Sally Maltby says: "There has been much criticism of the way the Mowlem Institute in Swanage has been run for several years.
On advice, it seems that the way forward with the Mowlem is that we get a deluge of new Friends and then call an Extraordinary General Meeting and voice general disquiet and work out with them how things can improve.
If you are interested in improving the Mowlem please become a Friend as soon as you can - and encourage anyone else - hopefully this week and then we can at least ask the secretary to call a meeting at the beginning of May".
Forms available to print off by clicking the link at top of page "Become a Friend of the Mowlem" or by copying and pasting the below:
http://www.pierheadswanage.co.uk
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
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14 comments:
Or you could ask to become members of Mowlem Charity Limited, a company limited by guarantee. The company, being an open minded organisation, keen to enlist the support of the community and have them participate in its decision making in a democratic way, would no doubt welcome additional mambers, or am I being ironic?
You make me laugh.
On advice, it seems that the way forward with the Mowlem is that we get a deluge of new Friends and then call an Extraordinary General Meeting and voice general disquiet and work out with them how things can improve.
Strange that on the one hand you seem to be encouraging people to become friends of the Mowlem but on the other you are openly intending to voice general disquiet. Is that how you treat your friends. Why not join and work genuinely with the people who have managed to keep the Mowlem from going under all these years. They may be the first to admit things are not going as well as they could be and that some of the trustees would genuinely welcome friendly support.
Of course always happy to admit that I'm wrong, but at this stage giving them the benefit of the doubt! For heart and soul it seems better to work with people than against.
I have to agree. Having been to one of their meetings they appeared an elderly rather gentile group, who may not relish rough handling in their later years.
I'd be prepared for a mass resignation Sally, and have your new dynamic committee ready and waiting. The Town folk will be watching.
I really don't think there is much mileage in asking people to sign up for a negative platform. It would be much better if Sally and other critics of the Mowlem came up with suggestions for what it should be doing, within the resources available and realistically likely to be available. The seem to studiously avoid this.
Other facilities in Dorset can manage to operate successfully. The MI needs to re-think its policies and see why similar facilities do it better.
When I phoned the Mowlem earlier this year they were still advertising a December event on the recorded message.
This kind of venue needs the support of the community and volunteers too. There must be a number of qualified folk in the town with a few hours to spare.
Let's start taking pride in the venue, look at ways to improve it and celebrate future success.
Have a look at The Exchange in Sturminster Newton. It's a self-funded arts centre. One full-time manager with two part-time assistants run the place supported by volunteers.
Big names - classical guitarist John Williams, Elkie Brooks, Andy Fairweather Low and many others have performed there. Touring theatre companies also bring top quality plays.
If a relatively small town can do it, why not Swanage?
http://www.stur-exchange.co.uk/event_all.php
Another fantastic venue of a similar size is the Electric Palace in Bridport. It's a fantastic venue with some great artists performing there. Why is the Mowlem so bad and others like the Electric Palace so good ?
http://www.electricpalace.org.uk/ is the website by the way. Take a look and compare it to http://www.mowlemtheatre.co.uk/
Here is a practical suggestion for critics of the Mowlem. Contact the users of these other venues and ask them to book the Mowlem. Ask if they have had problems booking it and if there are any problems in using it. That will give you a solid case to take to the trust.
How did the trustees get to be trustees ??
11.33 the fact that the Purbeck Arts Festivals and Purbeck Film Festivals don't use the Mowlem already says it all.
nickthefish
As new concerned Friends of the Mowlem, we would like to know what are the intentions of the Trustees in developing the Mowlem into a focal point for the community in Swanage This will, of course, necessitate appropriate business planning and strategy development for the Mowlem Trustees over, say, the next five years. Is that a positive or negative attitude? The intention is to be positive and helpful as the term "Friend" implies!
Is it currently the job of the trustees to make the Mowlem the focal point of Swanage? No it is not. Should it be? Yes bubt it is asking them to change radically.
Why do newcomers to our town suddenly think they know how to run it?
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