To quote Sandy Denny: 'Who knows where the time goes?'. It's already a month since we launched our Get Creative campaign - a year-long celebration of British arts, culture and creativity - in partnership with cultural movement What Next? as well as hundreds of arts, cultural and voluntary organisations across the UK.
The central thrust of the campaign is simply to get more people than ever before flexing their creative muscles and making art of every kind - from watercolour landscapes to spoken word poetry to knitted tea-cosies. Not only does creativity improve our lives, giving us pleasure and fulfilment, but its impact is felt in the business and well-being of the nation (I should probably be singing Sandy Denny, not drily quoting her).
But what a four weeks - we've already had an astonishing 750 organisations across the country join up as Get Creative champions. People are posting their work and activity on the Get Creative site and using #bbcgetcreative. I've seen a moving self-portrait from a man recovering from a stroke and I've been impressed by the determination of a mother of two from Devon who has set herself the task of posting one creative thing each day for a year. Johnny Vegas (a personal hero after seeing him complete a challenge to make a fully functioning teapot in one minute at the Get Creative launch) has taken up drawing as well as pottery and is posting his work too. On BBC One, The Big Painting Challenge is being enjoyed by millions each week and the accompanying Little Painting Challenge has already had thousands of entries.
I've been also struck by the enthusiasm from people up and down the country to take part in a national conversation about the value of arts, culture and creativity in our lives. The Get Creative campaign organised 26 debates in theatres, schools and community centres around the UK, from Cambridge to Cardiff, London to Nottingham, Belfast to Glasgow. Nearly 2,000 people attended in person while many more joined in on-air and online: arts leaders, politicians, artists of every different kind and the general public. Thanks to an amazing push from local as well as network radio, audiences everywhere were able to take part too, including over 15,000 mentions on Twitter. And, for the first time ever, BBC Four hosted an Arts Question Time that gave the public the chance to ask the questions of arts leaders and artists like Cornelia Parker and Jeanette Winterson.
Rosie Millard, Chair of Hull 2017 City of Culture, who was at our Front Row debate at Hull Truck theatre, wrote: “It felt that the BBC was taking the arts seriously...it felt properly national.” It wasn't all serious, though: there was a mini uproar at Hull Truck following one panellist's confusion about the 'big blue cock' on the fourth plinth.
From here on, our role is simply to use our programming to inspire more and more people to Get Creative. This day-to-day empowerment is at the heart of what the BBC does. We already have some of the best creativity schemes in the country - from 500 Words to BBC Introducing, Ten Pieces to Opening Lines, the Writers Room Future Talent to the Proms Poetry Competition. But over this year, we're doing even more: the Little Painting Challenge, the Greatest Generation film competition, the BBC Young Writers Award, Young Dancer of the Year, Make It Digital and Radio 1's new spoken word poetry scheme.
Much of this is thanks to BBC Learning, much of it just down to the passion of individual services and producers. This is the BBC that I'm proud to work for - not just a broadcaster, but an enabler and celebrator of the nation's creativity.
So... who knows where the time goes? Well, I know. It goes on commuting, work, household chores and all those wasted hours spent sleeping. And not enough on that creative hobby you've been neglecting for too long, despite how much satisfaction it gives.
So, pick up a paintbrush or a mic or a knitting needle or whatever floats your boat and share what you're doing online with #bbcgetcreative. Encourage friends and talent to do the same. And if you're looking for something new, BBC Get Creative is a perfect one-stop shop to discover both our own and partners' creativity schemes and events.
Jonty Claypole is Director, BBC Arts
- Read more blogs by Jonty Claypole
- See also Introducing BBC Get Creative
- For inspiration on creative projects, visit the BBC Get Creative website
