Another New Start!

On Monday, I move into  new offices in the city centre with two colleagues, to properly launch the project I started in 2011. The rent is cheap, the offices are minutes from the central station and run by two guys with a vision and limited experience- we (and other tenants) are committed to supporting them in return for the low rent.

Our approach (to culture-based community development) is to develop an association of freelance creative professionals able to offer a range of skills for specific projects whilst keeping a small and versatile admin group to maintain the organisation between projects and secure funds and resources for future activities.  We start by offering admin, fund-raising and project management services to organisations and then by pitching projects that match our own skills sets, we develop by identifying freelance professionals with additional skills who are willing to work with us. We contact Associates offering them work, if they don't want to/ can't accept the offer, we move on to another Associate until we exhaust our contacts and then advertise the role like any other company would.

Since November 2011 I have touted my skills as a fund-raiser/project manager to a few voluntary sector organisations, wasted even more time on the Sustained Theatre fiasco and coordinated a project to create an online directory of Newcastle community centres. I also raised some money from the Heritage Lottery Fund to deliver an LGBT community project to create a digital archive charting the LGBT experience in North East England. Unfortunately, it took me until this year to secure the "partnership funding" to release the HLF grant. The extra cash is coming from The Arts Council after my colleagues told me to put aside my prejudices and think of the people the project will benefit. I was still amazed when they agreed to it, the decisions have been centralised in Manchester, but the fact that there has been an inexplicable delay in releasing the grant makes me think that the poisonous pack here in Newcastle are stirring the pot.

The company is based on an idea I pioneered in South East London that I called "Theatre Access Projects". It was moderately successful, but I had chosen to start it during the Thatcher-led late 1980s recession and the Tories hit arts and culture first in their bid to achieve "small government", just as they did this time round (but called it "Big Society" this time. What is different this time is that I have persuaded two of my Board members to join me as active workers and it really feels like we're "cooking with gas"! I got a psychological boost when I realised that there's more money in the bank than there was in the coffers of the organisation I joined in 2006. Unlike that organisation, the executive committee will never be allowed to become as disengaged as that group of "worthies" became. We will be attempting to acquire all available grants to build the organisation up to its full potential and to sustain the three core workers. It will be a sublime delight to finally show some of these arrogant creative sector assholes who have created a closed club for themselves and their mates, that there are viable alternatives to their organised racket that enjoy the support of the people allegedly being served by the existing establishment.