Arts and Regeneration (2007)

The arts and artists have a long history of contributing to places and communities experiencing change. The arts in their many forms are uniquely able to comment, reflect, influence, interpret and inspire and are increasingly recognised as a key part of the process that can help shape new environments and engage communities.

Arts Council England, as the national development agency for the arts, has a commitment to encouraging artistic practice that reflects and responds to national life as we find it today. Whilst many of the projects in this publication have involved the Arts Council in some way, it is clear that many organisations and individuals from non-arts backgrounds are also acting as champions for artistic input within a regeneration context. Arts and Regeneration: creating vibrant communities is intended to provide core information and share inspiration from others who have engaged with the arts as part of a resolution to local circumstances.

In these case studies we wanted to identify a range of artistic practice from across the country and to look afresh at the role and impact of creativity within regeneration. The projects vary in scale and endeavour, but each identifies the very particular way that artists can influence and respond to regeneration. Each illustrates some of the ways art and artists are able to introduce enquiry, delight and responsiveness to initiatives that can sometimes threaten to overwhelm the very communities that they are intended to reach.