In the face of ambivalence and indifference towards the arts in Cheltenham, maybe the time has come for us to try something new to galvanise our community. Hopefully the bigger idea behind Raggedy Man Press can do it.
A New Year ushers in many a new resolution, however this year, some of us have decided to act on it. After years. almost two decades in fact, of complaining about a lack of a cohesive arts scene in Cheltenham, I felt it time to act on an idea which had been brewing in my head since the pandemic.
Ever since I formed a band in the dark autumn rain in Glenfall Street back in October 2001, there had been a serious lack of venues in and around Cheltenham. Through the years, as I moved out of the student bubble where we almost exclusively plied our fledgling trade, fighting and forming musical rivalries with all and sundry, and moved into the wider community; I learned of halcyon days of a music scene now defunct and passed. It seemed that the death of Cafe Tobac and the Axiom had put Cheltenham's music scene firmly on life support, with only the Frog and Fiddle, Two Pigs and Slak keeping the heart monitor beeping.
The Frog and Fiddle has kept the fire burning whilst I've lost far too many pairs of Converse to venture back into the Two Pigs for over a year now... however my favourite haven of the three is sadly no more. Slak stopped trading in 2012 and it's quite immeasurable how Cheltenham has missed a venue which supported such a diverse range of performance arts from spoken word and stand up comedy to live music. Not only that, it served as a garrison of creativity for like minded alternative freaks, geeks, weirdos and outsiders otherwise surrounded by the typical town centre offering of processed beat obsessed, weekend warriors powered by Bolivian chalk and the sight of mini skirts rabidly out on the pull.
In the ten years hence, we've seen pretty much all of our music shops/instrument vendors shut down with the public preference for retail moving online. Various ventures have sprung up and tried with varying degrees of success to foster an alternative live entertainment offering and all I hear are the lamentations of a variety of people that Cheltenham still doesn't have a 'scene'. Combine this with the general apathy that seems to exist outside of the friends of local bands supporting their mates and to be fair, I can see their point.
“There seems to be little to no appetite to encourage local talent or develop a 'scene'. Instead relying on "renting" its cultural offering four times a year then conveniently packing it away again until next time. ...”
The local focus, when it comes to serious funding for encouraging live performances and the arts, is all seemingly centred around the Cheltenham Festivals. Don't get me wrong, I love that our town is a hub for 8 weeks of the year to some real marquee names that the festivals facilitate, however there seems to be little to no appetite to encourage local talent or develop a 'scene'. Instead relying on "renting" its cultural offering four times a year then conveniently packing it away again until next time.
On a local level, all I hear are anecdotes of how the arts are continually underfunded and squeezed and the mechanisms to what little funding there is available, are becoming less accessible. Despite this, there are those in the town who still carry the torch and provide pockets of resistance to the apathy. It doesn't matter if it's live music, theatre, art, poetry and spoken word and even comedy...you just need to know where to look.
Hence Raggedy Man. My ambition for this completely not for profit organisation is to provide firstly a platform to promote and sell my own art/writing. Second, to encourage other creators, poets, artists and musicians to rally with me so that Raggedy Man can provide a platform of support, promotion, and if required, facilitating the production of art, books, exhibitions etc. Thirdly, I want Raggedy Man to provide a central hub for all of the fringe arts within Cheltenham then as it grows, further a field. We have plenty of organisations and websites updating us on local commerce and business news but nothing that ties together all the local pockets of fringe events, gigs, spoken word, art exhibitions, theatre, comedy and the like.
This is all against the backdrop of a full time job. Will it take time to realise this ambition? Most definitely. Will it be successful? Fuck knows. However, everyone I've spoken to about it, seems to kinda like the idea and there is a genuine appetite out there to support local fringe arts and events... all those rag tag individuals with full time jobs to facilitate part time dreams. All I want to do is provide the platform to shine a light on it, nurture it and help Cheltenham realise the wealth of artistic talent that walks along the Regency streets mostly uncelebrated and largely unknown.
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