Our second Civic Debate, asked is Birmingham a real city of culture? Speakers, Steve Ball, Associate Director The REP, Anita Bhalla OBE, Chair of Creative City Partnership and of PBL THSH, Laura Breakwell, Founding Director Reel Access, Ammo Talwar, Director Punch Records, and Gary Topp, Director Culture Central were in agreement that education is key and young people need to be able to take opportunities in the creative economies. They also felt strongly that we should challenge the distribution of cultural funding outside the city centre, investing in community-based arts. The conclusion from both audience and panel was that Birmingham is a real city of cultures and we should celebrate that at every opportunity.
