When I think of a city it has houses, schools, people, churches and then some grander buildings like a cathedral, some museums, galleries and theatres along with public parks. But if I imagine a city, and really let my imagination run wild, it would have all those things but also great big open spaces like fields between buildings and round the edge it would have a coast with beaches and harbours with fishing boats.

East Kent has put in a bid to be just such a city that could win the prize to be UK City of Culture in 2017. Now, if you think about it, it takes less time to drive across our region than it does to cross London; East Kent has a population of 600,000 which is more than Liverpool; and in Canterbury there is a cathedral which used to be the true mark of a city. Equally importantly East Kent is within the rules of the competition to call itself a city.

This is what makes the bid great.  On the face of it East Kent as a city is nuts but once your imagination runs away with you our city, this city of imagination, has much more to offer than any other city in the UK could ever have. It is exciting not to be tied down by the limitations of traditional city limits, which means that the East Kent bid, which starts as the competition long shot, the rank outsider, has the ammunition to win because our city can be so much more than anyone else’s.

We also have the track record. Across East Kent, from Margate with the Turner to Folkestone with its Triennial to Canterbury with the Marlowe culture has been used to drive change, improve the urban environment, unite people and improve the economy.

These last few weeks I have been in meetings trying to shape this bid and instead of the normally dreary, bleary affairs of agendas and minutes they have been remarkable occasions as the County Council, all the District Councils and the region’s arts and cultural organisations have been working together to see what ideas can work. It’s important too, that while the cultural opportunities have expanded greatly over the last ten years in the region we must have plans for the next ten if we want this to continue. The prize is worth fighting for as with it comes the opportunity to tell the country about our corner of Britain and in doing so attract significant financial investment to East Kent.

And just as importantly, having lived in Liverpool when it was European Capital of Culture, I can tell you these things are great fun. People come together to make art and to enjoy it; to create and celebrate our culture.

I’m backing the bid and I hope you will.

Alastair Upton

Chief Executive of the Creative Foundation

The young animators learnt about animation and made their own short films in what was another highly enjoyable and successful Creative Foundation event.

Enjoy one of the videos below or head over to our brand new youtube channel for more and to stay up to date with whats going on around the creative quarter

They will soon extend their menu from patisseries and sandwiches to fuller meals of mussels and steaks; I can’t wait. It is amazing that they have had to expand after only a year and a half of being in business.

The opening event was a great evening with the place packed. Everyone had put on their party clothes and had come out, not just for a glass of wine and a good time, but mostly to wish the owners Daryl and Philippe good luck. You could feel the goodwill coming from the crowd willing them on to make a success of their venture.

I’ve no idea what makes a successful cafe or restaurant. Everyone knows that they are very hard to run and more fail than succeed.

However, I can see from the places around Folkestone that it obviously takes really hard work, a clear idea of what you are offering the public and culinary skill. Perhaps more importantly, places need to be right for their location, and they have to become part of the town.

I’m amazed and full of admiration when I see the optimism and drive that people have to set up new businesses in the town, and let’s face it, it is not the easiest economic environment.

Enterprises pop up all the time and I’ve enjoyed the new micro pub, Firkin Alehouse in Cheriton Place, as well as Loaf Cafe in Sandgate.

The people who set up these ventures and those who continue to run all the Folkestone businesses, both new and old, are what drives the town on and make it a great place to live. We need them and need them to succeed, so as they say, we must use them or lose them.

My young son left the Fresh and Easy launch before the rather risque drag queen came on stage to do her show of songs and inappropriate jokes. I haven’t heard that much smut since I was a schoolboy myself.

She finished off, and the audience joined in, with the anthem I Am What I Am. I couldn’t help thinking Folkestone is what it is too, and has every reason to be proud.

Alastair Upton

Creative Foundation Chief Executive

The Creative Foundation is delighted to announce that this work has now been purchased for permanent display as part of Folkestone Artworks, with donations from the Art Fund and the Roger De Haan Charitable Trust.

Director of the Art Fund Stephen Deuchar said: “The Folkestone Mermaid is a beautiful work of sculpture, rooted in the life and spirit of Folkestone.  The Art Fund was delighted to assist with its purchase.”

The Creative Foundation has announced the official launch of the collection during the bank holiday weekend, Friday 3 – Monday 6 May, to be marked by the unveiling of a new website, location map and guide, a programme of talks and tours, audio guide, learning resources for schools and colleges, film screenings at Quarterhouse, family activities and other imaginative events and ways of experiencing the collection. The full launch programme for the weekend will be announced in March.

Folkestone Artworks includes works that remained on display from each of the 2008 and 2011 Triennials.  The collection now boasts 16 high calibre artworks commissioned especially for the exhibition. It is envisaged that Folkestone Artworks will continue to grow after each new Triennial, helping to further develop Folkestone’s reputation as a unique destination in the UK for those who enjoy contemporary art.

Experiencing this new way of looking at art outside the confines of a gallery or institutional setting encourages different ways of seeing, learning and thinking about contemporary art. It’s fun to explore and to discover the artworks as well as places in the town you may not have seen before”.

The collection stretches from the east to the west of Folkestone. It can be enjoyed as part of a leisurely stroll or a brisk walk, depending on the time available, and it makes for a great cycle ride or even a cultural dog walk! It even includes a dog’s play park, Pae White’s Barking Rocks, situated just off The Leas in Pleydell Gardens.

Folkestone Artworks includes work by artists as celebrated as Turner Prize nominee Tracey Emin, whose seven-part sculpture Baby Things is a tender, subtle yet poignant response to her perception of the prevalence of teenage pregnancies in the town. 2007 Turner Prize winner Mark Wallinger’s ‘Folk Stones’ has a profound underpinning, 19,240 numbered stones, the exact number of soldiers killed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in 1916, and can be found close to the Leas Cliff Hall.

For more information please go to http://www.growforiteastkent.com/about_grow_for_it.aspx

Come and ring your bells on Friday the 27th of July at 8.12 am!

Triennial 2011 artist Martin Creed has been commissioned to create a work that will signal the start of the London 2012 Olympics. ‘All the Bells in a Country Rung as Quickly and as Loudly as Possible for Three Minutes’ is a piece that will ring in the start of the games, a performance carried out by the people of Britain in celebration of this momentous event. Creed is asking people to ring any bell they can find for three minutes starting at 8.12 am on Friday the 27th of July.

If you would like to be involved why not bring your bells and a breakfast picnic (weather permitting!) down to the seafront where A K Dolven’s Triennial piece ‘Out of Tune’ is situated. All are welcome to take part, just bring a bell of any sort or come simply to listen.

We are also looking for ten lucky people to help us ring A K Dolven’s ‘Out of Tune’ bell as part of this event. To enter send your name and a contact telephone number to info@folkestonetriennial.org.uk by Monday the 23rd of July. We will then select ten lucky ringers at random.

Children are encouraged to enter, but must be accompanied by an adult if under 14 years of age.

A partnership comprising Kent County Council, Shepway District Council and The Creative Foundation has won through the first round of a process to secure up to £1.3 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for major improvements to streets and buildings within the Folkestone Conservation Area. The project aims to renovate or substantially refurbish a number of buildings, including the former Millets building in The Old High Street, as well as make significant improvements to streets and other public areas.

The partnership team now has the green light to develop its proposals further over the coming year, leading to an application for a full grant within the next year.

Please click here to download the press release for more information.

Lewis Biggs stepped down as the Chief Executive and Artistic Director of Liverpool Biennial last July after ten years in the role, during which time the ten week Biennial Festival became one of the most exciting and best attended arts events in the country. Internationally recognised as ‘the UK’s Biennial’, the 2010 Festival attracted nearly one million visits by over 500,000 visitors.

Lewis Biggs was Director of Tate Liverpool 1990-2000, and has been commissioning art for public spaces in a regeneration context since co-curating ‘Artranspennine’ with Robert Hopper in 1998. For Liverpool Biennial, he brought Anthony Gormley’s Another Place to Crosby Beach in 2005, and in 2007 commissioned Turning the Place Over, from Folkestone Triennial 2008 artist Richard Wilson. These and other initiatives contributed to Liverpool’s programme as European Capital of Culture 2008.

Lewis Biggs is currently a Visiting Professor in Contemporary Art at Liverpool John Moores and Shanghai Universities, and an Honorary Professor at Glasgow University. He is a curator for the 2013 Aichi Triennale (Nagoya, Japan).

Mr Upton said “We are delighted to welcome Lewis to the Folkestone Triennial. He brings with him a wealth of experience and his enthusiasm for community engagement in place-making without compromising artistic integrity will be an exciting new direction for the Triennial.”

Prior to this Alastair was for ten years the director of Charleston, the historic Sussex home of Bloomsbury Group artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant.

Alastair, who starts work in January 2012, said: “The Creative Foundation has achieved a huge amount for Folkestone in a short time and established a national reputation for its work. I’m really delighted to have been asked to take on its leadership. There are some very exciting opportunities and challenges ahead and I’m really looking forward to working on them with the board, staff and partners.”

Chairman of the Creative Foundation, Roger De Haan said ‘The Board of Trustees and I are delighted that Alastair Upton will be joining the Creative Foundation.  Following the success of the second Triennial this is an ideal time for a new Chief Executive to take the Creative Foundation forward in its mission for arts led regeneration in Folkestone.’