One of the hottest discussions around the table on the 18th May was the regional vs. cultural identity debate, summed up very neatly by Stephen Foster from the John Hansard Gallery in the video clip above.
The consensus that emerged to guide the development of tpse.org was that it should start with a distinct regional/cultural identity, as a way to get people informed and enthusiastic about their locality, but people should be able to use it to find out about world-wide visual arts activity based on themes, genres and ideas as well.
As Simon points out in his email to the group, it is possible to have a ‘back end’ database of regional, national and international visual arts information, that we could provide a ’snapshot’ of, specifically showcasing work in the South East.
But beyond that, ‘can you show me visual arts activity within a 10 mile radius?’ is more a geographical than cultural question. Perhaps there are also ways of using tpse.org to promote the more creative and imaginative aspects of regional identity that Stephen talked about on the 18th.
