The Cultural Strategy

Making the most of living in and visiting Hampshire

"From Bach to Beckham… all the services within the Recreation and Heritage Department are about the quality of life, the human spirit, enjoyment and most definitely, as TS Eliot said of culture, ‘making life worth living"  

Hampshire is one of the largest and oldest of English counties, lying at the heart of central southern England. Its landscape and architecture, its folklore, history, food, drink and economy, its art and leisure activities all help to define Hampshire – and to make it unique.

For many the word ‘culture’ means grand opera, exhibitions of paintings by the Old Masters and classical music on Radio 3. All these are certainly part of it, but culture is much more than this. In its broadest sense culture is life. It is the way we live our lives from the newspapers we read at breakfast to what we watch on television in the evening; from the way we earn our living to the food we eat. It is the way we spend our leisure time from shopping to participating in sports, from visiting the theatre to spending time in the local pub with our friends.

This is why culture is important to Hampshire County Council and why this Cultural Strategy has been written. Above all culture should be fun and that is why we have given this document the title ‘Enjoying Hampshire’.

As County Councillors we are very aware of the importance of culture, in the widest sense, which is why we support a wide range of cultural services and activities both within the County Council and with outside organisations too.

One of the main findings that has come out of the MORI survey of Hampshire residents is that people like living in Hampshire and enjoy the quality of life on offer in the county. Culture is a key part of this, it also is a great way of promoting inter-generational activities and encouraging older residents to pass on their skills and knowledge to future generations. The cultural industries, in terms of the jobs they create, are very important to the local economy. We need to constantly market all Hampshire’s cultural services and facilities to show that they are for everyone and we would like to encourage schools to be more outward looking and embracing a wider range of cultural activities for Hampshire’s school children. The Hampshire cultural brand is very strong, we need to make the most of this.

My Cabinet colleagues and I have discussed this Cultural Strategy which we fully endorse.

Councillor Ken Thornber CBE, Leader, Hampshire County Council