I wake up to the not totally surprising but still mystifying news of a Brexit. My first thought is: research on Europe is more needed than ever, now. Can the UK have it both ways, protecting the best out of its relationship with European institutions, while abandoning the common EU project? I wonder about…
On the day the United Kingdom decides whether to remain in or leave the EU, I share my personal take on the value of this relationship. This is a personal reflection informed by 16 years researching urban change and documenting the journeys of cities trying to rebuild their economic base while protecting their social fabric and advancing their cultural outlook.…
On 21 June I am speaking at Common Ground, a day event for AHRC Commons members aimed at: “enabling ideas and skills to be exchanged, new collaborations to be forged, networks to be enriched, knowledge to be produced, and the value of the arts and humanities to be expressed, discussed, and celebrated” I will make…
On 14 June 2016, I am speaking on the implications of devolution, rebalancing and the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ for the arts and cultural ecologies of the north of England. The Art of Devolution: Culture and the North aims to provide a space for civic, cultural and academic partners to discuss plans and ambitions for arts and culture in times…
I am in Montreal on 25 and 26 May to discuss the value and impact of large scale cultural events. My contribution takes place during the launch of the Montreal ArtsGames 2018, a new event edition, focused on bringing artists from around the world to present their traditions as well as explore ways of fusing and reconnecting…
On the 17th and 18th of May 2016 I have contributed to the Regional Seminar for Latin America and the Caribbean that is organised yearly by the Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development of the European Union. The seminar has brought together Heads of EU Delegations and key staff to discuss challenges and perspectives for EU development…
I have interrogated cities and event-led cultural policy-making since 1999. I started by revisiting the cultural legacy of the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games to inform my work on the Sydney 2000 Olympic Arts Festivals. This was followed by research on the legacy of Glasgow 1990 as European Capital of Culture; the experience of Cultureshock – cultural programme for…
The European Commission and Iberoamerican General Secretariat have invited me to contribute to ‘Urban Culture for Social Inclusion in Latinoamérica’, an international seminar hosted in Brussels, on the 21 April 2016. This will open the doors to important discussions and knowledge exchange between European city experiences and Latino American cities. * La Comisión Europea y la…
The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) supports ICC research programme on the ten year legacy of Liverpool as European Capital of Culture The Institute of Cultural Capital has been allocated funding from the AHRC Cultural Engagement Fund to kick-start an exciting new programme of research on the ten year legacy of Liverpool as European Capital…
After 15 years observing, analysing and offering a critique of the International Olympic Committee Culture and Education Commission, I am now formally part of this highly select group. The Commission has just been revamped to focus on Culture and Olympic Heritage, with an emphasis on the role the arts, culture and creativity can play…
On my way to Sao Paulo to share insights regarging the most powerful cultural legacies of previous Olympic and Paralympic Games. I will present a keynote at the Fórum permanente de gestão do conhecimento, comunicação e memória, a Forum dedicated to discussing the connections between knowledge, communication and memory in order to explore how stories can transform businesses…
Back in 2006, at the inaugural conference for a new UK Cultural Policy & Management Network, I joined Sara Selwood and other cultural policy researchers to discuss the state of cultural policy as an academic discipline. We were keen to consider our options to be appropriately appraised within the UK universities Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2008)…
On the 23rd September I am speaking at Sharing Cultures 2015 – the Fourth International Conference on Intangible Heritage. My paper discusses findings from my research on the impacts of the Liverpool World Heritage Site on city narratives and ambitions. The paper challenges the false perception that there is an irreconciliable tension between urban development and heritage protection. The project: In…
Find below my contribution to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) ‘Knowledge Exchange 2015‘, an excellent forum dedicated to discussing ways of debating, evidencing and pushing forward the societal values of Public Service Media across Europe. The event attacted 100 participants from 32 countries, representing 31 different broadcasters. I spoke on the importance of capturing cultural…
On August 5th 2015, Rio marked its final year to go to the opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games. The Cultural Olympiad team was in charge of staging the day’s official ceremony, offering a careful mix of contemporary (Olympic) and vintage imagery about the city. Access below the visual reportage I developed on the main…
I am in Brazil during the first week in August 2015 to meet with key figures behind Rio’s 2016 Olympic Games preparations, as part of my assessment of the event’s cultural legacy. With one year to go until the opening ceremony, I am meeting with Carla Camurati, Director of the Rio 2016 Cultural Olympiad; the Secretary of…
I have spent a day in Hull, discussing regeneration opportunities, the challenges of event-driven urban strategies and the many ways in which local people can define success after hosting the UK City of Culture title. We talked & rebated numbers, anecdotes, expectations met, surprises and disappointments in many other cities that have previously undergone a…
Presentation at AIMAC 2015 (Aix-en-Provence & Marseille) My paper abstract, below: Ever since the widespread acceptance that the arts can have economic value, artistic interventions have been commonly interrogated through an economic and, often, purely instrumental lens. Economic or – at most – socioeconomic effect narratives and associated methodologies to capture such effects have…
The Royal Society of Arts has invited me to speak at their 2015 Engage Series: RSA Connect: Hull, 14 July 2015 This event aims to explore alternative approaches to regeneration through people, culture and enterprise. I will be a facilitator, together with Lia Ghilardi, and will share examples of how we can harness the power of the…
I have been invited by the University of Chicago’s Cultural Policy Center to join an international research gathering at the university’s Paris campus. The event is a select convening of about 25 researchers, practitioners and policymakers around the theme of urban cultural placemaking. It has been organised as part of the Center’s efforts to develop a more international and…