Place-Based Cultural Development in Kirklees
Place-Based Cultural Development in Kirklees is a University Research Funded Project exploring how universities, local authorities, and community partners can collaborate to strengthen local creative ecologies, particularly in places at risk of creative depletion under the pressures of austerity and reduced cultural funding.
The project focuses on partnership working between the School of Arts and Humanities at the University of Huddersfield, Kirklees Council, and creative and community organisations and networks across Kirklees. Through this collaboration, we are exploring how we can meaningfully contribute to the cultural, social, and economic vitality of Kirklees by developing long-term, place-based approaches to cultural development that are inclusive, collaborative, and sustainable.
Through the Cultures of programme, a thematic and curated public-realm initiative run by the School of Arts and Humanities, the project examines how collaborative, place-based approaches can build creativity, resilience, and sustainability within communities. The programme features four iterations that feed directly into Kirklees’ future cultural, tourism, and heritage strategies, and aligns with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s vision for culture across the region (Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, and Wakefield).
Project Lead: Rowan Bailey.
View Cultures Of_ Programme
Three Ways of Thinking About Collaboration:
| Knowledge and Cultural Exchange | Co-Creation and the High Street | Fostering Culture for Capabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Partnership working between universities, local authorities, and community networks can open up new pathways for sharing expertise, resources, and creativity across academic and non-academic settings. This mixed ecology of stakeholders and communities contributes to shaping place through the co-production of culture. | Co-creation and co-production practices enable fresh forms of public engagement with culture in everyday spaces, from the high street to community venues, expanding how culture is experienced and valued locally. | Place-based cultural development provides opportunities for individuals and communities to build cultural capabilities, the skills, confidence, and agency to participate meaningfully in the cultural life of their place. By fostering inclusive access to creative experiences and supporting shared learning between academics, students, creative practitioners, and local residents, this approach promotes a culture of lifelong learning, wellbeing, and civic empowerment. For arts and humanities researchers, this offers a pragmatic and action-oriented model for strengthening the creative and social resilience of a place. |
AHRC Community Innovation Practitioner Award
The Place-Based Cultural Development in Kirklees project forms part of the recently awarded AHRC Community Innovation Practitioner Award, led in partnership with Northumbria University. This initiative works with creative organisations and communities across Kirklees to develop and evolve Kirklees Cultural Strategy, using filmmaking and digital storytelling tools within a Culture Lab methodology. As part of co-creation and co-curation approaches we are collectively exploring stories of change in place.
This strand of work, titled Cultures of Film, supports community-led innovation and cultural participation by using film as a medium for collaboration, reflection, and transformation.
Project Team:
Rowan Bailey, Claire Tymon (Community Innovation Practitioner), Claire Booth Kurpnieks, Laura Mateescu, Claire Bend, Beth Morgan.
Project Partners and Collaborators:
Culture Collective, KLTV, Kirklees Museums and Galleries, Kirklees Council, Kirklees Libraries, hoot Creative Arts, Creative Health Hub, S2R (Support to Recovery), Creative Piazza Group, West Yorkshire Print Workshop, MakerWorld, Thread Republic.
AHRC Code: AAM006211
More Information: AHRC £500k Cultural Innovation Projects – University of Huddersfield News
Email: culturesof@hud.ac.uk
