Marketing Cheshire Annual Review 2018

SLANT
Cheshire’s Angle on Arts and Culture
In 2017 the sub region was successful in
securing £330,000 Cultural Destinations funding
from Arts Council England for a 3-year
project. The investment supports culture
and tourism organisations in Cheshire
East, Cheshire West and Warrington
to team up and develop a more joined
up approach to promoting the area’s
cultural offer.
The aim is to position Cheshire &
Warrington as a different cultural
proposition from its metropolitan
neighbours, taking advantage of its
rural location, showcasing its best,
innovative arts and cultural products as
an umbrella programme, whilst supporting
the development of a mutually beneficial
partnership between the arts, cultural and
tourism sectors for the long term.
Building on current investment, the project
is working to embed arts and culture in local
economic plans to 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
arts venue Storyhouse, with theatre, library,
restaurant and cinema.
In 2018 the programme included world-class
events and festivals – 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. It also helped to reposition
culture as a prominent offering in a county
traditionally known for countryside, villages and
pretty towns as well as increasing the profile
of the county’s arts and culture offer with new
audiences, and on strengthening links with the
tourism industry.
The Slant programme headliners for 2018
included: Storyhouse, Shift Digital, Bluedot
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.
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