had an interesting evening wednesday night at creative coast - firstly because we had chance meet andrew clay the person (useless trivia: his favourite colour is red and he wants a bike for christmas) plus we got lots more insight into woodend creative workspace which will probably open in february/march 2008. exciting times - i really hope that woodend is a big success. it certainly looks to be in good hands.

what always amazes me about creative coast is the ever changing composition at events. there are those who you can pretty much guarantee to be there - essentially the core of the coast’s creative sector - but there are always new faces. this is, of course, fantastic. last night was a strange mix and some of the conversation during and after the event got me thinking about the mix of working, middle and upper class accents on display. in some ways it reflected some of the old stereotypes about art and creativity eg. the posh art-as-hobby brigade vs the creativity-transforming-ordinary-life posse.

there’s sometimes a snobbery that runs both ways when these two camps mix. some of those who have studied art and often struggle to make their living can be rather disregarding of people who have a more casual attitude and clearly don’t rely on selling work or creative services to pay their bills. likewise there is also a rather unattractive middle/upper class attitude at looking down on those who seemingly sully the the whole thing by working hard and speaking in regional accents.

have i got a chip on my shoulder about the latter? probably. ok, yes, i have. since when does how i speak matter more than how i design? but it’s happened on enough occasions for me to get annoyed about it. and whilst i’m on a rant, don’t even get me started on how it’s seemingly acceptable and funny at the moment to use ‘chav’ as an insult… there’s a whole load of unpacking about problems and attitudes in contemporary society to be done there. but i’m drifting off topic…

class status is one of those deeply unattractive things about britain and it raises its ugly head in arts & culture as much as anywhere. ironically it just makes me want to drop more h’s and soften more t’s. quick, pass me a red flag and a copy of class war.

what would be nice though is some manners and a little respect all round. ’nuff said.