Hundreds of people attend creativity conference in Leamington

Warwick District Council’s (WDC) first ‘Spark’ conference generated ideas and creativity with more than 300 people attending the day, which was themed around connecting, collaborating and celebrating the diverse amount of creative individuals and organisations in the district.

Creative Mornings launched the day with a talk from Mark Adams director of Vitsoe, followed by Leader of the Council, Cllr Andrew Day who set the scene for the district’s new five-year creative framework.

Cllr Moira-Ann Grainger, Warwick District Council's portfolio holder for culture, said: "This was a great event, with a real buzz throughout the venue all day.

"There was a very positive response to the launch of our creative framework and I anticipate some innovative action from the creative community in the district for taking this forwards and establishing Warwick district as a centre for creative and innovative excellence.”

There were also talks from the CEO of City of Culture Trust Martin Sutherland and WDC Commonwealth Games Project Manager Christina Boxer. The event also featured workshops ranging from the future of the High Street to social prescribing.

Dave Fawbert, a photographer attending the event said: "It was clear so much effort had gone into making this a slick, professional and impressive event - and it really paid off. Holding it at the Spa Centre was perfect, and there was a perfect mix of information and creativity."

The day also had performances from Motionhouse, Heartbreak Productions and Jane Titine and food from Leamington’s bakery Haddie and Trilby Bakers and Mookies Indian Street Food.

Arts Manager David Guilding is evaluating the results of a survey taken at the event. He said: "The three key word delegates used to describe the conference are inspiring, professional and informative, so this bodes well for Spark 2021."