New look

As one of the fastest-growing places in the UK, Milton Keynes is a city defined by size, not Royal appointment. Created in 1967 as a vision of urban utopia, it is regularly the butt of roundabout and concrete cow jokes, yet it is loved and proudly defended by those who live and work here. As the population continues to grow (it’s expected to be over 280,000 by 2020), a new generation of leaders has taken up the challenge of developing its infrastructure and culture to meet the anticipated growth.

One of the leading visionaries in the past decade has been Pete Winkleman, Chairman of the MK Dons, who found a struggling football club, brought it to Milton Keynes, built a 30,000 capacity stadium and got Milton Keynes into the final 14 cities of England’s World Cup bid. He didn’t do it alone, but he sold Milton Keynes a vision and the city embraced it, working together to deliver something so ambitious that it took the UK and the world by surprise. So why not create an International Festival with equal ambition and chutzpah, I thought…there is an appetite to build an internationally recognised city here and whilst it’s not going to happen overnight, it needs people with courage to champion it. As Chief Executive of The Stables, an established music venue in a rural setting just outside central Milton Keynes, I’d always wanted to extend our reach into the city centre and the festival concept seemed to offer the ideal platform.

One of Pete Winkleman’s strongest advocates was Dr Ann Limb OBE, then Chair of Milton Keynes Partnership and charged with leading the strategic growth of the city. I sat next to her one day at a meeting of arts and heritage leaders where she talked about her vision for Milton Keynes and her ten-point plan. She got to nine and hesitated on the tenth so I suggested an International Festival and she said, “why not!” And it was Ann who went on to champion the Festival with politicians, businesses and in the local media, unlocking funding partnerships and supporting the vision. She is now Chair of The Stables Events Ltd – the subsidiary board The Stables established to produce the Festival – as well as chairing the tourism body Destination Milton Keynes and the South East Midlands Enterprise Partnership.

So with the support of The Stables’ Board (who showed tremendous trust in me and the new Festival Team), and with political and community buy-in for the Festival’s vision we worked up a partnership which delivered a £1.8m Festival within 18 months of Arts Council England confirming its initial investment of £462,000. It was an idea that saw me taking The Stables well outside its comfort zone, reaching out to new audiences with extraordinary events in unexpected places and spaces. With the help of Creative Producer, Bill Gee, we were bold with the programme, challenging ourselves and the city with questions, logistical puzzles and fundraising targets.

At every step of the way there was a ‘What IF?’ moment which led us to new partnerships and eventually IF: Milton Keynes International Festival was born. We brought the world’s only square carousel The Magical Menagerie by La Machine with the help of Artichoke and SkyArts. We commissioned a sound art installation for a disused supermarket called Asleep At The Wheel by sonic artist Janek Schaefer challenging the sustainability of the car in a place which virtually demands you drive. Unbelievably nearly 8,000 people came to see Janek’s work. We presented ten days of events, with an audience reach in excess of 90,000 and over 77% of the tickets purchased by new customers for The Stables. It generated £4.5m for the local economy and received overwhelming public and critical acclaim.

Some 93% of people said it had changed their perception of Milton Keynes: “It has influenced our decision to move to Milton Keynes”… “You sneered at me when I moved to Milton Keynes, but here I am with the Magical Menagerie.” Also very satisfying was the reaction of David Hill, Chief Executive, Milton Keynes Council: “You have demonstrated how Milton Keynes can host a programme of International events and how by being ambitious, we can achieve! Through IF, the Milton Keynes community has been able both to celebrate and to demonstrate its strong cultural identity and can-do spirit. The legacy from all your efforts will undoubtedly be long-lived.” And when a feature in The Times leads with the headline ‘It’s famed for car parks and concrete cows but Richard Morrison finds a town on the cutting-edge of art and music’ the day after your new Festival launches, you smile broadly and, for just one second, allow yourself to say, “the endless days and sleepless nights might have been worth it!”

Having said at various points in the build up to 2010 “Never again!”, I found myself strangely compelled by the response and here I am, despite the financial crisis, with a strong partnership in place, in the thick of final preparations for IF: 2012 . . . ten amazing days. Please join us!