Encouraging Creativity, Culture & Identity
Celebrating Birkenhead’s character and creative talent through festivals, public art, and new cultural spaces. Supporting local artists and makers.
Pop-up uses of buildings and spaces, festivals like Art After Dark, and diverse themed street markets can all improve Birkenhead’s image, draw people into town life, and create a safe, welcoming environment. These activities can also be powerful first steps in reducing isolation and loneliness.
Framework – Levering Creativity, Culture & Identity…
The characteristics, location and accessibility of Birkenhead make it a natural place for a creative economy to flourish, alongside small-scale manufacturing, local commercial businesses, and urban living. From this, a strong creative and cultural community is growing.
- Parading Creative Birkenhead
- Promoting Cultural Birkenhead
Birkenhead’s iconic townscape provides the perfect backdrop for festivals and cultural events to showcase the town’s imagination, transforming streets into living urban spectacles. Its rich engineering heritage and
creative future can come together through open galleries and public art.
Birkenhead must embrace culture in its broadest sense, from ‘highbrow’ to ‘everyday’, remembering that culture is not just for adults. Supporting what it means to be Birkenhead is about merging creativity
and culture into a shared identity.
A ‘Hidden Birkenhead’ programme could reveal lesser-known stories, bringing heritage to life in imaginative spaces. Reimagined yards and underused places could become hubs for markets, performances, and
community activity, nurturing the town’s creative spirit.
Locally produced signs for businesses and facilities can be bold and sculptural, giving Birkenhead a distinctive identity. Tree planting symbolising the craft of shipbuilding, will value their historic significance in world trade and travel while appreciating their spirit within a contemporary urban habitat.
Currently, ad-hoc cultural activities are fragile and hard-won, often dependent on short-term grants and dwindling opportunities. The Birkenhead 2040: Culture and Heritage Strategy aims to change this this by leveraging the towns cultural assets, growing local talent, encouraging community participation, and partnering with regional and national bodies. Backin’ Birkenhead can play a leading role in supporting and
enhancing this strategy.
- Establish an Action Group to lead this lever.
Celebrate Backin’ Birkenhead through displays in public spaces, digital media, and a Backin’ Room. Take a leadership role in the delivery of Birkenhead’s 2040 Cultural Strategy.Host community conversations on what ‘Birkenhead means’ and bring forward a cultural and creative strategy of deliverable initiatives.
- Develop a bespoke ‘shopfront’ design guide.
- Develop ideas for ‘new icons’ within the Grid, its Yards and Waterfront.
- Encourage, develop, and support an active community arts and culture group.
- Develop an events and activities programme to showcase culture and
creativity.