Dorset’s Cultural Strategy 2021-2026

This strategy was created with 100 individuals and organisations both inside and out of the cultural sector.

The five-year strategy builds from our strengths and identifies key opportunities to work collectively to enable change in Dorset.

We work closely with Dorset Council to enable the delivery of the cultural strategy, and with Arts Council England to provide national context.

Image: Museum of East Dorset by Jayne Jackson

Image: Ancient Technology Centre by Jayne Jackson

The strategy has four key priorities:

Community
Cultural County
Environment
Economy

These are supported by ten ambitions:

Improving health and wellbeing.

Building empowered communities.

Nurturing creative talent.

Promoting Dorset nationally and globally.

Embedding access, inclusivity, diversity and equality.

Championing Artists and freelancers.

Developing expertise in digital.

Reducing our environmental impact.

Using our environment to inspire our cultural offer.

Positioning Dorset as a cultural destination

Over the next three years we’re dividing this work into six key areas

Creative Health
Using culture to tackle health inequalities

Environment
Taking advantage of our landscape to inspire our cultural offer

Inclusion
Creating a cultural offer the includes everyone

Investment
Increasing revenue for Dorset’s culture both locally and nationally

Placemaking
Putting culture at the heart of our towns and villages

Tourism
Working collaboratively to increase cultural tourism

Changemakers

We’ve invited a handful of changemakers from across Dorset and the cultural sector to help guide our work and provide critical challenge. They are:

Alongside Dorset Council’s Cllr. Laura Beddow (Portfolio Holder for Culture and Communities) and Paul Rutter (Services Manager for Leisure) and Arts Council England’s Kim Morrison (Relationship Manager), this group meets quarterly, inviting external experts as appropriate.