Ambitious talks on arts and culture in the Bay

TORBAY residents are being encouraged to help shape their cultural future at a one-off event.

The day has been organised by regional director for the Arts Council England South West, Phil Gibby, to give people the opportunity to talk about their ideas and ambitions for Torbay, in terms of arts and culture.

However, the 200 tickets for the event have already been snapped up.

Organisers are asking people to still put their names on a waiting list to find out more about the ideas and thoughts put forward at the event.

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Mr Gibby said: "For me and countless others the English Riviera is in an extraordinary waterfront location with extraordinary stories to tell.

"Places with cultural icons at every turn including Agatha Christie, Rudyard Kipling, Oliver Reed and Michael Winner, to name a few.

"Yet here is a part of the South West where engagement with arts and culture is low and the cultural infrastructure is the least developed and I think we should do something about that.

"Does Torbay have the artists and arts organisations capable of driving a whole new agenda?

"Or is the future more about Torbay identifying its own ambitions but inviting artists and arts organisations from elsewhere – Exeter or Plymouth – to move things forward?

"I genuinely don't know and so I have set up this event to hear from local people who are interested in the cultural future of Torbay to put their ideas forward."

He added: "I am delighted that so many people have responded to our invitation to talk about the future of culture in Torbay.

"We knew there were a lot of creative people in Torbay with plenty of ideas and energy but the response to this Open Space session has been simply overwhelming.

"We're working with the council to make sure that the notes of this session will be available to everyone, so even if people can't come on the day they can contribute and join in with putting ideas into practice afterwards."

The event will take place on Wednesday, October 17 at the Riviera International Conference Centre from 10am until 6pm.

Those wishing to find out more about the event should head to creativetorbay.com