Illustration by Rob White

The Creative Quarter would appear to be a kind of cultural Dragon’s Den in which money is being made available to local businesses and organisations to pimp up the Lace Market and turn it into a kind of cultural hub that will bring a much needed buzz back to the area. It is part of an initiative called the City Deal, where eight Core Cities were invited to give a pitch for funding and resources from central government. But this isn’t just about glitz and glamour. The main motivation is to make Nottingham a more attractive location with the hope of drawing in high-tech, high-growth industries.

On one level this seems to suggest that creatives are being asked to become court jesters, providing the frills and frippery to keep the big earners happy. A more positive view is that combining forces means strength in numbers and a genuine opportunity to shape the future of the city as well as lobbying local government.

The Creative Quarter is without portfolio at the moment and so many questions asked at an open meeting on Sunday night could not be answered. It needs to develop a proper constitution, strategy and guidance for those seeking investment if it is to avoid the healthy levels of scepticism banded around by those who have become tired of eating the same old carrots dangled from ever higher sticks.

One gentleman shared that he had already applied for funding but had been turned down. He requested a set of eligibility criteria, presumably so that he could resubmit, and hit a blank wall. This is something which the Committee need to address with immediate effect before apathy and conspiracy theories replace enthusiasm. The most prescient comment, for me, came from a man who discussed cultural projects in Liverpool, claiming that the whole city gets behind them and they turn up in numbers to support each other. Nottingham is not very good at this and requires a quick personality change.

Rikki Marr, the first ambassador for the project, seems to have addressed one way to solve this problem already with the suggestion of having a gallery night in which all galleries open late on the same night of the week and put on various events. This is a brilliant idea as it gives galleries a meaningful purpose, it makes them a ‘date in the diary’ as well as offering the opportunity for collaboration from say, music or spoken word inspired by the art.

The Creative Quarter is a bit of an oxymoron because it would appear that money will only be invested in those organisations able to make a return on investments. So where does this leave not-for-profit organisations or art created to inspire rather than commodify? We’ve already seen the universities hack away at the thinking subjects in favour of those offering more pragmatic skills and routes into employment and now the creative sector is subjected to the same principles – though, a good business plan should not be scoffed at and sustainability is something that will stop organisations fizzling out.

Here are a couple of initial suggestions:

• Gain a liability license for the entire area and make it available for free for all arts organisations and performers. This won’t generate the return that the businesses want but it will enable more people to put on events which will create a vibrant buzz as well as the confidence to try out new things on a regular basis.
• Help drive down costs by using the Creative Quarter as an account hub. For example, if every organisation went through the QQ for printing flyers, this would drop prices with printing companies due to the sheer volume of work.
• Hand the QC venue over to one Notts-based organisation each month to put on an event so that everybody has an equal chance of promoting their work. Presumably the Committee will be in attendance at such events and if they like what they see may be able to offer guidance on how to develop their work. As far as I’m concerned the majority of projects that get funded aren’t the best, they are by the people who have the time and willpower to fill out arduous forms and business plans and usually the confident ones. Nurturing and recognising talent must be a core aim of the CQ strategy and you’re only going to be able to do this by understanding culture on it’s own terms.

To read Al Needham’s interview with CQ Committee member Toby Reid