Fresh approach for Voluntary Arts

Building alliances, campaigning for new policies and developing online resources will form the basis of Voluntary Arts’ new programme of work for the next three years. In its strategic plan for 2014-17, the organisation makes clear its intention to focus on alliances relating to cultural diversity, digital communication, and health and wellbeing; campaigning for national cultural policies that will support local cultural infrastructure; and producing online resources to “support the creative citizens who give their time to make such activity more available within their communities.” Along with Voluntary Arts staff and volunteers, newly appointed President Baroness Beeban Kidron will help to implement the organisation’s plan. Best known for her directing work on projects such as BBC TV’s ‘Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit’, and feature film ‘Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason’, Beeban Kidron is also co-founder of FILMCLUB, an education charity which sets up film clubs in education and care establishments. Robin Simpson, Chief Executive of Voluntary Arts, said: “The world has changed substantially since Voluntary Arts was founded in 1991. The digital revolution and the arrival of the internet have transformed the way voluntary arts activities are organised and networked. Economic, demographic and sociological changes have also had a more gradual, but just as significant, effect on voluntary arts activities… The appointment of Baroness Kidron as the new President of Voluntary Arts, and the launch of the Voluntary Arts Strategic Plan 2014–17, reflect a refreshed, proactive, focused and relevant approach to how we promote creative cultural activity in the 21st century.”