Art is essentially Individual in Fact “Individuality” Makes the Artist!

Well.... I think in my area of work I'd like to see more financial support for open workshops/studio gallery places, where visitors can see stuff been made also offering have a go workshops/working along side artists; Art learning an'working holidays, B&B's, Hotels and the Arts/Artists could work togther.. A scheme like this would benefit everyone, I bet you'd see an increes in sales of made and bought in Cumbria at these type of outlets.

Not sure I agree about the zoo analogy. I think animals are best seen in the wild, but I'm not keen on open studios. I think there probably is an art scene in Cumbria - or rather art scenes. Each one is limited by its own shared grounds of interest. some would argue the Penrith Art Club is an art scene of sorts. I think the idea of a Hoxton-type bo-ho thing going down across the country is probably not going to happen. The geography is way too big and the population too small. I think the N, S & Cockermouth Hubs are probably the closest thing. There may only be a handful of core members in each, but that's still proportionally more than in London's trendier places. This forum malarkey is another indicator - there are allegedly hundreds of artists signed up for this website, but only 5 or six are actively using the discussion facilities (and I'm guessing that there are more than a couple of repeat aliases there to make it look livelier..).
I think the other questions are more interesting. Where does all the Culture money in Cumbria go? Mostly to the same old places - certainly not to new or relatively new ventures (Although this Network seems to do alright out of it so don't grumble). However, more importantly, why doesn't Cumbria invest in culture like the rest of the UK? Ten years of under-investment has left it years behind anywhere else, and not able to attract the real proactive and engaging people to deliver anything exciting.
Cumbria is also spectacularly good at not getting its shit together. What few groups and people are about trying to do stuff, just can't get on in a sensible way with each other. there is a perennial problem of Empire Building which sees groups more concerned with doing their own thing, than actively working alongside each other to build a more sustainable future for culture. The result is that the county and other partners employ pen pushers to set up artificial partnerships in an attempt to make it look as though everyone is together. It's all an elaborate illusion.
Cumbria can be a lively and engaging artistic place to live and work, but it will take leadership from someone with drive and passion - and a good business head to make it happen. As yet the vacancy is still unfilled.
the other solution is to encourage the next generation of artists to get more vocal and replace the old guard - is that the revolution model you are thinking of? The problem with that is how to avoid replacing one clique with another. I personally sign up to the anarchy model, and a new monthly mag free from all the old baggage is a step in the right direction. I'd subscribe.

ok, lets do anarchy! I propose a change of residency policy, a radical rethinking of how artists engage with residency opportunities. Basically, its time we (artists) found our own residencies in places where we want/need to work. And when I say work I mean work: in a factory, a shoe shop, a laundrette, macdonalds etc. Wouldn't it be a weight of all our shoulders if we just got regular jobs and called them residencies. We could then make work relating to our job or whatever we wanted to, without the need to comply with some governing force (apart from clocking-in of course).
How many artists feel so disenfranchised from the 'artworld' that they would actually consider spending next summer finding their own residency. Is the new proverb going to be: the only way to break free from an 'ace wank', is to do it yourself?
Maybe this could be a project for 2008, the question is, do we need external funding to make it happen?