Whose Art, Whose Culture? Summer in our City

As part of my job as a Grants Development Worker at Salford CVS, I have the pleasure of supporting and visiting our funded projects, events, groups, and meeting the brilliant staff, volunteers, and community members involved.

So far in 2024, I have celebrated the 70th anniversary of Hobson’s Choice with Friends of Peel Park, explored Salford’s streets at Inspiring Communities Together’s intergenerational photography workshop, seen the artistic expression of Salford Loaves and Fishes’ community members, and supported the team at Humbug Art CIC with their community garden project. The young people at Greater Manchester Youth Network are discovering their voices through their art sessions, Women with Wings have showcased the fantastic diversity of and amongst African cultures at their cultural celebration events, and food is the focus of culture sharing and safe spaces for refugees and asylum seekers with Revive. The Beenstock Home’s residents welcomed me in to listen to their stories growing up with the Jewish faith, Langworthy Cornerstone’s women shared their powerful journeys though painting and visual art.

Though not a Salford local, my job has taken me to all ends of this City, and I have learnt so much about what makes here special through the voices of the people, and even more so through the arts and culture projects.

Thank you to Salford’s VCSE sector for being part of this work, supporting our communities in their creative, cultural exploration, and for making my job a pleasure!

In 2023, Salford City Council and Salford CVS secured monies from the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund via Greater Manchester Combined Authority, to support arts, culture and heritage projects in the city.

Salford’s Culture and Place Partnership has developed a strategy for city called Suprema Lex, which frames how this fund supports wider work. ‘People’ forms the central pillar that unites the strategy as whole.

Whose Art, Whose Culture? grants were awarded to 22 projects that explore and celebrate the art, culture, and heritage of Salford’s diverse communities. Together they will challenge traditional definitions of art and culture and address the question of: whose art, whose culture?

Photos from Friends of Peel Park’s Hobson’s Choice Event

These projects are:

Community-based - this means events and activities that make use of the city’s wide range of venues, community facilities, parks, open spaces and streets – celebrating and nurturing art, culture and heritage of the people, in their communities. We therefore plan to fund a wide range of projects that together cover the whole geography of Salford.

Community-focused – this supports an asset-led approach, that captures the art, culture and heritage of communities of geography and/or communities of identity, maximising access and inclusion and promoting good community relations.

Their art, their culture: 22 funded projects and more

Grants of up to £10,000 were awarded to:

Salford Lads and Girls’ club The Beenstock Home Mustard Tree Community Support Centre Warmhut Women with Wings Revive CIO Together Family Centre	DIY Theatre Yemini Community Association Inspiring Communities Together Community Little Hulton GMYN Friends of Peel Park Langworthy Cornerstone	Humbug Community CIC Salford Loaves and Fishes Visible Outcomes 4U Tandem Theatre MBBCS Salford Red Devils Foundation Binoh/Hershel Weiss Centre

We Are Local have been commissioned to undertake a creative evaluation of the projects, to record and present the impact of the Whose art, whose culture? work on Salford’s communities.

Art with Heart have been commissioned to design and lead a creative actions research, community engagement, and artistic project, seeking to deepen engagement with communities and gather vital consultation through co-created activity.

Investing in our arts, our culture 

Alongside the grants and commissions, UKSPF funding has been invested in larger organisations across Salford to support wider cultural initiatives. These include:

Pink Picnic (Salford Pride)

We Invented the Weekend Volunteering Programme (The Lowry)

Sounds Round Town (From the Other)

Creative Explorers Outside (Walk the Plank)

Salford Cultural Education Partnership (SCL)

Salford City Radio (Community Reporting)

It’s an exciting time to be a Salfordian – visit Salford CVS' What's on page to find out what’s coming up in your area.