When The Island Collection announced in May that their new Executive Director was to be Gavin Stride, someone with a track record of creating successful cultural organisations and former vice-chair of Arts Council South East, it generated an excited buzz and lots of positivity about the future.
Having given Gavin a bit of time to get his feet under the table and acclimatise to the Island, News OnTheWight met up with the new Executive Director last week to hear more in his first interview on the Island about his previous experiences and what he believes is important to take the organisation forward.
What is The Island Collection?
In the past there has been some confusion and uncertainty about what role The Island Collection played.
Last year, The Arts Council awarded it National Portfolio Organisation status, and a Cultural Conference attempted to share the vision.
With Gavin now fully on board, it feels as though things will become clearer very quickly.
Listen to the interview
Our interview (41 mins in length) started by covering Gavin’s time at Farnham Maltings, where he saw his role as helping the people of the town to live longer, feel healthier and be happier.
Other highlights included:
- Making the arts and culture available to everyone
- How he helped communities make sense of where they live
- The importance of reconnecting people with their culture and heritage
- Gavin’s view on Museum entry fees and the Government’s role
- Making sure The Island Collection’s work isn’t duplicating work already taking place
- One rather mischievous act was having road signs made up in Farnham, referring to it as a ‘Craft Town’, and replacing the official ones overnight
- Championing the work of all cultural and heritage organisations to help enrich services
- Encouraging young people to find the resources and expertise to help raise their ambition
It was a fascinating conversation that left us feeling buoyant and very excited, about not only the future of arts and culture on the Island, but also its communities and the opportunities they can look forward to experiencing in the coming years.
