I am proud to announce the publication of the #Paris2024 #CulturalOlympiad evaluation. You can find it in English here or in French here It has been an epic task to complete this work, assessing 2,596 officially labelled cultural projects, just a month after the end of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It is too soon…
Days after the launch of the Paris 2024 Cultural Olympiad, I have been listening to podcasts on Seoul as a new global art centre and been reminded of the arts offer at the #PyeongChang2018 Winter Olympic Games. This South Korean #CulturalOlympiad was surprising in its diversity, creativity and high quality, ranging from K-Pop concerts to…
Article written for the Arts and Humanities Research Council After a year of on-and-off global lockdowns the need to gather and experience collective joy feels more urgent and pressing than ever. Festivals and outdoor cultural experiences offer us the chance to connect and feel part of a community in positive and inspiring ways. In this…
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,…
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…
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games have been postponed. It is only the fourth time this happens in 125 years, the only three previous occasions being due to World War I and World War II. The time it has taken for the International Olympic Committee to make such decision is indicative of the weight…
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
Tokyo’s Cultural Olympiad: youth, heritage, empowerment and nationwide celebration Article published by Net TAM (Toyota Art Management) In English | In Japanese The Cultural Olympiad has been an essential component of every edition of the Olympic Games since 1912. Despite its long history, the Olympic cultural programme is one of the least well known dimensions…
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…
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 contributed to the ‘Llibre Blanc de la Cultura a Terrassa’ (White Book on Culture in Terrassa), published by the local authority (Ajuntament de Terrassa) in March 2015. My paper focuses on a discussion about what makes a ‘capital of culture’ and, more broadly, the range of ways in which cities can express and…
On the 14 & 15 May I am contributing to “The Global City: Past and Present“, as part of an AHRC international research network that interrogates the city and its varied international projections & representations from a historical as well as contemporary perspective. I will present a paper focused on the varied cultural representations of…
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…
Find here access to a completely re-designed version of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad Evaluation Summary, including a more accessible and visually attractive overview of key statistics and related qualitative findings. You can also download a PDF version here. Check the Full Report and related Appendices in the dedicated London 2012 Cultural Olympiad Evaluation Project…
Full reference: Garcia, B. (2014) ‘The Olympic Games Cultural Narrative: Ceremonies, Cultural Olympiads and Look of the Games as platforms to project the host city and nation”, Russian International Olympic University Herald, 2014(1), pp. 112-120. The Olympic Games is recognized worldwide as the largest sports mega-event – certainly the event attracting the largest amount of…
This study, conducted over a period of seven months in 2013, is a response to the European Parliament 2012 call for a comprehensive assessment of the long-term effects of hosting the European Capital of Culture (ECoC) Programme, and the potential organisational and policy implications of these findings. The main aim of the study is to examine and interrogate…
The Russian Olympic University press has just published a translation of my and Prof Andy Miah’s book, The Olympics: The Basics into Russian.
In November 2011, the major stakeholders in the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival commissioned Beatriz Garcia at the Institute of Cultural Capital (ICC) to produce an assessment of the multiple impacts of hosting the Cultural Olympiad. The final report has been published in April 2013. Download the ExecutiveSummary or the Full Report. The ICC…
Published in September 2012, issue 257 (http://artsprofessional.co.uk/Magazine/view.cfm?id=6460&issue=257) Full article below A cultural blueprint Beatriz Garcia reflects on the Cultural Olympiad and the learning that can be passed on to Games hosts of the future. The London 2012 Games mark precisely 100 years since the first official commitment to presenting cultural and artistic activity…