NEW FIELDS: INVESTING IN RURAL CREATIVITY; THE ARTS AND AGRICULTURAL CHANGE.

Proposed dates:
Tuesday 22nd to Thursday 24th October 2002

And, with three main programme strands;

(1) 'New Fields' Main conference programme (22nd & 23rd, Oct)

(2) 'Home Grown' Visits to local farming/rural community projects (24th Oct)

(3) 'Peak Practice' Exhibitions, media and curated projects (21 - 31 Oct)

Day 1. Tuesday 22nd Oct (ABC, Medway centre, Bakewell)

(i) The Arts; delivering the New Rural Agenda.
The role of the arts in support of rural regeneration; presentation and discussion of innovative arts projects in support of rural health, social inclusion, transport and education initiatives.

(ii) Mangaging change, rural communications and enterprise.
Planning the new rural creative economies; The role of rural media (Community radio/TV, internet) telecommunications, digital art, etc., in documenting rural change, and in building the future rural communities and economies.

(iii) Promoting new Urban Rural partnerships and markets.
Exploring new urban rural business partnerships, community collaborations and cultural exchanges. Examples of successful multicultural/rural partnerships, rural youth and urban cultures interfaces, and urban arts and media collaborations with rural communities.

Dinner at Chatsworth House (With representataives from the Arts Council, Countryside Agency, DEFRA, DCMS, NFU, Derbyshire CC., EMA, EMDA, and invited guests)

Day 2. Wednesday 23rd Oct. (Chatsworth House)

Possible forum and seminar topics:

(i) A Rural Affair? Making the Cultural Arguments for Agriculture.
Re-thinking the crisis in agriculture and the restructuring of rural economy in a cultural context; the role of the arts in the restructuring of the agricultural economy and investing in rural communities. Practical case studies;

(ii) Social and Cultural Interfaces with Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
Ethical, aesthetic and cultural interfaces with agriculture and rural policy; arts projects about farming issues; health, food, animal welfare, BSE, GMO, FMD. Rural poverty, social exclusion, health, education and transport needs;

(iii) Imagining the New Rural Economy and Cultural priorities.
Examples of innovative arts and agriculture interface projects from the East Midlands and in Europe: Architecture and Agriculture; New rural media and creative industries models; Textile, Fashion and Farming; the Crafts and Agriculture; new Rural Cultural Tourism; Digital Farming and rural communications.

"Eating for Derbyshire". Evening banquet, barn dance and social evening with the local hill farming community in the Peaks.

Day 3 Thursday 23rd Oct.

Examples of locally initiated rural projects, and creative solutions to rural problems and opportunities, as developed by rural communities and artists in the Peaks.

Coach trips and field visits in combination with special half day "rural focus" seminars, providing insights into the various practices and methodologies employed by local action based rural and farming community projects in Derbyshire and Staffs; e.g. REAP, Derbyshire Rural Community Council, Rural Deprivation Forum, Rural Health Project, Peak Hill Farming Community seminar, etc.

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