ARTIST SALON LOWESTOFT
Friday 24 October 11am-3pm
The Battery of Ideas, Lowestoft

Are you a creative practitioner or professional working in, or wanting to work in, diversity?

Essex Cultural Diversity Project’s Artist Salons are free workshop and networking opportunities for creative practitioners and community organisers. Come along to share and develop ideas for art projects which celebrate diversity. We will provide hands-on advice about engaging with communities and applying for public funds for community art projects. The day includes a complimentary lunch.

Coming under the umbrella of the Platforma Festival, this Artist Salons will be focussed on intercultural arts provision for migrant, refugee and asylum seeker communities.

Free, but places are limited so booking is essential.

• Date: Friday 24 October 11am-3pm
• Venue: The Battery, 119 London Road North Lowestoft, England, NR32 1LZ
• Book your place at ecdp-salon-lowestoft.eventbrite.co.uk

Who Should Attend?

The event is open to emerging or more established artists/arts organisations, or representatives from organisations who want to develop creative projects within diversity settings.

Essex Cultural Diversity Project’s core mission is to energise diversity in arts and heritage. We know that diversity is different for everyone. Diversity for us means: cultural diversity | different ethnic backgrounds | low socio-economic backgrounds | LGBTQ+ | disability | neurodiversity | or an intersection of these.

We often support artists and projects that engage with: deprived communities | marginalised voices | communities with little or no access to the Arts | those who are culturally curious or want to connect with where they live in different ways.

About our Hosts and Partners

Led by First Light Festival CIC, the Battery of Ideas Place Partnership is designed to fire up ideas, enthusiasm and involvement in the new Cultural Quarter development in Lowestoft town centre, to grow public awareness and engagement in the Quarter and create a step change in creative production and cultural participation in the town. The Battery is a space for inclusive creative participation and engagement, co-production, planning and testing out activity as Lowestoft’s new Cultural Quarter develops. Currently we are testing out a programme of creative health activity, live performance, visual art exhibitions and installations in partnership with a consortium of local arts organisations and cross sector partners. The Battery of Ideas project has awarded 34 local creatives enterprise bursaries and art commissions, including to make work that will be shown in the Battery and at First Light Festival. firstlightfestivalcic.com/batteryofideas

Organised by Counterpoints Arts, Platforma Festival takes place in a different English region every two years, produced in collaboration with local partners to showcase work, build capacity and share learning. The 8th Platforma festival will take place across the East of England in October 2025. Counterpoints Arts is a leading national organisation in the field of arts, migration and cultural change. They support the arts by and about refugees and migrants and we produce a range of programmes in the UK and internationally, including Refugee Week, PopChange and Platforma festival. Their work takes place at the intersection of climate, racial justice, mental health and displacement. Their mission is to support and produce the arts by, with and about migrants and refugees, seeking to ensure that their voices and experiences play a pivotal role in shaping and influencing our arts, history, and culture. Central to their mission is the belief that art is much more than an aesthetic experience; it can open spaces for people to talk across differences, inspire community participation and foster a more compassionate society. counterpoints.org.uk/project/platforma/