Swindon & Wiltshire News
Swindonians invited to Dream in Public as City of Culture bid progresses
Residents of Swindon are being invited to Dream in Public as the town’s City of Culture campaign progresses.
Swindon Culture Collective, who are leading the bid in partnership with Swindon Borough Council, will spend the next month asking residents to share their ambitions for the town as they strive to move from longlist to shortlist – and perhaps on to the City of Culture title and the £10 million of funding to support it.
The selection panel praised the vision and ideas which secured Swindon’s place on the longlist. Now the bid team are hoping to capitalise on that vision.
Dr Roderick Hebden of Swindon Culture Collective said: “As we said in the first stage of our bid, Swindon is the hidden engine of modern British life – where things are made, tested, proven and delivered.
“Our deeper story is one of constant, people-led reinvention. For two centuries, the people who have chosen Swindon have pioneered the systems and ideas that build the nation.”
He cited the Great Western Rail workforce that built locomotives and created civic institutions ahead of their time – the Health Hydro, a radical blueprint for the NHS, and the Mechanics’ Institute, home to the UK’s first lending library.
“Swindon consistently outperforms major cities in productivity, with innovation and waves of new arrivals creating an open, diverse and culturally active town,” said Rod.
“Swindon’s UK City of Culture plans will support this reset of ambition and reclaim our history of imagination, invention and quiet national leadership with a bold vision: A Town That Dreams in Public!”
A colourful temporary pavement artwork opening the invitation to dream up bold new futures has been created outside the Zurich offices by Swindon artists Caryn Koh and Dayna Baxter.
Events will be held across the town for the next month to capture the public’s dreams for the future of the town. Event details and the chance to share dreams online are available through the website.
Kate Wyatt, head of culture at Swindon Borough Council, said: “We know that culture has the power to make familiar places feel extraordinary: festivals that transform parks and streets, performances that illuminate industrial heritage, creative trails along green/blue corridors, and community-led events that bring neighbourhoods together.
“These moments allow residents to see their town, and their place within it, differently. That shift in imagination is the foundation for long-term change.
“City of Culture 2029 can supercharge what is already happening in Swindon – using culture to drive economic growth, regeneration, investment, skills and employment.”
