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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Urban Myths? Transforming narratives of place via the media representation of one-off international cultural events Paper presented at: Mediated City – Los Angeles Hosting a major one-off cultural event has become a key aspiration of cities attempting to renew or change their local economic base and position themselves as world, international or national cultural centres.…
From the 1st to the 3rd September I contributed to the second ‘Future of Places’ global conference, hosted in Buenos Aires by the Ax:On Johnson Foundation with support from UN-Habitat. The focus of the conference was debating the role of the streets as public spaces and drivers of urban prosperity. I presented a paper titled: Media Event…
I presented the paper: European Capitals of Culture as a platform for artists to shape and change institutions within the panel dedicated to debate ‘Artists as promoters of cultural and social change in our cities. In the debate I was joined by David Trueba, journalist and film director; Vito Acconci, artist and architect; Jochen Sandig, Artistic Director…
I was pleased to provide an overview of my research on the European Capital of Culture Programme at the 3rd EU Culture Forum, which attracted 1,200 delegates. In my paper, I reflected on the main findings of the study I have conducted for the European Parliament on the vision, success strategies, immediate impacts and long-term…
2011, Jan 28-29, Birkbeck University, London Conference: LEARNING FROM BARCELONA: ART, REAL ESTATE AND THE PRE-OLYMPIC CITY This two-day workshop brought together for the first time academics, social activists and artists from Barcelona and London to discuss, through position papers and the showing of participants’ artistic and cultural production, how the Olympic Games in each…
2010, Dec 15: IOC Lausanne. #media2012: Citizen media as a platform for cultural representation at the Olympic Games Paper presented at the Olympic headquarters in Lausanne in my role as member of the IOC Postgraduate Grant Selection Committee. The presentation outlines ongoing plans around London 2012 to build a community of citizen journalists who will…
Contribution to panel within the #media 2012 conference at the Abandon Normal Devices festival in Manchester Panel Debate: Journalism, Sport & Culture: Integrated visions? What do the 2012 Games cultures of sport, cultural expression and media have in common? Is there scope to develop a common vision that promotes a wider contribution to the civic…