Support for Creative Arts East Petition : [ powered by iPetitions.com ]

#	Name	Comments
1	Anonymous	without help and assistance from CAE rural villages would be unable to enjoy the "arts" in various forms. I am sure we are not alone in having no public transport going through our village, which prevents some people from having access and enjoyment of "art" if it does not come to us. CAE has definately opened up art in whatever form to us. Thankyou.
2	Nula Cooper	CAE is the trailblazing organisation which has forged far-reaching partnerships and worked to give young people from all backgrounds exciting and new experiences of music and the arts. I am not aware of any other arts organisation as responsive to the needs and wants of rural communities, or as open and receptive to the ideas and expression of young people.
3	Patricia Holtom	Living as I do in a rural area, I have greatly benefitedf rom the touring schemes that CAE has enabled over the past years. I cannot understand, given the policy from the Ars Council England about the priority for rural area delivery of the arts, why Arts Counil East has chosen this particular organisation which delivers so well into the rural areas to cut its funding.
4	John Howkins
5	Sarah Durke
6	Linda Baldwin	This will be a great loss to the young people
7	john Allen
8	Peter Pazitka	I would like to express our support to CAE. Events organised by them not only bring quality art and performance to rural areas of Norfolk, but also help to promote community cohesion. Their events are always very popular with all different communities living (in our case) in Thetford and help them come together.
9	Dan Bolger	I whole heartedly support the campaign to maintain funding levels for Creative Arts East (CAE)
10	Dan Bolger	I whole heartedly support the campaign to maintain funding levels for Creative Arts East (CAE)
11	Elli Chapman
12	Rosie Kitchen
13	Greg Kyne	I too deal with similar works as CAE and have the opportunity to see how creative works help communities and bring about new exciting approaches to people young and old who have never experienced such things, often this leads to them taking on hobbies themselves and with CAE continued support the word is furthered spread, to take this away from people is depriving them from ever changing and moving on their lives
14	Jan Godfrey	I wish to express my deep concern regarding the threat of a reduction in funding to a wide range of Arts organisations across the country and particularly across Norfolk and the East, following the current Arts Council review, as reported recently in the press and as informed by a number of organisations likely to be affected by any reduction in funding. Some things cannot and should not be measured in hard financial terms. However the value for money of organisations such as Creative Arts East which have brought so much to rural Norfolk over the years is clear to all who live here and the Arts Council needs to remember that people in rural areas pay their share of taxes and buy their lottery tickets too. In the past five years Creative Arts East has tripled the Arts Council investment through funding from other sources, providing arts activity for more than 30,000 people each year. I cannot believe that the Arts Council does not recognise the benefit that the arts bring to the rural areas of Norfolk but that is the message that we who live here are receiving from the reports in the media. I hope that during their review, the Arts Council of England will take the time to research the impact of organisations such as Creative Arts East on rural communities and the consequences of withdrawing funding before making a decision that would be difficult to reverse and be enormously damaging.
15	David Guttridge
16	Andre Sloos	CAE has been extremely helpful in the last 8 years providing excellent projects for young people the youth service in Norfolk works with. An excellent partnership.
17	Anna McCarthy	It is absolutely vital that the arts sector in Norfolk ensures its future strength by supporting excellence, those with understanding and who are respected throughout the community. Creative Arts East is an organisation that is part of th culture of Norfolk itself. It is absolurtely critical that its excellent work is able to continue. Creative Arts East are an organisation that one has absolute confidence in and with whom it is a joy to work in partneship. It would be a grave error if sources of funding were to be diverted from this wonderful, trustworthy organisation that has real integrity.
18	Helen Chadwick	I have worked several times with Creative Arts East. The rural touring opportunities they providedme and my group are a unique cultural experince quite different to that in a theatre, both for the pibic and the performers. This year I am commissioned by the Royal Opera House for a devised song theatre perfomances there in May. Quite honestly without the experience I have had developing shows over many years in village hall settings, I would have this commission and would not be able to deliver anything there which i can be certain will appela to a wide audience. Creatiuve Arts East culture and inspiration to so many communities who have little or no access to the living arts.
19	Ian Woods
20	Ian Woods	CAE's work has provided support for new puppet companies many of which have grown out of Norwich Puppet Theatre. In addition the leaflet distribution service is an invaluable support service for the arts in the County as a whole.
21	Fred Elson	Welborne village (popln 200) makes full use of services provided by CAE. Their Village Screen, Village Stage and rural touring programmes act as an essential core to the activities provided for the village. To limit or reduce the services provided by CAE will seriously damage the health of Arts in the Rural Community.
22	Sally Goldsmith	Creative Arts East provide services which I would be lost without. The rack distribution service and Artexfax database are core parts of the Sainsbury Centre marketing and there are no other local alternatives.
23	Sianed Jones
24	Elaine Kelly
25	Penny Holden	I am on the steering group for Sing Your Heart Out, a series of singing workshops for mental health patients, carers, friends and staff. We know the importance of arts in mental health, physical health and social inclusion. These sorts of projects need more money, not cuts.
26	Richard Denyer	When did you last visit rural Norfolk? To even consider putting CAE's work at risk without extensive consultation and plans for alternative provision demonstrates a profound lack of understanding about how the county works socially, politically and culturally. Norfolk thrives on local initiatives, its fabric is woven from niches and networks which depend on each other for sustenance and support. The rural population is spread out and often remote, and public transport is famously poor. Removing CAE as an innovative facilitator of rural arts provision will help to maintain Norfolk's popular but misguided reputation as a backwater for artistic and cultural activity. Is that what we want?
27	tracy morefield	as a psychotherapist who runs singign groups for people with mental health problems i know for sure that organisations such as this need more support.
28	Sam Mason	We need this for young people!!
29	Dr Keith Saunders	It would be folly for this organisation to cease operating. Its Village Screen benefits a large number of Village Halls thereby enriching the lives of those unable to visit a major cinema in Norwich.
30	Samantha Coggins	This is just not right to do this at all i am outraged!!!!!!!!!
31	Chris Gribble
32	caroline richardson	Norwich Playhouse has worked closely with CAE over a number of years and would miss its support and partnerships enormously. The impact on the surrounding communities and venues would be very heavy should CAE cease to exist or continue with its present work. Norfolk cultural opportunities would take a heavy blow.
33	Caroline Forbes	The loss or reduction of CAE would be a real disaster for the region. As an independant artist struggling to develop projects to benefit what is often a quite hard to reach community, CAE is an essential lynchpin. CAE has supported my exisitng work as a writer through training sessions, commissioned work and afvice. It has also enabled me to connect with other artists and develop new areas - such as the Out of The Box programme working with elders in residential care. This work would not have happened without CAE's support. I cannot imagine how this region's arts could successfully develop without an organistion with the breadth of remit it currently holds. If it didn't exist, it would need to be invented and I really hope the powers that be do not destroy such an invaluable source of knowledge, experience and support. Without CAE the eastern region will be very much the poorer.
34	Tim Lenton	I have benefited from Creative Arts East projects both as an audience member and as a participant. Their quality of work is top class and especially valuable in a rural county such as Norfolk.
35	Claire Salley	I have worked with Creative Arts East for a number of years and the organisation is a fundemental partner in delivering arts development opportunities in the district of Breckland. Without the services of this organisation, the level of arts-based activity in rural areas would be comprised in terms of quality and volume.
36	Claire Salley	As a Norfolk resident, I have attended several events and activities hosted by Creative Arts East, including an extremely useful Arts Marketing course. It is fantastic to see and experience the range of activities this organisation offers and the use of small community venues for high quality touring theatre. It would have a serious effect on the life and vibrancy of rural communities if this organisation was to reduce or cease its activity.
37	David Tudball
38	Ruthanne Tudball
39	maggiecampbell	This is terrible news I would very much like to know who will get the funding? In this rural area we need desperately organizations like Arts East to continue to provide people with such a virsatile program, from educational to pure high quality entertainment .
40	Kate Robinson	CAE provides a unique service dedicated to, and springing from, its core audience of rural dwellers. It is able to respond directly to the needs of its audience as it is itself planted, root and branch, within the local community. This audience will be disenfranchised from the opportunity for meaningful arts provision if the funding is cut. CAE promotes and manages wide-ranging, imaginative work in the rural areas of Norfolk and north Suffolk. Not only does it provide an enticing array of arts, but also, through community based learning, an invaluable framework for social engagement. I have enjoyed all of the work that I have seen, ranging from theatrical and musical interventions, to visual art exhibitions, to publications, to interactive community based processions to dedicated arts workshops. The threat to CAE's core funding contradicts the stated aims of the Arts Council of England's policy for rural arts. As CAE is based within the rural community, it is therefore best placed to provide arts access for that community, in a unique, responsive and responsible way. It will be a tragedy for the future of rural arts in Norfolk and north Suffolk if the proposed cut to CAE's funding is followed through. Instead I hope that sense will prevail and that the future of this invaluable organisation is affirmed, enabling rural arts to flourish. Yours sincerely, Kate Robinson
41	Anonymous	I appalled to learn of the above proposals and wish to protest most strongly against them. This area has little enough Arts as it simply cannot continue to lose important and unique venues and services which the public can enjoy.
42	David Farmer	This organisation serves an essential role in rural areas. This funding decision has not been thought through and will have enormous knock-on effects.
43	Teresa Verney	living in the rural community, it is hard to access the arts so it has been enormously beneficial to have this service .
44	Freda Kelsall	Creative Arts East is essential for networking to residents of rural communities. Bridge Theatre is based in Yorkshire yet has been able to stage more than 140 productions in Norfolk over 15 years, aided by the services of Creative Arts East in reaching large, loyal but scattered audiences with progamming, venue and booking information.
45	Anonymous	CAE has been morst helpful to me and my organistaion over the years, with training and reinvigorating my art practice and my schools work in multi arts, and most recently with a really good advce surgery which helped me reengage with marketing my work/ workshops after 25 years of being in the business.. so they helped me to keep going and offer my experience when I could have given up.. its hard to come up with ideas after such a long time that could be new and helpful, but they did!! I constantly come accross arts folk who have nbenifitted from their advice training and support.. they are unique in this rurally stretched area! Keep them funded!!
46	Tricia Hall	Fruitful Arts is a Norwich based small arts organisation which has taken part in valuable training led by Creative Arts East and we hope to benefit from further mentoring in the near future.
47	Margie Britz	CAE has done a huge amount to make the socil fabric of rural communites cohesive. I t has done a huge amount to counter the isolation that beleaguers some rural artists. It has done a huge amount to make contemporary art inclusive and accessible to rural audiences. it would be extremely short- sighted to cut funding from this most valuable organisation which has impacted so positively on the lives of artists and art lovers and has mead art lovers of people who would otherwise not be interested.
48	Stuart Hobday
49	John Wood
50	Clare Johnson	Creative arts east have been very supportive to me as a practising artist.Enabling to work on community projects with older people across Norfolk InVALUABLE