the Rural Cultural Forum, and Dr Ian Hunter, Director Littoral Arts/Rural Cultural Forum www.littoral.org.uk

The seminar will operate mainly as a roundtable and open forum discussion format and, if delegtes are agreeable, as an agenda setting event for a possible future series of seminars. These include proposals for an informal New Rural Arts practitioners network, a New Rural Documentary Photography programme, a Rural Biennale connecting art, agriculture and environmental sustainability agendas, and a second Rural Cultural Summit for London in the Spring of 2015.

Other speakers to be confirmed shortly.

Lunch* and the seminar are free but please register to attend:
(*Donation of £4 appreciated)

Free overnight bunk barn accommodation is available nearby for visiting delegates, 24th and 25th July.

Contact: Littoral Arts Trust/Merz Barn project:
e. Tel. 00 44 (0)15394 37309

Location: http://www.merzbarn.net/location.html