Annual Review

SLANT
Cheshire’s Angle on Arts and Culture
06
The sub region was successful in securing
£300,000 Cultural Destinations funding
from Arts Council England for a 3-year
project which started in April 2017. The
investment will support culture and
tourism organisations in Cheshire East,
Cheshire West and Warrington to
team up and develop a more joinedup
approach to promoting the area’s
cultural offer. Building on current
investment, we are working to embed
arts and culture in local economic
plans and attract new visitors to the
area. This is timely due to the growth
in the region’s tourism industry over the
last few years, as well as the opening of
Chester’s major new arts venue Storyhouse, a
brand-new theatre, cinema and library.
The aim is to position C&W as a different
cultural proposition from our metropolitan
neighbours, taking advantage of our location,
showcasing our best, innovative arts and
cultural product as an umbrella programme
and promoting the edgy and distinctive, whilst
supporting the development of a mutually
beneficial partnership between the arts, cultural
and tourism sectors for the long term.
In June 2017, the new identity for the programe
was launched at an outdoor event at Nunsmere
Hall. Slant, the new umbrella brand name,
highlights the fact that Cheshire offers an
alternative way for people to engage with
culture. The programme presents unique
events in unexpected locations, breaking out of
traditional theatres and galleries into innovative
spaces and out into the Cheshire countryside.
The programme includes world class events
and festivals – where we are breaking ground in
terms of digital cultural experiences with SHIFT,
combining arts with science at Bluedot, and
embracing the magical countryside with Just
So festival. Slant will bring these exciting and
innovative events to the forefront of the cultural
scene and introduce Cheshire as a major player
in this sector. It also helps to reposition culture
as a prominent offering in a county traditionally
known for countryside, pretty villages and
historic towns. It will focus on increasing the
profile of the county’s arts and culture offer with
new audiences, and on strengthening links with
the tourism industry. The objective is to support
the delivery of activity already within the region,
by publicising it, unifying arts organisations and
encouraging the growth of the sector.
The Slant programme headliners for 2018
include: Storyhouse, Shift Digital, Blue Dot
Festival, Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre,
Moonlight Flicks, Trust New Art, Clonter
Opera, Just So Festival, Spare Parts at Crewe
Traction Festival, Warrington Contemporary
Arts Festival, the Enchantment of Chester Zoo,
and the Lead Artists programme. There is also
a wider group of cultural partners involved
from across the sub region. Discover Cheshire’s
angle on arts and culture here
visitcheshire.com/slant