Broxtowe champions cultural exchange at international conference

Since the C-City partnership between Broxtowe, Châteauroux (France), Falun (Sweden), Grudziądz (Poland) and Gütersloh (Germany) began in 2018, the project has produced new music and theatre events, exhibitions and provided a platform for up-and-coming artists locally and further afield.

Projects have included:

• An award-winning recipe book featuring local businesses and recipes from each city, telling the stories behind them which have helped shape local history and culture.
• A travelling amateur art exhibition displayed in each city, as well as Brussels. The exhibition can be seen at Stapleford Library until Monday 29 June.
• Musical exchanges, giving musicians a chance to perform in each city, including as part of Oxjam Beeston.
• The inception of the D.H. Lawrence Children’s Prize: Writing Competition which has engaged over 1,700 children with entries from as far as Spain and Thailand.
• Friday18 live music nights are now part of Broxtowe's regular event programming across the Borough after the idea was observed in Gütersloh. In Broxtowe, the event has so far supported more than 25 local amateur musicians and had over 2,700 attendees.
• Establishment of a Broxtowe Community Committee to link cultural experts with Council Officers to work together to improve and expand the Borough’s cultural offer. This has included a Broxtowe Creates Arts Festival of more than 40 events and workshops which attracted over £30,000 Arts Council funding and showed measurable improvements in mood for attendees.
• £27,000 secured from the Arts Council for a Broxtowe Theatre Group called Parky Players, who have Parkinsons disease, to take part in an accessible street theatre festival in Grudziądz, delivering their Voices Raised Project.

Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Health at Broxtowe Borough Council, Councillor Teresa Cullen said: “Over the last few years the C-City Project has opened up so many opportunities to make the culture and heritage offer in Broxtowe even better. It’s no longer just a project, it’s now a network for people from cultural experts, to amateur artists or those just starting out.

We’ve also been able to use the project to showcase Broxtowe's heritage and cultural assets to other countries to support tourism in the local area.

“Reflecting on the last years since C-City’s inception, we’ve produced a fantastic example of what can be achieved through collaboration with our European neighbours, across borders and navigating cultural differences to work towards a common goal.”

Founder of Parky Players, Janet Shipton, said, “The C-City project has created excellent opportunities for Parky Players to collaborate and share creative ideas. As a result, we’ve been able to be more ambitious in our work to raise awareness of Parkinson’s through theatre and the arts.”

If you are interested in joining the Broxtowe Community Committee, please contact press@broxtowe.gov.uk