Exhibition Opening - Turner Contemporary - Forward - Weds, 30th June 2010

A collaborative exhibition by 17 local residents on a 12 week exploration in art and design, developing practical skills and learning about the role of cultural organisations in the community. Cultural Ambassadors is a partnership project led by University for the Creative Arts and Turner Contemporary.

You are invited to the opening – this Wednesday 30 June 2010, 6-8pm
Droit House, Stone Pier, Margate CT9 1HB

Forward will be open to the public from 1 July to 8 August 2010, Wed to Sun, 10am-5pm.
Free entry
www.turnercontemporary.org

Turner Contemporary and University for the Creative Arts are delighted to present Forward, an exhibition made by seventeen adults who live in Thanet and are involved in the Cultural Ambassadors programme. Cultural Ambassadors first started six years ago and is designed to offer local people an opportunity to get involved in the cultural regeneration of their area.

During this twelve week accredited course this year’s Cultural Ambassadors have gained practical skills through artist led workshops, visited galleries in London and explored new ways of looking at, discussing and making art. These new experiences have informed their creativity and forged strong bonds among the group, which we hope will continue long after this exhibition has ended. Forward shows the talent and variety in the individuals’ work, and aims to illustrate the journey the Ambassadors have taken to get here.

During the six years that Cultural Ambassadors has been running we have had many participants go on to enter the Access course and continue onto the part time Fine Art BA degree at UCA, three of which have been instrumental in supporting this years ambassadors.

Another Cultural Ambassador has gone on to work for Turner Contemporary and is now an employee of GroundworkWalkie Talkie scheme. Also a participant from last years’ course has had her artwork included at Tate Modern as part of their tenth birthday event called “No Soul for Sale”

“I’ve always wanted to explore art further, this has opened my eyes to the whole raft of possibilities” Perry Gregory Cultural Ambassador 2010

Cultural Ambassadors has been developed by Turner Contemporary and University for the Creative Arts (UCA) Widening Participation Department and this year’s programme has been delivered by artist educators Kevin Jones and Sara Wicks from UCA

Cllr Clive Hart - Key Workers Taken for Granted Whilst Oustide 'Experts' Sit & Talk

PRESS RELEASE

BEGINS

29/06/2010

KEY LOCAL WORKERS TAKEN FOR GRANTED

WHILST OUTSIDE 'EXPERTS' SIT & TALK 

From Cllr Clive Hart - Cliftonville West

"At last weeks meeting of the Cliftonville Partnership serious concerns were raised by business members regarding the ending of funding for the post of Business Coordinator for Northdown Road.  When I was a County Councillor for the area I originally accessed funding through KCC for this role, later the Safer & Stronger Communities Fund helped and later still the Crime & Reduction Partnership.  However, the CRDP funding is now to end and many local businesses are distraught.

The post of Business Coordinator has been running for several years now and Pamela Pople is holding together a community shopping centre where many dejected business owners are on their 'last legs'.  She's doing sterling work right on the 'front line' here in Cliftonville.

For several months now the manager of St Paul's Community centre has been running the facility voluntarily and with absolutely no wages.  The community centre is quite literally the backbone of the community for the poorest in Cliftonville.  Elaine Phillips works tirelessly for local residents and has herself raised enormous amounts of funding for the local community in the past.  Funding for the centre manager from the SSCF fund ran out some time ago and how the centre stays 'alive and kicking' is nothing short of a miracle and a testament to Elaine's resilience and commitment.

I am absolutely fed up hearing that committee after committee is being set up and that numerous meetings after meetings are being arranged by well meaning but expensively salaried burocrats investigating the problems in our area time after time, over and over again. If you were to add up the wages around a table for a morning, an afternoon or sometimes all day, it would probably come to a cost greater than the frontline Community Centre Manager & Business Coordinator for the year.

In addition to this torrent of meetings arranged by TDC and KCC, we ward councillors in Cliftonville West and Margate Central have simply lost count of the number of consultants and agencies we've repeatedly briefed on local issues over the past seven years.

I am appalled at the time being wasted simply talking about matters.  Report after report has been commissioned and everyone knows exactly what the problems are and we need action to deal with them, not endless and repeated talks to discuss them.

The Community Centre manager and the Business Coordinator are two spearhead roles that should be supported by TDC and KCC but the authorities appear to prefer inviting numerous 'experts' to come and sit around tables pontificating instead of supporting our front line workers who are trying to get on with the job".

Published by Cllr Clive Hart, 44 Northdown Road, Cliftonville, CT9 2RW.

ENDS

Arlington House Residents Say "No to Tesco!"

PRESS RELEASE

BEGINS
Campaigners against a proposed new Tesco store in Margate packed a meeting at a local church hall on Monday evening (28^th June 2010).

The gathering was hosted by Arlington House Residents Association who are unhappy about redevelopment plans which will see them losing their car park and flat owners having to foot a bill of £17.000 each.

The multi-million pound scheme would see the demolition of a derelict public car park and shops on the controversial Arlington site on Margate seafront.

Association Chairman, Ron Greene, told the assembled crowd that neither property developers Freshwater nor Tesco had provided answers to questions raised during public consultations three months ago.  He added, “Research has shown that surrounding property prices go down when a Tesco store is built in a residential area”.

Ward Councillor Iris Johnston and Council planning officer Doug Brown fielded a barrage of questions from local residents and businesses.  Arlington House residents also questioned the Councils right to agree to the demolition of  the existing residents car park.

Concerned locals also heard from Ron Greene that plans to redevelop the whole of the site had been shelved.  “Freshwater are only going for full planning permission for Tesco to go on the car park site”, he said, “The proposed shops, hotel and doctors surgery will only be subjected to outline planning permission as there are no takers for those units.  This means that the seaside frontage could remain boarded up for years to come”,

Councillor Iris Johnson called for a show of hands to indicate those in favour of a new Tesco and those against.  The vote was unanimously against the Tesco development.

After the meeting Ron Green said, “It is clear that the people of Margate do not want another Tesco superstore.  I was initially in favour a scheme that would see the derelict site regenerated and  the exterior of Arlington House improved.  However, I now believe that a store of the proposed size will be detrimental for local residents and existing businesses in Margate.  Kent County Council statistics reveal that 20,000 cars a day pass along the seafront at present.  That number will obviously increase with the opening of the Turner Centre and Dreamland Heritage Park.  The further addition of a 24 hour Tesco superstore will likely cause traffic gridlock at the Station Roundabout due to customer traffic and delivery lorries.  If the Council does give the go-ahead for Tesco, I am asking that planning conditions be imposed to restrict the hours for opening and deliveries and that adequate sound insulation be provided to Arlington House at the expense of the developer”.

ENDS

Please contact Residents Association Ron Greene on 07754 588193 for further comments, interview or photo opportunities.

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