Category: Cultural Policy

European Capitals of Culture: European dimension in cultural cooperations

On the 15 November 2023 I am at the European Parliament moderating a debate with political representatives from the three 2024 European Capitals of Culture in Austria, Norway and Estonia. #Salzkammergut2024, #Bodø2024 and #Tartu2024 have all launched their programmes for their year and have achieved unprecedented levels of tripartite collaboration to date. From hosting jointly…

What Future for Festivals? Report

Final report of the Salzburg Global Seminar I co-curated in 2020, asking the question ‘What future for Festivals?’ The seminar involved weeks of intense discussion with festivals leaders and scholars from around the world. It was an intense and tough process as this event was supposed to take place in Salzburg in March of 2020,…

Gender Balance in the Cultural and Creative Sectors

I acted as Expert curator for this important discussion back in 2019, part of Voices of Culture, the Structured Dialogue between the European Commission and the Culture Sector. We involved a wide range of participants, representing 36 organisations across the EU. Why is gender balance important? Several gender gaps exist in nearly all cultural fields…

EU Heritage Impact Assessment

Pleased to have been appointed Advisory Board member for the EU-H2020 Social Platform for Heritage Impact Assessment (SoPHIA) @sophia_heritage I’ll be advising on the development of a holistic framework for the capture of the symbolic, cultural, physical, social, and economic value of Heritage interventions across Europe. I will make special emphasis on the importance of…

Culture Summitt UCLG

Some pictures from the third UCLG #cultureSummit , hosted in Buenos Aires. The summit has become the largest global gathering of cities and local governments for the purpose of discussing culture as a motor for #sustainabledevelopment. I led a discussion on definitions of data and research frameworks in order to capture meaningful evidence in cities. I referred to…

Impacts 18 Symposium Highlights

Find below highlights from our 10 year anniversary symposium, launching Impacts 08 ~ 18 | #Impacts18, the major research programme I have directed since 2006 on the impacts and long term legacy of hosting a European Capital of Culture. The Symposium opened a global conversation about the value of being a ‘‘#cityofculture’ after 30 years of…

Essay | No one-size-fits-all models of success

When it comes to culture-led regeneration, there are no one-size-fits-all models of success   Today, culture-led regeneration is either an aspiration or established achievement of countless cities worldwide. From Glasgow to Liverpool, from Barcelona to Bilbao, from Lille to Marseilles, and from Baltimore to Detroit, cities are looking for – and finding – ways to transform…

International Symposium | Cities of Culture, 30 years on

Culture Liverpool and the Institute of Cultural Capital have partnered with the British Council, and the CreArt European Network to host #Impacts18, a two-day International Symposium which will take place 18-19 October. This global conversation will see cultural heavyweights from across the world join in Liverpool to discuss culture as a catalyst for urban change.…

Project | British Council and UK Cities of Culture

Commissioned by the British Council, this project explores the relationship between the British Council and the UK City of Culture (UKCC) programme, focusing on interrogating the added value provided by the British Council, as event partner focused on building international cultural relations for the UK. Drawing on a review of policy and strategy documents, as well as interviews with…

Pyeongchang 2018 | Culture Diary

Two days into the Winter Olympic Games, my Cultural Olympiad hightlights are as follows: Dual cultural programming: Cultural Olympiad / Culture 2018 Plus Dedicated transport: Cultural Olympiad Shuttle Dedicated colours: Hot pink branding for culture Korean fun: K-Pop Festa Art + Sport links at Games info points   Cultural Olympiad / Culture 2018 Plus Cultural…

FIELDWORK | Pyeongchang 2018 Cultural Olympiad

I am on my way to my eleventh Olympic Games edition, this time in Pyeongchang, South Korea. I will be observing the staging of the Cultural Olympiad and reporting on the Games cultural dimension as an IOC-accredited journalist, based at the Main Press Centre. The focus of my observations will be the official cultural programme,…

Comment| Valletta 2018 opening weekend

‎ Valletta 2018 launches its year with Erba ‘ Pjajez, “Four squares” involving multiple repeating shows throughout the city, a good concept to ensure as many local citizens & visitors as possible experience the opening party of their European Capital of Culture It is Important for locals too that all events were in Maltese rather…

Impacts 18 | Legacies of Liverpool as #ECoC

Impacts’18 is a longitudinal research programme dedicated to capturing the long-term effects of hosting the European Capital of Culture title on the city of Liverpool. Using the data baseline and methodological framework established by Impacts 08  — a five-year study on the economic, environmental, social and cultural impacts of Liverpool 2008  — Impacts 18 offers a…

PROJECT | Brands, Myths, Stories post Rio 2016

Reimaging Brazilian cities | Urban images and cultural narratives in the wake of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games The British Academy has allocated a Newton Fund grant for a year-long project collaboration between Dr Beatriz Garcia and a team of researchers at the University of Sao Paulo, led by Professor Paulo Nassar. The project assesses…