Culture, creativity and heritage makes Torbay a better place in which to live, work, learn and visit. Torbay Culture was set up with support from Arts Council England to provide strategic leadership for the local culture sector, and progress the cultural strategy which is focused around people and place.
OUR IMPACT
Torbay Culture was established to help improve our home.
‘It is about our way of life - and our quality of life’
Quote from the cultural strategy for Torbay and its communities
The impact of our work is best articulated by the people to have benefited from the ideas, partnerships, and projects that we have nurtured since our inception. On this page we have links to a few of the films that illustrate how people feel about the work we have initiated and enabled. You can also download the evaluation reports from our work in the knowledge share area of this website.
Since we were set up, Torbay Culture has reached around 185,000* audience members and participants; and over 650 creative practitioners have been engaged or employed in delivering activities that we have supported, commissioned or originated.
167 local people have enjoyed improved health as a result of longer-term culture and wellbeing projects
180 residents, family members, and carers were involved in developing the innovative Torbay Care Charter commissioned jointly by Torbay Culture and Torbay Council
194 local people took part in engagement events as part of the Great Place Scheme’s town centre improvement work
7 Torbay organisations explored and /or adopted new governance models
We invested in local creative talent - of the artists employed to work on Great Place Scheme projects, 60% were from Brixham, Paignton and Torquay. Where people from outside the area were involved, they created projects with local communities and residents.
All of this has been thanks to the collaborations with partners across different sectors. We have also reached many more people digitally, including through films and interviews on YouTube (‘The Shorely’), as well as with other partners like English Riviera Business Improvement District and the English Riviera destination site.
Most importantly, the work we and our partners have facilitated has helped change things for the better, improve our places, and help people live healthier and happier lives. Given that ‘Health and Happiness’ is the civic motto for Torbay this feels appropriate. There is a lot more work to do, but the focus on improving our home for the people who live, work, learn and visit here, remains our focus. Culture, heritage, and creativity is now more important than ever, as we look to the future.
Culture has a voice in Torbay: Support and development for culture and heritage is part of the local area’s strategic thinking and planning, including the strategies for the local economy, destination management, future investment and health and wellbeing.
Cultural development through a ‘culture of collaboration’: Partnerships have been developed with Public Health Torbay, Torbay & South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, the NHS Devon Clinical Commissioning Group, English Riviera BID Company, Torbay Community Development Trust and departments across Torbay Council. Strategic development funding, support and advice for culture assets - including Paignton Picture House, Palace Theatre Paignton, Doorstep Arts, Torre Abbey, Artizan Gallery, Brixham Museum and Torquay Museum - have been delivered.
*Source: these are aggregate figures for activities originated or supported by Torbay Culture 2015-21: During 2015-18, totals were 131,136 audience members; 502 creative practitioners. Audiences and participants in the Eyeview cultural programme (2019) of the Great Place Scheme were 53,300, out of almost 58,000 people who were involved across the entire Torbay Scheme (2017-20). Creative practitioners engaged in Eyeview activities totalled 153, of whom 89 were Torbay based.
Best Foot Forward was a project to support people in reducing their risk of falls by increasing mobility through dance. This was part of the Arts on Referral programme, which you can read about in the Connections Between Culture, Health & Wellbeing in Torbay report (2020)
As part of the Great Place Scheme, Torbay Culture commissioned a cultural programme called Eyeview - a series of events, experiences and conversations. The highlight for many was Wavelength in 2019, and this film captures the atmosphere and impact beautifully.
Building resilience and supporting new models of governance has been part of our work. Among others, we have supported Artizan Gallery, Doorstep Arts, Filament CIC, the Oldway Trust, Paignton Picture House Trust, and Jazz Hands CIC which manages the Palace Theatre Paignton. Watch this film and hear from some of the directors of these organisations.
Torbay's skilled participatory arts practitioners resulted in the area being awarded Cultural Commissioning Locality Project status in 2014. We went on to work with Torbay Council and Encounters Arts to create the Torbay Care Charter with residents of care homes, launched in 2018.