Una reflexión poética de expatriada y turista en casa, sobre la necesidad de hacer y reinventar nuestras ciudades durante este 2020 pandémico Cómo empezar de nuevo cuando lo único que puedes hacer es continuar… En tiempos de pandemia, querer recuperar como propia una ciudad en la que te has vuelto turista a medias, es un…
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…
So pleased to feature in the latest issue of #TheSecularHeretic with an article on ‘Art and Decadence’ discussing cycles of #cityRenaissance, #regeneration & #gentrification with an emphasis on the often ungenerous impact of such processes on artists
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…
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.…
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 am in Rio throughout the Olympic Games, as I have done since 1999 across eight Olympic cities (nine if I include the memories of my hometown, Barcelona in 1992). I’ll be documenting and reporting on the Olympic cultural programme or Cultural Olympiad. Highlights so far: The first IOC funded Artist in Residence programme, featuring…
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…
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…
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…