Opinion:
Adam Buss

Why Culture?

Growing up on a council estate in a part of the world described as ‘Hell on Sea’ by a prominent national newspaper gave me a perspective on the world that wasn’t always positive and full of hope.

That said, I was very fortunate to have a hard working, supportive family that even though didn’t have a lot in terms of financial or influential resources, had a huge amount in love and encouragement. But those things alone weren’t enough to enable me to do the things I am currently able to do.

For that I needed advice and nurturing from someone who believed in me and my potential of having a career in the arts. That person was Mrs Marchant, my Drama teacher. Mrs M taught me that creativity was not just important but crucial to who we are and how we interact with the world, and that through arts and culture we can gain a window on the world and the challenges that people around the world face. Most importantly, Mrs M and my family taught me to care.

Throughout my career, whether it was performing as an actor, stand-up comedian or working in arts administration, I have seen and experienced first-hand the life affirming and life changing impact the arts can have. Sometimes it feels like a super power as unfortunately not everyone has found their passion for the arts and therefore benefitted from the qualities it can bring. I say found because I believe there is something out there for everyone, whether that is traditional or contemporary art forms, film, gardening, sport or anything that enlivens, brings people together and gives us a chance to express our feelings and creativity.

Increasingly we are starting to embrace the qualities that make us human often described (wrongfully in my opinion) as ‘soft skills’. Our future is uncertain and key issues around Climate Change and the rise of Artificial Intelligence can take that in one direction or another, but these and other challenges around discrimination and inequalities need us to act with our best human qualities of empathy, team work, passion and creativity - for we will always have that advantage over machine learning tools. If we don’t embrace those qualities, if we don’t find ways to express ourselves, to understand each other better and to bond as a society then we will fail as a society.

Living and working in Derby has reinforced my belief in the power of the arts to change lives for the better. Experiencing the Culture Cares conference at Derby Theatre that looks at what role the arts can play in supporting looked after young people, seeing the waves of people from all over the world attend the FORMAT festival at QUAD to experience the best in contemporary lens based media, or feeling the streets come alive whenever Festé is happening can only serve to warm the heart and instil passion for the city we love.

It’s for those reasons and more that I am passionate about the role that arts and culture can play in all of our lives and in helping to challenge the collective issues we face. Derby is on the shortlist for City of Culture 2025 and it will be an incredibly tough competition as all of the others deserve to win for their own reasons. However, I truly believe that Derby winning can shine a light on the brilliant things that have gone before, the brilliant things that are here right now and the brilliant things that Derby can do in the future. Our bid is about bringing people together to help solve challenges and to share this with the world. We will win or lose as a city, but whatever happens we will be stronger for the journey.

Follow culturederby.co.uk, #culturederby2025 and #cityofculture2025 for more information.