An enthusiastic artist is aspiring to represent a community’s arts and culture scene – as he believes there should be a ‘face’ behind it.
Joey Lowe has put his name forward to promote the creative arts in Spalding, which is one of many towns across Lincolnshire competing for the Government’s ‘town of culture’ bid.
Artist Joey Lowe
Regardless of the competition results, Joey feels passionate there should be a ‘face for the town’ and what it promotes artistically.
He said: “I think the town of culture bid would be a brilliant idea. Do I think we’ll win? It would be nice to.
“Whether we win it or not, I think we should be creating a community arts and culture scene, and then it doesn’t matter if we win or not because we can continue it.
“It will still be a part of the DNA in our town.
“I’ve put my name forward for that position and offered my services – I’m happy to do it if it benefits people and the town.”
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Earlier this year, the Government asked towns across the country to enter a competition to be crowned ‘Town of Culture’ in 2028 – when the winner will be awarded £3 million to deliver a cultural programme for around six months.
The two finalists from each category will also receive £250,000 each to deliver key elements of their bid.
Led by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the competition aims to celebrate the culture and identity of towns across the UK.
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A final decision on which town has won is expected to be made next year.
In recent years abstract artist Joey, has continued his fight for greater support for the town’s art scene, by organising successful art exhibitions at The Sessions House – where owners provide the space free of charge.
Off the back of this, he has given upcoming artists a ‘leg up’ in the industry – as some creators have gone on to display their work at galleries in London, become college lecturers in art and design and start their own businesses.
“These exhibitions are helping people and changing their lives. It means that something is working,” Joey added.
“It would be great if we could open up that dialogue between all the different art groups and societies in Lincolnshire and South Holland.
“There’s no reason why we can’t introduce someone who is a cultural or creative ambassador for the town who can be the central point – if everyone could come together and reach out to one another, the amount of projects that could happen would be brilliant.”
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If Joey is successful and gains the position to represent Spalding’s culture and art scene, he hopes to encourage representatives from community groups to collaborate and establish a forum.
The Spalding-based artist also feels passionate for the area to attract creatives and not push them away.
He added: “I’ve found there are still quite a lot of artists from Spalding who travel to Birmingham, Peterborough and Stamford, because the opportunities are not available here.
“The town is changing, but from the arts and culture side of things, I can see over the last year there has been a massive change with more and more people wanting to put on events and get the community involved.
“I think over the next few years we are going to see a dramatic change in the quality and quantity of creative groups in this town – we really should be ready to accommodate them and not pressure them to join an already established group or push them out and further afield.”
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