Grassroots regeneration

In Spring 2011, creative company Fierce Earth and independent producer Gemma Thomas were commissioned to deliver the third phase of Place, Space and Identity (PSI), a collaboration between the former regeneration body RENEW and Stoke-on-Trent City Council.

PSI aims to place the work of great artists in six ‘areas of major intervention’ – urban renewal-speak for areas that need massive investment. This was the project’s third year and it sought to engage the people of Stoke-on-Trent, celebrate their many identities and honour the places where they live. The programme included performances, installations and artworks that challenged people’s perceptions of the city and transformed unused spaces in the area.

Fierce Earth’s stance is that, to be genuinely affecting, cultural activity in areas of major intervention should be sensitive and engaging for that community. The trust that an artist requires from a community is hard won and cannot be rushed. Once gained, however, projects like these can provide something lasting and authentically valuable.

PSI sought to carry out meaningful and purposeful projects which genuinely benefited the people of the city. One such project was delivered by Rob Hewitt, an artist who worked with the community and restored and repainted residents’ front doors with locally sourced Heritage colours that they chose. The process of participation encourages people to become invested in the project. The residents took an active part in creating a renewed sense of pride, colour and fun on their streets.

Stoke-on-Trent has a fullness of heritage that is often overlooked. PSI was able to highlight this wonderful history while capturing the essence of the strong community spirit, which is felt throughout the city. By enabling members of the community to engage directly with artists on the social, economic and environmental issues that face them and their neighbourhood, it provided the community with a voice. The result was to increase and improve community involvement in regeneration, particularly in areas of the city which are affected by deprivation.

Stoke-on-Trent has recently undergone an immense programme of change. PSI provided residents a chance to reflect on the upheaval they have experienced, and capture what they feel may have been lost, as well as face their fears and communicate their ambitions.

I believe it is important not to set unrealistic goals for what arts-led regeneration can do for a community. However, the relatively small investment required for this type of cultural intervention can often reap longer lasting and more deeply felt change than the often rolled out regeneration of our cities by ‘cappuccino revolution’ – art imposed ‘from above’ in an attempt to make an area palatable for the middle classes. These schemes are rarely sensitive, reflective or useful for the communities that live in these areas.

With our country still in the grip of a recession, there appears to be a movement by artists to use redundant industrial and retail spaces, such as the old Spode factory in Stoke-on-Trent, which was brought to life by Daisy Thompson’s unique dance performance. Designed to use participation to instil a sense of identity within the heart of a community, I believe it is this grassroots approach to arts-led regeneration, as exemplified by PSI, that could lead the way in the regeneration agenda.