Cultural activity within historic houses

In April 2013 RCMG was commissioned by The Mighty Creatives (TMC) to investigate the needs, interests and challenges facing historic houses in the East Midlands to develop cultural provision for children and young people.

Background

The Mighty Creatives (TMC) is part of a national network of 10 Bridge Organisations funded by Arts Council England to use their experiences and expertise to connect children and young people, schools and communities with culture. TMC is the Bridge Organisation in the East Midlands and this project was part of TMC's approach to understand better the needs, interests and challenges facing historic houses in the context of their cultural provision with, by and for children and young people.

Aims and objectives

The overarching research question for this project was: What are the needs, interests and challenges facing historic houses in the East Midlands, to develop their cultural provision for children and young people?

The areas of focus for the research were:

• How do historic houses in the region currently engage with children and young people, with particular focus on the following four priority communities:
  • Early intervention, including provision for very young children and their families
  • Young people and families not in education, employment or training
  • Children and young people with a disability or disabling condition
  • Culturally diverse communities including BME (Black and Minority Ethnic), travellers and economic migrants
• Identification of workforce development needs that may exist to better engage with children and young people
• What opportunities and challenges currently exist that enhance and/or inhibit historic houses in their provision of cultural opportunities for children and young people
• Introduce Historic Houses to TMC and its work as a Bridge Organisation
• Explore potential opportunities for partnership work between TMC and historic houses
• Explore the potential application of Arts Award and Artsmark in the work of historic houses
• Create a database of historic houses in the East Midlands region

Research Findings

Historic Houses in the East Midlands report (PDF, 777KB)