Following two years of conversation, desk research and input from a very wide group of stakeholders, Surprising Surrey, a cultural strategy for Surrey was launched in January 2024. The document lays out a set of ambitions alongside a clear partnership delivery plan.  

The strategy is a response to a shared desire to nurture and champion Surrey as a vibrant, creative set of communities, each with fascinating (and often very surprising) histories and untold stories.

Through the development and publication of a ten-year strategy with the ambition that ‘by 2034 Surrey will be recognised as a confident, vibrant county that celebrates its rich cultural heritage and the creativity that shapes individual and community prosperity’ one of the three strategic ambitions of the partnership has been achieved.  
In 2024 our focus turned to the other two strategic objectives: to strengthen the county's creative ecology and to attract new investment. 

Alongside continuing to meet regularly to share news, encourage one another and to make plans, in 2024 we launched our Cultural Leaders’ Network, to support cultural leaders and to develop future leaders. We also introduced monthly Breakfast Networking events, which take place in cultural spaces across the county and which are open to all. These events have resulted in further meetings and collaborations which, in turn, are helping to develop the creative ecology. 

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In January 2025 we will hold our third annual conference for Surrey’s cultural sector, where speakers including Zoe Franklin MP, Member of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee and Stuart McLeod, Director, England - London & South, The National Lottery Heritage Fund will address over 100 cultural colleagues. Previous speakers at Surrey Cultural Forum include Sir Vernon Ellis, Chair, New Philanthropy for Arts & Culture; Professor Roni Brown, South East Chair, Arts Council England & Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of the Arts London and Selina Papa, Head of Engagement, National Lottery Heritage Fund, London & South.

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And we will also announce a major step forward in attracting new investment for culture and heritage in Surrey.

Surprising Surrey sets out an expansive, inclusive and ambitious vision for the county and we know that to achieve this, we need to involve everyone, encourage new makers and audiences and continue to attract new investment to support cultural activity. Surrey is full of creative ambition with communities and individuals expressing who they are in all sorts of ways. Culture, in all its forms, breathes life into our towns, cities and countryside, creating places where people want to live and invest, supporting social cohesion, generating community identity and a sense of place. 

Surprising Surrey is about championing what is already happening, recognising that the county has much to celebrate whilst acknowledging that, despite its reputation for affluence and privilege, there are areas of deprivation, marginalisation, disenfranchisement, and disconnection which need addressing. We also recognise that there are many as yet, unseen, unheard and unnoticed stories that we need to bring to the fore, so we tell a more complete story of our beautiful county. There are surprises waiting to be discovered!

This strategy belongs to us all, it is a response to those needs to promote, encourage and expand the arts and culture across every part of Surrey. In every street, village, town and city access, inclusion, participation, and sustainability need to shape our strategy and actions. We intend that every person from every community can find pride in themselves and their town or village. 

Marilyn Scott and Karl Newman
Co-chairs, Surrey Cultural Partnership