“I want us to walk with a swagger!” Mayor Oliver Coppard’s words were met with nods and smiles of affirmation as creatives from across South Yorkshire (SY) heard him describe his vision for giving more light to our region’s creative wealth.

Hosted by Sheffield’s iconic Showroom - and introduced by CEO Victoria Firth and MCed by Head of Marketing Salli Greaves – there could not have been a more fitting backdrop to last week’s SYCCIN meetup. The evening served a punchy cocktail of insight into plans for putting SY’s creativity on a stage, and ideas for championing creativity and boosting social mobility within the sector.

Oliver, Councillor Tom Hunt, musician Jon McClure, and Creative Entrepreneur Vanessa Threadgold galvanised energy, enthusiasm and confidence, taking to the spotlight to discuss how we can work together to stand for and empower South Yorkshire’s creative economy.

Dream big, celebrate loudly

Tom set the tone during his rallying intro. “Talent, creativity and potential pours out from this part of the world, and we need to get better at shouting about it. Month by month we are standing taller, thinking bigger, putting on our best suit and telling the world what we’re good at.”

The Council leader heavily backed the value of our creative landscape, establishing from the off that it needs more input and deserves to be much higher on the agenda, before detailing what action is being taken within local government towards this. Including the launch of a new cultural strategy,making the case for more national investment and greater transparency around how and where funding is allocated.

While Tom acknowledged that historically our local authorities might not have matched our peoples passion for the arts, he pledged that this has changed. In response to Vanessa’s bold and true statement “sometimes we are saving lives. Art is inner medicine and it can change the way people feel”, it was great to hear of the Council’s recognition of this. Tom agreed “[Creativity is] fundamental to how we develop and thrive”, before sharing how our authorities are working to bolster our creative community and give more light to it.

More routes to funding

A recurring theme was that of the Arts’ critical role in SY’s wider economy, and the funding it therefore warrants. So how do we get more investment into the region and more fiscal support for more individuals? We ask for more!

As well as turbo-charging our collective self-belief, Oliver gave insight into his recent conversions with pivotal figures including Tim Davie at The BBC and Cultural Secretary Lisa Nandy, sharing how he plans to be vocal with them and the bodies who can make decisions and make change. “The Arts Council needs to listen to us and give us a bigger voice. If they don’t, then I will assert that that money should be devolved and we will do it better because we know our communities best!”

Off the back of astute questions from the group relating to the council’s plans to boost input for marginalised creative groups, Vanessa highlighted why funding is such a major barrier for them and others. “Many people need finances to get to a project, to just be in the room. Everyone has their responsibility and worries at home, and women often stop [pursuing creative work] because of finances and the freelance nature of the work. I fell on my feet and am really lucky to work in dance, but it shouldn’t be that way.”

The power of physical communities, making more of our spaces

Jon provoked thought with his insight “I want to counter the idea that the solution to all this is financial. Creativity and arts often flourish in situations of economic deprivation, and there's a danger to thinking a magic bullet is going to solve everything.” To his point, creatives also need to know where to go, physical spaces to which we can show up and access support. “When I was a kid, I used to knock on and say ‘I want to be in a band’. It wasn't about money, it was about being physically around each other.”

Thinking about how we can create more tangible, accessible communities, Jon also gave a powerful anecdote. “When the wall came down in Berlin, they had these big utilitarian buildings sitting empty. In their wisdom, the council turned over these buildings in areas like Kronesburg, and into these spaces went free parties, bands and what became Berlin’s techno scene”.  An inspiring story of how art can grow its own metropolis in the right environment, and one which underpinned further discussion on how we can better maximise our venues in South Yorkshire and create physical networks for aspiring creatives.

Although, funds are necessary for making these spaces secure. Vanessa added “we also need to make sure the places where we’re networking are safe, which means investment in facilities, transport and everything surrounding the arts.”

Working together

The panel was unanimous in its agreement that progress comes from working together. Which is why the SYCCIN is so proud to facilitate these events and discussions! Oliver said “it is our job to work with the government to make our dreams a reality…to put a new cultural and creative framework in place. We all agree – our councils, me, the National Govt, we’ve all got to work together.”

It’s also about thinking beyond yourself and working to remove barriers for everybody. Vanessa said “it’s easy to empathise with things you have experienced, but you want to create a ring that others can enter too. It’s just simply thinking about others.”

As well as sparking our imagination and reigniting our gumption, the evening was a verbal  exhibition of some of SY’s proudest cultural landmarks. Rotherham’s World's first Children’s Capital of Culture, Sheffield Theatres, Harmony Works, the plethora of unsigned bands who have gone onto roaring success…to name but a few. The takeaway? There’s so much creativity being sown all across our wonderful region, it deserves the light to bloom and flourish, and it starts with us having more swagger!

The next SYCCIN will take place on Thursday 29th May and more details will be announced soon on Eventbrite.