Creative Bexley is the Local Cultural Education Partnership for Bexley. The partnership aims to:
- Create a conduit for sharing opportunities (and practice) with the schools and young people in the borough in a timely and efficient way
- Build a sustained connection between arts and cultural activity in schools and beyond it, so partners and educators can build projects in genuine partnership
- Build the capacity of teachers and young people through professional learning and supporting schools in achieving Artsmark and embedding Arts Award into their schools.
The long-term vision is for a partnership that creates new work for Bexley that would not be possible individually. Partners include a diverse range of organisations that champion a range of arts and cultural activity, rooted strongly in the local community. These include Odyssey Trust for Education (lead partner), Bow Arts, Peabody Trust, The Exchange Erith, Little Fish Theatre, Bexley Music Hub, TACO!, ArtsTrain, National Opera Studio (Diverse Voices), Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair (Young London Print Prize), and London South East Colleges.
Creative Bexley will build on existing schools networks to connect with school leaders and establish new forums that connect the cultural partners with school teachers, for the purpose of sharing practice as well as signposting opportunities and developing new work. A newsletter will enable regular dissemination of opportunities, and a web presence will ensure the partnership will be known well in the borough.
The partnership will look to champion young people through the creation of a CYP council to ensure they are able to inform ongoing strategy and will commission a youth consultation to inform their work.
Through raising the profile of Artsmark and Arts Award, the partnership hopes to build a network of Arts and Cultural Learning Champions in Bexley schools. Creative Bexley will also trial three strands of working with Bow Arts, testing out models and ways of working with teachers, artists in the area, and young people.
Challenge London investment from A New Direction: £30,000 over 18 months
Image credit: Steven Berryman
