Read on Twitter
I used to work for an arts centre in Sandwell. I was 23 when it closed down & I was made redundant. Now looking back I realise that local people were not at the heart of the strategy and plans for the building. No one knew why Tracey Emin's work was there, nor did they care...
There were plans made over coffee to revive it at the time, but I recall now how the building was often empty. How my neighbours told me "we dow' go cuz we cor afford the coffee!" Often these spaces are brought by councils when they close, but who gets a seat at the table then?
To shape the rebuild plans - where the welcome desk is, who is behind said desk to who will sit on the 4th floor calling the shots? It's never enough to have token representation or a community exhibtion every summer if £££ goes on things no one asks for or feels are relevant..
...Is it possible, given everything, to centralise care now above profit? To build spaces with community leaders rather than consult? Spaces that are accessible beyond the width of doors, who programme inclusively across the year, with affordible space for rest, play & creativity
In Sandwell the site in question turned into a college. The centre closed because it couldn't sustain as was. I often wonder what could have been had community leaders/groups been given the opportunity to build it - grow & flourish, truly representing the area & calling it home.
