ARTSMINDS Q&A

Held on May 31st at Swindon Dance in Swindon's Town Hall.

It was the Artsminds event of the year, one to come to if you wanted to air your views on what Swindon needs now and in the future. It was a stimulating discussion, which did get heated at times, but saw lots of issues laid on the table and answers given. Thanks go to:

• Peter James, from the New Swindon Company,
• Jan Tierney, on behalf of the Swindon Cultural Partnership,
• Sarah-Jane Meredith from South West Screen, and
• Cllr. Justin Tomlinson, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Recreation

All gave their, to answer sometimes very challenging questions as well as providing an insight into what is going on in Swindon, future plans and opportunities.

The event was taped and a transcript created of the questions and answers.

You will find the report from the event below. We will be using this page to provide updates on questions raised when we have more information.

To download the report from the Artsminds Q&A click the following link:

Artsminds Q&A report (PDF - 59KB - opens in a new window)

Updates

The Art Gallery update

From Justin Tomlinson - SBC are working on proposals for a new town centre location as we speak. The new facility will also include space for local artists (adults and children) and space for ‘art’ to take place – I want this to be a hive of activity. Hopefully we will be a firmer position by the end of the summer.

The Oasis update

From Justin Tomlinson - A report will be coming to Cabinet in October, presenting the work of the architects who have been commissioned to look at the options for rebuilding / refurbishing The Oasis / The Link. It does include plans to keep (and improve) live music provision.

Artsite development update

From Jan Tierney - RE: Shepphard St -NSC are funding a surveyors report to assess and estimate the costs of bringing the building up to standard so that Art Site can operate as a gallery and workspaces - Art Site themselves are managing this process and once they have an idea of costs will take it to the business plan stage with help from others such as myself, Barbara Dixon and Helen Miah.

Wharf Green update

From Jan Tierney - The BBC will be managing the content, and we are looking at first half next year for installation.