RESPONSES IN TO COUNCIL ARTS AND CULTURE QUESTIONNAIRE

More than 500 responses were submitted to the questionnaire on Arts and Culture published by Argyll and Bute Council earlier this year.

The questionnaire was devised to help inform the ongoing Best Value Review of the Arts and Libraries service.

Among the things the exercise aimed to find out were:


What people accessed in terms of arts and culture provision
Where people access activities
Barriers to accessing arts and culture provision
Whether there were any obvious areas of unmet demand
What people’s priorities were regarding the Council’s activities

Residents in Helensburgh and Lomond, not surprisingly, were the most likely to have accessed activities outwith the area.

Within Argyll and Bute, the most commonly attended events were visual arts events and exhibitions, ceilidhs, traditional music concerts, films and school productions.

In terms of the numbers of respondents expressing demand, the activities where demand is highest in Argyll and Bute is art classes and workshops. Respondents’ participation was high in this area, but there is still scope for additional provision.

Across the area, geography was the biggest barrier to accessing activities. Forty-seven per cent of respondents identifying ‘distances involved’ as being a significant factor. This figure rose to 61% of respondents from the Atlantic Islands.

In terms of people’s priorities, the Council activities which respondents were most enthusiastic about were:


Supporting grants for community activity
Supporting arts programmes in local halls
Supporting voluntary arts organisations
Supporting voluntary museums
More arts activities for children/young people
Increasing the range of events

Argyll and Bute’s spokesperson for Arts, Culture, Leisure and Sport, Councillor Douglas Philand, said the questionnaire had been successful in highlighting a number of issues.

“The geographical coverage was good, with responses coming from across the whole of Argyll and Bute,” he added.

“This exercise has been very useful in terms of finding out what people think we do well, and what things they think might be done better.

“I would like to thank everyone who took the time to respond to the questionnaire. When conducting a review of a particular service, as we are doing at present with Arts and Libraries, it is vital to find out what our residents feel should be the highest priorities.

“We now have a very good basis on which to look at ways of improving the provision of - and access to - arts and culture across Argyll and Bute in the future.”

The full results of the survey are on the Council’s website at http://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/content/commlife/arts/artsquestionnaire2009/3278422

They were published shortly after a new web portal for the arts and cultural sector in Argyll went on-line at www.argyll-arts.co.uk.

The portal has been developed over the last twelve months by HI~Arts, the arts development agency for the Highlands & Islands, with support from Argyll and Bute Council.

It features a comprehensive guide to festivals, galleries, arts organisations and venues in the region together with news releases, reviews, features and downloads.

Councillor Philand said: “This is a truly innovative scheme and shows what can be achieved by working together. I know it will be welcomed by everyone connected with the arts both practitioners and audiences.

“It not only brings together, for the first time, information about arts events in Argyll and Bute, but also highlights opportunities for learning, news and features about new ideas and developments. I’m sure that the new site will prove very popular.”