A momentous meeting took place this week (Tuesday 11th Nov) in Penzance as the entire team behind the European Region of Culture Campaign (EROCC) gathered in Cornwall for the first time. The EROC project partnership of Cornwall in the UK, Kujawsko Pomorskie in Poland and South Ostrobothnia in Finland, came together to build on the success of the £350,000 funding bid from the European Union’s Culture 2007 Programme, announced in September of this year.
The pioneering project, which will hopefully see Cornwall, Kujawsko-Pomorskie and South Ostrobothnia become the first ever European Region of Culture partnership, still has a long way to go, however this key summit signals an impressive milestone in the campaign. Meeting alongside the Cornish, Polish and Finnish partners was the Cornish Consortium comprising of representatives from Arts Council South West, Cornwall County Council, Cornwall Arts Centre Trust (ACT), Real Ideas Organisation (RiO), Hall for Cornwall and Tate St Ives.
The Polish and Finnish partner regions were selected by the Cornwall team to bring a contrasting set of divergent experiences and to create a strong cultural network across Europe. The regions each have contrasting geography, artistic and creative practice as well as differing political context and history, economics and lengths of European Union membership. However, as is the underlying intention, during the time that the partners have been collaborating, it has become clear that they share common cultural experiences, associated with population dispersal and geographical and cultural access.
The Polish region of Kujawsko-Pomorskie has a population of just over 2 million and is famed for its delicious and intricate gingerbread products and for being the birthplace of Copernicus (astronomer and mathematician, born February 19, 1473, died May 24, 1543). In tandem with Cornwall’s World Heritage Site designation, the Polish region and its medieval capital Torun were inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1997 for their historic and remarkable medieval architecture. Torun also boasts the first contemporary art gallery to be built in Poland since 1939 and is campaigning to become a European Capital of Culture for 2016. The hope is that the designation will extend across the whole region in the wake of Cornwall’s newly developed EROC initiative.
Finnish partner region South Ostrobothnia is famed for its love of Tango (the dance not the drink!) and, like Cornwall, its interesting blends of traditional and modern culture. It boasts magnificent natural beauty with impressive river landscapes and an abundance of wildlife. The region is home to the traditional Finnish sweater Jussishirt which is said to symbolize the stamina, diligence, honesty, integrity and even the insaneness and bravado of Southern Ostrobothnia people. There is also a strong tradition of illustration in Finland and prolific artists such as Sanna Annukka, who designed Keane's ‘Under the Iron Sea’ album cover which draws on the Finnish national legend but is presented using cutting edge contemporary design, come from the region.
The EROC team came together this week to put the campaign into full swing and create decisive actions to drive forward on a local and international level. Amongst the issues discussed were the appointment of the new Cornwall-based Creative Producer, how the campaign and resultant designation will contribute to the regions’ local economies, preserve regional distinctiveness in a contemporary and global context and stimulate and encourage excellence in all fields of cultural production.
Miranda Bird, Director of EROCCO, says, “It is fantastic to welcome our European partners to Cornwall and to get them together with the whole Cornwall Consortium for the first time. There is a huge amount of positive energy and momentum surrounding the project across Europe and this meeting is crucial in order to foster understanding and to help develop the strong network of information and resources between the partners. There is already a lot of support out there for the campaign and we need to work together to build on this as at all levels. As a result of today we have been able to decide on a tangible series of decisive actions to carry forward over the next months.”
Tomasz Borczuch, Head of the Representation Office of the Kujawsko Pomorskie Region in Brussels comments, “Our region is made up of two different communities with separate economies, histories and social backgrounds. The EROC pilot is a great opportunity for the Kujawsko Pomorskie region to define its cultural identity.”
Carlita Laitala, Project Manager within the Regional Council of South Ostrobothnia in Finland says, “Like Cornwall South Ostrobothnia has a lot of small and medium sized businesses and is famed for its cultural offer. We have seen a vast development in culture regionally over the last ten years and with the EROC pilot project our goal is to strengthen the cultural economy and entrepreneurship, with a particular emphasis on creative industries.”
Cornwall County Council’s Executive Member for the Economy Andrew Mitchell (Lib Dem) adds, “This meeting is an important step in the development of this initiative which aims to change the perceptions of the European Union on the contributions of rural regions to culture. The project revolves around using culture as a driver for social, economic, environmental and community benefits”.
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