Theatres Trust Conference 2014: Community Theatres, opening address, Peter Stark
in Community Theatre, Funding, Participatory and Interactive, Regional Theatre, Voluntary Sector
7th June 2014
Peter Stark OBE, opening address, Theatres Trust Conference 2014
At the annual conference organised by the Theatres Trust, the theme this year was Community Theatres. As its director, Mhora Samuel, noted: “As new Community Rights give people more of a say on running their local communities, we consider the role local groups increasingly play as providers of theatres, and spaces for theatres.” Stark, Chair of the Voluntary Arts Network and an internationally acknowledged leader in cultural policy research, leadership and management, kicked off the day-long conference, held at City Varieties, Leeds on April 28.
“We can’t believe that local government in the future can be the provider… They will continue to be critically important but they can’t be the solution. We have to find new ways of working between a newly self-confident civic activism and a newly self-confident cultural activism.”
