On Thursday 19th September over 80 of the city’s artists gathered at the World of Wedgwood in Barlaston for the Big Open Exchange Forum. It was a time and place to share thoughts and vision as we all, as creatives, make plans to celebrate the city’s centenary rear in 2025.
Susan Clarke, Executive Director of Stoke Creates, spoke of the significance of the moment and how we must take charge of the city’s story.
Susan said
I do this job because I am very proud of the artists here in Stoke-on-Trent and the work we make.
Stoke-on-Trent is a place that has its challenges and they are well documented.
However the artists here sit with those challenges, we live with them.
Our artists hold hands with who we are now,
And take us to the places we could be.
Together we make work that is rich, tough and real.
So, 100 years old as a city next year.
We were granted city status by a king in 1925.
Apparently we hadn’t completed the paperwork correctly and the king had to intervene to make a special case for us.
Sound familiar?
Of course 100 years is a young city, it’s the blink of an eye in this country.
It’s a moment.
And how do we celebrate at a time like this?
When it is hard.
We’re exhausted from the last five years.
We have stress on our civic structures like never before.
Maybe this is the moment to celebrate, when we should be looking back, but also at who we are now.
Most importantly we should get to say what we want to be.
It is a moment when we can draw attention to ourselves, when people are listening and watching, And so here is our chance.
Because everyone thinks they know Stoke don’t they?
They want to tell us who we are, what we are.
Well, in our centenary year we can take charge of the story.
Because 100 years of Stoke duck?
In the words of Stoke singer songwriter Joe Brennan Hulme,
“We’re just getting warmed up.”