Euston Town Cultural Strategy
Euston Town publishes its strategy for boosting the neighbourhood’s cultural scene and creating exciting new opportunities for creatives.
Major construction and infrastructure projects can be a frightening concept for communities. There is a fear of losing a sense of identity, community spirit and history. There is worry that independent businesses will be priced out and replaced with a homogenized high street that has no familiarity with locals. There are inevitable changes to the local landscape and it can feel that the neighbourhood as we know it is threatened.
We recognise the value of these communities, which is why we work to protect local independent businesses from the loss of footfall as construction begins, and to establish their place in the future of Euston.
The Euston Town BID was set up to help ensure HS2 brings with it benefits to the whole community. We need to uncover these opportunities, and whatever your perspective on development in the area, there are many. Devising a Cultural Strategy with Camden Council and MTArt Agency allowed us to explore the value of art for communities such as ours, and to use our specific circumstances and opportunities to further justify investment in an arts and culture scene.
What opportunities do we have within the Arts & Culture Strategy? To use art in many forms to position Euston as a forward-thinking neighbourhood. To allow communities and small organisations to capitalise on the benefits of local institutions such as the Wellcome Collection. To re-establish within both business and residential communities a sense of control and ownership. To think innovatively about the temporary use of space as it becomes available with the construction program. To watch our place flourish under the guidance of the people who work and live in it.
We believe that community is key to a successful arts scene. Our small creative organisations have created a blueprint for this already — the Surma Centre’s Mix It group is an exciting and energetic representation of local young people. The community is active, interested and engaged. Our Arts & Culture Strategy outlines how Euston Town should use consultation methods and a specially formed Culture Group to ensure that art is relevant to this community, whilst also protecting the creativity of the artist (not everyone can like an installation — but they can still benefit, engage and learn).
The Euston Town Cultural Strategy was devised because we recognize art as an economic driver. Art can be commercially viable whilst also community-focused — especially when we talk about art uplifting the trading environment for independently owned, family-run restaurants. Its value will be equally distributed amongst business owners and residents.
Art and culture will drive sustainable economic development, attracting a wider audience to visit and explore the area’s offer.
The Strategy commits us to a transparent process with an evolving and open conversation. It means that art does not stop at the installation, and ensures that the community, visitors and audiences beyond will be able to enjoy learning about the message, exploring surrounding topics, taking part in discussions and challenging their own perceptions.
This is a very exciting time for Euston, and publishing our strategy is hopefully the beginning of productive relationships and conversations about the installations we commission and our objectives. We will see the continuation of MAKE SPACE — utilizing empty spaces for temporary creative uplift. We will identify the spots that would benefit most from artistic interventions with the help of the community and the Culture Group. We’ll explore how we can best support local organisations and link them in with our own plans for projects such as the London Design Festival.
Ultimately we hope that this interim period Euston finds itself in — at the beginning of construction and seemingly so far from a completed project — holds an exciting plethora of opportunities and chances we would not otherwise have. It should be a time to stitch together a cohesive set of installations that tell stories and link cultures, so that when development is complete our communities and neighbourhoods are celebrated as intrinsic to its value to London.
You can read the Euston Town Cultural Strategy here.
Please get in touch to discuss further: georgie@eustontown.com
