I am pleased to have featured in #France24 Culture / @encoref24 programme dedicated to discussing the impact of Brexit on the UK’s arts world. I spoke of the value for the UK of hosting the UE European Capital of Culture twice and of the legacies #Glasgow1990 and #Liverpool2008 generated not just for their cities and…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
I am in Rio this week presenting the results of our one year UK-Brazil research collaboration to explore the immediate legacy of hosting the Rio 2016 Games on the reputations of Rio and Brazil as cultural and creative centres. We have received much media interest in Brazil around our core finding: that the most dominant…
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…
I have just published this academic paper within the Urban Studies Journal. You can access it here Abstract This paper looks into the European Capital of Culture (ECoC) programme as a leading example of culture-led regeneration intervention aimed at renewing or diversifying the economic base and positioning of host cities. One of the key claims…
We need to acknowledge both the black AND the white (plus some grey, also) As academics, we have no choice but to jump onto the sound bite bandwagon if we want to remain relevant in the era of the 140 character statement. Punchy headlines and short articles (“800 words max, please”) have become important vehicles for…
I have been appointed by the British Council to direct a research project on the impact that the Shakespeare Lives programme has on perceptions of Britain. I will lead a team within the Institute of Cultural Capital to conduct this work throughout 2016. We will work closely with three different areas of the world as core case studies:…
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…
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 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…
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…
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…
I am in Helsinki presenting the paper ‘The cultural value of event-led city regeneration. What makes a European Capital of Culture sustainable’ . My presentation is part of the international symposium Culture(s) in Sustainable Futures: Theories, Policies, Practices, organised by the University of Jyväskylä as part of a COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) research programme. Find my…
Exploring the contribution of World Heritage Site (WHS) status to a city’s future development In 2012, the Institute of Cultural Capital embarked on a year-long assessment of Liverpool’s status as a World Heritage Site. This work emerged in the context of the threat and eventual decision by UNESCO to place the Liverpool WHS on the ‘List of World…