EC PAPERS NOVEMBER 2017

Liberating Arts • Producer’s Completion Report

Liberating Arts took place on 5 th November at Exeter University.

Organised by the GFTU its aim was to promote the idea that a vibrant counter-culture is vital to trade union organising and to provide a networking space for artists, academics and trade unionists to interact and learn from each other. Over 50 creative activists, academics and professional political artists presented performances, workshops and discussions to an appreciative audience of over 200.

The feedback from the festival has been universally positive and the reputation and visibility of the GFTU has been enhanced.

History :

In 2014 GFTU General Secretary, Doug Nicholls initiated a meeting with several creative activists and academics to discuss the possibilities for a GFTU cultural programme. This group included representatives from Banner Theatre, Townsend Productions and Reel News and academics including Jan Woolf, Joyce Canaan and Rebecca Hillman (The Organising Group). From these meetings the central argument emerged that the arts and culture must not be regarded as entirely separate activities from trade union and political activism; on the contrary that informing and inspiring activists and members through arts and culture is as important to successful organising as making speeches, writing reports and gathering statistics.

Liberating Arts was not instigated in order to try and persuade trade unions to support the arts as simply another benefit to members along with insurance and legal advice. Liberating Arts is part of an on going project to help trade unions recognise that a vibrant counter-culture is central to their primary organising objectives. 1 Producer’s Report 06/11/2017