The real cost of free, outdoor arts by Ralph Kennedy

As an outdoor arts festival network, Without Walls is embedded in town centres and high streets across the country. These are spaces that are the heart of many communities.

In August this year, our public spaces were overturned and weaponized during violent racist and anti-migrant protests. For the creatives, artists, and partners we work with across the country, this served as a powerful reminder that our commitment to resilience, collaboration, and togetherness is more important than ever. Stockton International Riverside Festival, which took place during the height of the unrest celebrated a weekend of wonder and excitement, all whilst many towns and cities were left scarred by the protests. But how?

As one of the UK’s longest-running outdoor arts festivals, established in 1988, Stockton International Riverside Festival has blazed a unique trail by presenting high-quality outdoor art from across the UK and internationally. It is rightly recognised as a major event on the European outdoor arts calendar. At the same time, local audiences have been nurtured and grown, and the community’s sense of pride in the festival is palpable. Each year, 85% of attendees come from the Stockton-on-Tees area, coming together to experience a programme of exceptional street theatre, dance, music, and circus. Stockton demonstrates that galvanising our communities through collective experiences, right on people’s doorsteps, can bring us closer together.

Over the past four years, cities and towns nationwide have faced a decline, driven primarily by shifts in consumer behaviour and urban planning. This has resulted in the loss of essential community spaces such as local shops, libraries, and social clubs. Clearly, our relationship with and use of public and civic spaces has changed—and not for the better. Outdoor arts play a crucial role in reversing this trend.

It is difficult to categorise outdoor arts as a specific art form. With its roots in street theatre, it incorporates contemporary dance, installation, circus, and music. A range of unsung festivals present this work as free-to-access performances for some of the most under-served communities in the country. Stockton may be the trailblazer, but similar work is taking place in locations as varied as Mansfield, Crawley, and Weston-super-Mare, to name but a few. These organisations democratise access to culture and enable great art to build a strong sense of connection, identity, and belonging.

At this critical moment in our country’s recent history, where community cohesion is more essential than ever, these organisations need our support. Unfortunately, the reality is quite the opposite.

Arts Council England are steadfast in their commitment to the outdoor art sector. Outdoor work is a natural fit for Let’s Create. It is often its poster child, with numerous images of outdoor festivals used on the ACE website and in its publications. However, the investment in outdoor arts is a fraction of the total of both NPO funding and National Lottery Project Grants. Changes in regional distribution in the recent NPO round, and in the guidance for National Lottery Projects Grants, are affecting the viability of many festivals.

More importantly, and largely going unnoticed, is the sudden and dramatic reduction in local authority funding, which is a mainstay of the funding model for outdoor work. This reduction is happening across the country. Local authorities are having to make drastic and difficult cuts in expenditure, an unenviable task. Often, arts provision is the first thing to go. While these cuts are understandable given the financial pressures councils face, they are also short-sighted. When arts provision is slashed, the impact is not just cultural but also social, undermining efforts to build cohesive and resilient communities at a time when they are most needed.

Loz Samuels from DOCA Devizes speaks to these challenges.

‘Devizes is an affluent, conservative area, if you are from a family where cash is scarce, the disadvantage is felt acutely. Up until now, once a year Devizes became a vibrant place full of the manifestations of ideas from people who are a little different, the streets taken over by artists, performers, and people of all shapes, sizes, cultures and colours, they are celebrated. It has been a beautiful, inspiring thing. I am very concerned that this year the streets are quiet, and even more, what the implications of this are for our communities. Creativity can give diversity a voice, and there is no better, more accessible way for all voices to be heard than at a Street Festival.’

If we are to bridge the divides in our society, outdoor arts must be recognised not as a luxury but as a necessity. These events are powerful tools for connection, identity, and belonging – creating spaces where everyone, regardless of background, can experience joy and wonder. As Bradley Hemmings MBE, Greenwich+Docklands International Festival’s Artistic Director comments,

‘The last year has been exceptionally challenging for arts organisations everywhere, and outdoor arts are no exception. Whilst there’s been high profile coverage regarding the existential threat faced by theatres, the difficult situation facing the UK’s already fragile outdoor arts sector needs to be more widely talked about. For many artists, freelancers and companies engaged in street arts, this has been an exceptionally tough few months. Bookings have dried up for many artists and the combined impacts of the cost of living crisis and the pandemic are continuing to impact on many of the place based partners who traditionally support outdoor arts festivals and events. From our own experience at FESTIVAL.ORG, this crosses both public and private sectors, requiring us to adapt and be ever more resourceful in our planning and relationship building with artists, producers, participants, audiences and funders.

‘The far right riots in streets and town centres across the country earlier this summer powerfully demonstrated exactly why public, inclusive space is so important – we can never take free and safe access to our civic spaces for granted. Access to public space needs to be continually fought for. Across the UK’s towns and cities outdoor arts demonstrate again and again just how powerful they can be in effecting transformational change; humanising our streets, parks and open spaces for everyone with uplifting experiences which unite communities, offering joy, hope and playful disruption. As a sector we perhaps need to get better at communicating the urgency of that need – that free public culture is a power for good, which can nurture and transform recent narratives and reveal the UK at its very best.’

Certain Blacks presents the annual Ensemble festival in The Royal Docks, Newham East London. Newham is an area of low arts engagement and Ensemble is a free festival aimed at attracting a local, regional and national audience. Clive Lyttle, Artistic Director at Certain Blacks adds,

‘We support both indoor and outdoor artists and the aim is to bring this work “from the margins to the mainstream”. The outdoor festival has now grown to cover an entire weekend of activities and brings high quality outdoor arts to the heart of the dockland’s community. Our organisation, based in the docklands area, plays a significant role in place making, fostering local pride and supporting local creatives. We also provide training for young people and commission, new, locally-based work.

However, presenting a festival of this scale for free is extremely expensive. Currently we do not receive any direct financial support from LB Newham, but its creative and culture teams have been extremely supportive of our work. The Royal Docks is London’s only Economic Development Zone and the festival has received support from the Royal Docks team.

Ensemble Festival prides itself on providing diverse representation and this is vital following the recent unrest and discussions about what it now means to be British within the current cultural context.’

A study commissioned by Without Walls and The Audience Agency revealed that outdoor events and festivals are reaching audiences that attend fewer cultural events than traditional venue based artforms. As an example, 40% of respondents were new attendees, with 15% stating that this was their first arts and culture experience. Additionally, the results showed that younger audiences are engaging with outdoor work, with 27% of respondents aged 34 and under (50% of our partners are in Arts Council England – Priority Places and Levelling Up for Culture Places). This finding emphasises the relevance of outdoor arts, and the critical role it plays in reaching new audiences, especially in underrepresented areas.

The work of outdoor arts festivals across the UK is proof that, even in challenging times, culture can thrive and bring people together. What’s needed now is the courage to see their value and the commitment to support them.