Guest Blog by Tony Wynne
There seems to be something very positive happening in Southport. Is our amazing town on the brink of a cultural ‘Renaissance’?
Over the last week we have seen a radical performance of Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood by the Gambolling Arena Theatre Company, a successful Art & the Community event in Gallery More, both held in Wayfarers Arcade.
This weekend we witnessed the opening of The Fool, an exciting arts and music venue on West Street.
In two weeks’ time Southport artist Grant Searl will open his new gallery and studio space in Wayfarers Arcade.
This will bring the number of art galleries, in Southport town centre alone, to six, including Southport Contemporary Arts and Cambridge Walks Gallery.
If one takes on board the vast cultural activity that’s already on offer with examples like the SDC Little Theatre, The Atkinson, the Southport Bijou Cinema, etc and then takes into account the energy that is within artists’ groups, dance and music academies, live music venues, drama groups and Southport’s schools and colleges then one can see that our town is very culturally vibrant.
It is well documented that cultural activity has many benefits for towns and cities. These benefits include a sense of community, a sense of identity and well-being and the nurturing of civic pride. It is also incredibly important that a town gives its young people a sense of purpose and pride too.
Southport has many young talented artists, musicians, performers and actors and we should support their visions and aspirations.
The recent production of Under Milk Wood featured students from local schools including the Southport Learning Trust choir.
Increased cultural activity has proven to have economic benefits, and could certainly help to stimulate Southport’s tourism industry. This could lead to increased trade for our town’s hotels, bars, restaurants and retail businesses.
There are already active plans to formulate a cultural strategy specifically for Southport and also plans for a major arts event in summer 2025.
Southport has a great future and we can all be part of it.
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