In Basingstoke, art is for everyone.
By Rebecca Lyon - playright, poet and educator
When I first moved to the Basingstoke area, over ten years ago, I was overjoyed to find a welcoming, interconnected and incredibly diverse community of artists, musicians, writers, performers, puppeteers, digital innovators and arts administrators and producers that were creating generous, innovative, and exciting work. This community has grown over the years and is now more vibrant than ever.
I remember my first creative project here, working with fine artist Fatima Pantoja and Musician/Composer Nicole Le Jeune. Supported by local venues and arts professionals, we created an interdisciplinary touring show combining live painting, new music, poetry, and spoken word tackling themes of grief and isolation. It was a pattern of artist collaboration, helpful and interested venue management, and a community that were ready to be welcomed to share, experience and support live art.
Over the last few years, the encouragement and facilitation by the council and local arts organisations of artists taking work outside of traditional spaces and into communities, especially those who traditionally have had less access to the arts, has become a real strength of Basingstoke as a town. I’ve been lucky enough to be involved in performances in That! Gallery and in the Scratch Built Productions facilitated Imagination Station in the town’s shopping centre, which, through the inspired direction of the local council working with other stakeholders, has become an exciting and busy arts hub for local people.
The council has a hugely dynamic and ambitious Arts and Culture section, committed to the well-being of all residents of Basingstoke and Deane (many of whom face severe challenges such as poverty and addiction) including older adults, disadvantaged young people, those facing physical and mental health issues, and families. The commitment to commissioning street furniture, family trails and very large-scale art on 'ugly' or neglected buildings has also had a massive impact on the feel of the town centre, encouraging families to come into town and feel proud and have care for where they live, work and play. It’s also been great to work with the brilliant ArtWell organisation recently, who run many community projects using the creative arts to empower and support those living with a variety of challenges.
Working with Hampshire Cultural Trust to deliver a workshop for those in the more rural parts of Basingstoke and Deane at the gorgeous and atmospheric Basing House, the site of a terrible siege and battle during the English Civil War, now in crumbling ruins and a playground for rabbits and deer, was a highlight, as was contributing to Ben Mills and Lydia Thomson’s digitally innovative and historically inspired New Myths of Basing Stoche project, encouraging locals and visitors to embrace their local outdoor landscape with imagination and playfulness. The internationally renowned Basingstoke Festival in the summer brings together a fantastic array of outdoor artists of all genres, creating key memories for children and families both local and visiting.
My most recent project is as Creative Lead (Poetry) with the team at Anvil Arts, whose outreach work with those living with dementia and their carers has touched people’s lives in memory cafes and residential homes across the Basingstoke and Deane area. It’s inspiring to be a part of, and it’s a project that’s growing and developing thanks to the connections forged in the community and across creative and therapeutic disciplines by their team.
It gives me great joy to be a part of the Basingstoke community – it’s a brilliant Town of Culture, with interlinked networks of creative practitioners and enthusiasts in so many fields of the arts all striving to use their art to empower and encourage the diverse communities of Basingstoke to live creatively, to forge connections and to celebrate and develop their skills, creativity and happiness.
