Rural Cultural Strategy
"Rural communities pledge to contribute upwards of £1 billion p.a. to the national creative economy by 2015"
"It's a fairer share, and a 'hand up' ..rather than a 'hand out' that rural communities are now asking the arts and cultural funding sector for."
"We challenge urban communities and urban arts and cultural sector to work with us to achieve our society's goals for environmental sustainability."
Rural Cultural Forum, Chairman Michael Hart
Independent Study Report
(PDF - 330 Kb)Independent Study Report - an independent review of the Creative Rural Communities report by: John Holden, Sally Medlyn, Professors Chris Bailey and Franco Bianchini (Leeds Met.) March 2012.
Proposal for RCS (PDF - 5.8 MB)
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The Rural Cultural Forum was established in 2005 as a coalition of grassroots rural and farming community organisations, and professionals from the arts, design and rural media sectors, interested in promoting rural creativity and arts and culture in the UK. The Forum undertakes a range of networking, advocacy, campaign, educational and arts research and development in support of rural communities and rural artists.
The current campaign aims of the RCF include: promoting cultural entitlement and equity for rural communities; researching new cultural investment and arts funding resources for rural regeneration and community development; campaigning for a new role for the professional arts sector (urban and rural) in support of economic regeneration, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability initiatives in rural areas; and working with the leading agencies and partners (DCMS and DEFRA, etc.) to promote the creative rural economy and encourage closer integration of Government cultural/arts, and rural development and environmental sustainability policies.
The RCF received an organisational development fund award (2006 – 2009) from Arts Council England West Midlands. The Rural Media Company and LITTORAL Arts Trust have provided additional development support and advice on cultural policy issues.
RCF Committee
The members of the RCF’s executive committee currently are: Chair – Michael Hart (Chairman of the Small and Family Farmers Alliance); Alastair Davy (HFI – UK Hill Farming Initiative); Pat Holtom (executive committee member of ACRE – Action with Rural Communities in Rural England); Nic Millington (Director of the Rural Media Company, Hereford); and Ian Hunter (LITTORAL Arts Trust).
The Rural Cultural Forum wishes to acknowledge the support (financial and in kind) from the following organisations: