Arts and Heritage

The Chief Minister’s Ministerial letters, published on 10 August 2022, included a letter to the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Culture. This was silent on culture.

The Ministerial plans for 2024, published on 19 September 2023, included a chapter for the Minister for Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture. The section on arts and heritage said –

Ensuring the continued commitment to devote 1% of all Government expenditure to the arts, to support delivery of the Arts and Heritage Strategies, by:

• Completing the Jersey Opera House refurbishment to enable this venue to host major events from 2025.
• Progressing the refurbishment of Elizabeth Castle as a major capital project.
• Continuing to champion the Creative Island Partnership, facilitating direct engagement with the arts sector and developing opportunities for careers in the arts and culture sectors.
• Finalising and lodging a new bespoke Heritage Law and subordinate legislation.
• Promoting Jersey as an attractive jurisdiction for intellectual property rights which play an important role in supporting a thriving creative economy.

Arts Strategy

In March 2022 the Government published The Creative Island – an Arts Strategy for Jersey 2022-27 . This sets out a vision –

Jersey is known internationally as a Creative Island. It positions the arts to the heart of strategic development to safeguard its future as a place of sustainable wellbeing. It prioritises excellence and innovation in the arts to support a healthy and happy population, an enriching environment and a productive and balanced economy.

There are four themes to deliver this vision –

• Arts, education and personal development
• Arts, health and sustainable wellbeing
• Arts, environment and placemaking
• Arts, economic prosperity and inclusive growth

Three recommendations on governance were made

• Introduce a micro arts development unit in Government
• Establish the Jersey Creative Island Partnership
• An Evaluation Framework / Theory of Change for the Arts Strategy of Jersey

The Creative Island Partnership (CIP) has been established by the Government as a forum for individuals interested in working together to deliver the objectives of the Arts Strategy.

Heritage strategy

In March 2022 the Government published A Heritage Strategy for Jersey . The summary table is set out below.

What areas does the strategy need to focus on to achieve success in those responses?

• Continuous discovery of Island history to know ever more about who we are
• Protection and management of heritage assets to pass them on to future generations in better condition
• Every Islander has the opportunity to do their bit to pass on their cherished cultural inheritance
• A wide and diverse audience can experience and understand the relevance of Jersey’s heritage

What sorts of work need to be undertaken in those areas?

• Developing programmes of research into Island heritage
• Monitoring, foresight and reporting to promote public understanding of the value of heritage
• Acquiring, conserving and managing heritage assets and growing expertise to inform the care and development of heritage
• Collecting tangible and intangible heritage, collaborating with international expertise where appropriate
• Maintaining publicly accessible records of heritage assets and providing advice to those wishing to study and carry out research on heritage
• Advice on retention and preservation of public records and archival material
• Enhancing the public value of heritage by building capacity in local communities and investing in cultural partnerships and collaborations
• Developing innovative techniques and tools to share our knowledge and expertise and promote heritage access to a wide audience
• Investing in preservation and conservation of heritage assets where our expertise and resources make the most difference
• Actively addressing the climate crisis by implementing measures across the heritage sector which reduce carbon footprint and mitigate against the future impacts of global warming
• Making heritage widely accessible through enabling physical access, digital availability, inclusive content and connecting with global networks to develop reputation and profile

What are the immediate results of those activities?

• Knowledge creation in necessary areas
• A workforce equipped with skills and resources to share knowledge
• Easier access to our records, images and research
• Partnerships and collaborations that engage international institutions in our mission
• Evidence-based advice and advocacy
• Inspirational education programmes
• Networking programmes with international heritage organisations
• Heritage assets that have been protected and utilised for optimum public benefit
• Partnerships and collaborations that engage cultural organisations in our mission
• Increased knowledge, expertise and opportunity amongst people who want to participate in heritage conservation
• Content, events and projects that illustrate the benefits of inclusion and show the relevance of heritage to people’s lives
• New mechanisms and formats for sharing our passion for heritage

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