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| Issue 54: News |
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Page 2 of 24 Cornish culture in the balance? A new Government document has been perceived as a threat to Cornish cultural integrity.  The Tate St, Ives; one of the only two cultural icons in Cornwall according to Culture South West. Picture © Tate St. Ives The document from the government agency Culture South West entitled People, Places and Spaces is a blueprint mapping out future cultural development in the South West. Consternation stems from the document’s proposal that Cornwall should be split into two ‘planning areas for culture’ meaning that South East Cornwall would be linked to Plymouth and a second cultural area would centre on Truro, Falmouth, Penryn, Camborne, Pool and Redruth. Culture South West is one of eight regional consortiums established by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Their declared aim is to ‘bring together people who can make the most of culture and creativity in each part of England’. Culture South West does not actually hold the purse strings but works very closely with those who do, including for example the lottery distributors. The idea is to promote culture within the ‘South West’ region, an area that spans as far as Swindon in the East and the Isles of Scilly in the West. The ‘South West’ as an entity is disputed by Cornish organisations, pointing out that ‘Cornish culture’ is entirely different from a Devonshire or Somerset culture. This is an issue compounded by the fact that of the 69 groups consulted by Culture South West in preparing the document, only one came from Cornwall. Vanessa Beeman, Grand Bard of Gorsedd Kernow, an organisation fully devoted to promoting Cornish culture, has highlighted this inequity. She said: “Cornwall must be a region in its own right, without division. Regional priorities should not just be tourist driven, but reflect the culture of Cornish people, traditional and contemporary.” Mebyon Kernow has also responded to the document, and to the team of consultants such as the South West Regional Assembly and English Heritage South West who have supported Culture South West in its creation, arguing that: “It seems to us that the ‘regional cultural agencies’, which support the strategy document have little understanding of Cornwall and wouldn’t know a Furry Dance from a Fogou.” Culture South West has defended its position stating that the document is a cultural blueprint that focuses on regional and sub-regional rather than at a local level. There is merit in the idea that organisations and councils should be encouraged to improve cultural facilities by trying to get away from administrative and sector boundaries. However, commentators have added that there is a distinct difference between encouraging cooperation and imposing a blanket one-size-fits-all approach to cultural planning. It is important that Cornwall’s distinctiveness should be upheld, and that Cornish people should be given a say in the future of Cornish culture. Another problematic aspect of the People, Places and Spaces document raised by the Cornish Stannary Parliament is its identification of 12 key regional projects, described as ‘cultural infrastructure priorities for the region’. Amongst these are the Eden Project and the Tate St Ives; no mention is made of the Cornish Mining World Heritage or any other project that Cornish people themselves may hold up as having particular cultural meaning for Cornwall. Councillor Dick Cole of Mebyon Kernow said: “It is important to have an appropriate Cornish strategy where we could decide as a community on key projects, as some projects other than the Tate and the Eden Project are important to Cornish people.” “Cornish culture cannot be conveniently packaged into two neat projects, which can stand alone to represent the distinctiveness of Cornwall. “What I’m not proposing is some kind of isolationist mentality that ignores the benefits of encouraging cooperation between regions and groups; what is of more importance is that we take pride in Cornish culture and seek to promote it from the position of a Cornish cultural entity which recognises Cornwall’s true and historic border.” Pippa Warin of Culture South West argues that you encourage a better debate if you set something up and then invite a response. “We are going to see what comes back and if there is a heartfelt consensus, it could change,” she added. For those who feel that they would like to join in the debate and make their voices heard about the future of Cornish culture, this could be the opportunity to do just that. Culture South West will hold further meetings before the document will be finalised. Go to www.culturesouthwest.org.uk for more information. Anna-Marie Julyan |
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