Imagine Nottingham in 2030: a hub of creativity and digital innovation, its cultural heartbeat resonating through every street. This vision took shape through our "Future Nottingham: Vision, Values, Voices" project, which tackled the challenge of reimagining and amplifying Nottingham's cultural identity.
Our journey brought together a diverse chorus of voices: 8 'outsider' cultural experts offering fresh perspectives, 24 local creative and cultural practitioners sharing their insights, and 18 'future creatives' – young people with significant ambition for their city. Through interactive workshops and innovative AI-assisted brainstorming, a compelling range of ideas emerged to celebrate Nottingham's unique spirit.
The project yielded three key outputs:
- A future focused position paper outlining Nottingham's creative future
- A series of AI-generated images capturing the city's creative essence
- Five concrete actions to transform Nottingham's cultural landscape
These actions span from a "Noisy Nottingham" campaign to broadcast our achievements, strategies for unlocking and sharing cultural assets and plans for a future-focused cultural festival showcasing our city's innovative spirit.
Our work has nurtured new collaborations and rekindled considerable excitement about Nottingham's cultural scene. Looking ahead, we're planning wider stakeholder consultations to further develop these outcomes. Our goal is to turn these ideas into reality, positioning Nottingham as a leading inclusive and connected creative digital city where culture drives both economic success and community wellbeing.
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