When Hatfield was lucky enough to win the Portas Pilot last summer it was great news for the town. We had to submit a proposal explaining how we would use the money to support Hatfield. The submission included the stage and Information Hub as well as new market stalls & improving signage around the town and some other elements. The Arts Council contacted me, as the lead for the Portas Pilot, almost immediately it was announced that Hatfield had won.
We discussed how the Arts Council may be able to support Hatfield. From that discussion I was able to put in a proposal to obtain a £10,000 grant for a 'Big Society' community subway art project. After much planning and support from Grant Shapps office, we were able to start work on the subway in February with a view to finishing by the end of March 2013 but due to the horrendous weather for weeks on end it was delayed. Despite the rain, snow and freezing temperatures at times, Angela Bull, the artist who designed and painted the mural along with her enthusiastic team of volunteer artists and school children were able to create an amazing piece of artwork for the town.
The launch of our first Hatfield Arts & Culture Festival was today. Starting with a visit to the mural. It was great to have so many people there, including Lord & Lady Salisbury and the Mayor of Hatfield.
I think the mural is brilliant! Although I always knew it would be good, I think it is better than I had envisaged. We have had so many positive comments from passers by of all ages. Plenty of comments from children and teenagers saying how much they like it. People said they walk past it on purpose now as it brightens their day. I know it does mine. I can't help but smile when I see it. I love that it makes you want to jump in to it. The butterflies flying just off the mural is a lovely touch.
If you haven't already seen it, it is definitely worth a visit. In fact I think we should get some seats down there so that people can stay and enjoy it for longer! I am so pleased I was able to play a part in its creation and cannot thank Angela enough for her perseverance.
I am also very grateful to Heather & Mike Dyce of City Church who hosted the Hatfest launch at their new premises at Gracemead House, in the centre of Hatfield. It is a wonderful community space and perfect for our launch event. I think we had about 100 people visit the photographic exhibition by Ken Wright showing the photos he took of Hatfield during the 1950-1980s.
We are really pleased that we are able to continue to show a selection of his photos at the old Pizza Hut building for the duration of the Festival. We would like to thank the University of Herts Arts department for 'blowing up' some of the images for us to display, and of course the owner of the building for allowing us to use it free of charge.
Also on display today was a bright yellow hand made Mosquito aeroplane made by the young people on the Make a Difference programme. They only started last Monday as a new group, with no pre-conceived ideas of what they were going to create. So they have come together working as a team, building new skills to create a wonderful piece of art that celebrates Hatfield's aviation heritage in a very short period of time. If you missed it today, it will also be on display at the old Pizza Hut building for the duration of the Festival. A huge thank you to the youngsters who took part but also to Youth Connexions and the team at Breaks Manor who supervised them.
Now more about how the festival has come about. During my initial discussion with the Arts Council, they put me in touch with an organisation known as the Royal Opera House Bridge (ROHB). They are funded by the Arts Council and support towns in Hertfordshire specifically in relation to increasing arts & culture participation by children and young people.
ROHB have been very supportive, working with me to arrange a series of workshops that I lead with local community groups and organisations who have an interest in arts & culture in Hatfield. Our first workshop was in November 2012 at Onslow School and we held a couple more in January and February 13 at the Uni, where we discussed the initial ideas of holding a summer festival to promote activities already going on in the town as well as new ones took shape.
In March 2013 I was able to submit a proposal to ROYB for investment to support our Festival plans as well as some additional funding to train local people to run training sessions for young people to obtain the Arts Award qualification and some funding to support Youth Connexions Make a Difference programme to enable them to have an arts & culture theme this year.
ROYB awarded us the investment in April and we were able to get the festival planning underway. We have had so many local organisations and residents support the festival including Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, Hatfield House, University of Hertfordshire as well as Kaleidoscope (who have previously organised the Kaleidoscope Festival at Stanborough), local schools, art & dance groups, Hatfield Library and Mill Green Museum, Hertfordshire Music Service, The Forum Hertfordshire, local businesses & residents and many more. It has been an overwhelmingly positive response.
Thanks to Dave Grant, who we have been able to have project managing this for us, who has been able to put together a wonderful programme of events at fairly short notice, we have a great first year line up, which we plan to build on for future years. This really is a community event, not one organised by the Council, and to make it sustainable we need to have local people on board long term to make it happen each year. I think we have some of those people on board already and I'm sure we'll have others by the end of the 16 day festival period.
We have a dazzling line up of events. Art in Clay is running today and tomorrow and there was a breadmaking course at Mill Green Museum today as well as a Hatfest Celebratory story & rhyme time at Hatfield Library. This evening I'm looking forward to the Heart of Flame concert at Herts Uni & organised by Herts Music Service. The programme is packed with local talent including African drumming, Jazz, Acapella choir, youth orchestra and a disabled dance group.
There is so much more. Hatfield House have been great in opening up Hatfield House & grounds for all the school children of Hatfield on Tuesday 9th July. There is an Open Mic Night at Rendezvous in Market Place on the evening of 11th July and a community art exhibition at Gracemead House on Friday 12th.
Next weekend sees Arts & Crafts for little ones at Herts Uni on Saturday as well as Saturday morning pictures. Then a Sculpture Tour at Uni in the afternoon. We also have the Howe Dell Community Project Summer Fete and the Reading Challenge Launch at the Library. On Sunday 14th we have a town centre event organised by the Welwyn Hatfield Housing Trust, there is a Stage Call Community Arts performance at Stable Yard, Hatfield House and a Classic Car show at Mill Green museum.
The following Saturday 20th there is the main town centre event with loads of acts on the new stage from 11am through to 4.30 as well as a Film Festival organised by Kaleidoscope. To finish the festival we have Battle Proms on the night of 20th and Folk by the Oak on 21st both at Hatfield House.
There is more, so please take a look at hatfest.co.uk for all the details.
Today has been a great start to our first Hatfield Arts & Culture Festival and I'm really looking forward to enjoying the next 15 days of it. Hopefully the lovely weather will last for the whole festival fortnight. We've come a long way in a fairly short period of time to get this festival organised for 2013 so thank you to everybody!
I certainly do Love Hatfield!