The Right Here festival from arts organisation Creative Crawley, took place on January 29 and 30
with a celebration of the creativity and vibrancy of Crawley in this free festival of spoken word,
dance, photography and film, proudly supported by the Crawley Town Centre BID (Business
Improvement District)
Taking place online and with outdoor art for passers-by to discover around Crawley, the two-day
festival showcased the talent and creativity of the town in more than 20 events.
From audio tours to storytelling for toddlers and sing-along for people with dementia, from writing to photography to images on lampposts, the festival represented all the diverse talents and tastes of the community, also drawing in audiences from elsewhere in the online programme.
Festival curator Louise Blackwell delivered a rich and vibrant two days - with the focus firmly on the creativity of Crawley.
Some of the highlights of the festival included;
‘Capturing Lockdown’ by LPK Learning and Crawley Museum in the Town Centre, with photos taken by local people since March 2020 and appeared on different lampposts in Crawley for passers-by to discover.
Creative Café by Culture Shift and the Town Centre’s Crawley College, which was a workshop for
Crawley College students about how to enter the creative industries featuring local successful
creative professionals.
Three online sessions organised by Crawley Library, including Baby Rhyme and Story Magic: What Am I.
Neil Cooper, Chair of the Crawley Town Centre BID said;
“The Crawley Town Centre BID is still a relatively new organisation and has been impacted, like many businesses and places, by the restrictions of COVID and repeated lockdowns.
“In spite of these challenges, the BID has still looked at ways it can deliver on the objectives of its
Business Plan to make the place safer, more connected, better promoted and enlivened through new events and reasons for people to enjoy the town centre.
“We are pleased to have supported Creative Crawley to deliver this innovative project and to have seen the positive response it has generated. We look forward to doing much more of this in the years ahead.”
The Crawley Town Centre BID brings together businesses from across the town centre to fund and deliver a Business Plan that covers a five-year period from 2020 to 2025 designed to make Crawley town centre a thriving and enjoyable place to visit, work and do business.
