tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/city-of-culture-42344/articles
City of Culture – The Conversation
2023-05-10T09:35:27Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/202911
2023-05-10T09:35:27Z
2023-05-10T09:35:27Z
‘Leeds 2023’: can investment in culture improve a city’s health? Yes, but more ambition is needed
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521627/original/file-20230418-18-5gxjql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5431%2C3596&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The city of Leeds under a rainbow. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/RprQpxsVFNI">Lison Zhao/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>With an ageing population, NHS England waiting lists are shockingly high. Amid a national mental health crisis, it makes sense to look for creative solutions. </p>
<p>There is a growing interest in the value of arts and culture in supporting health and wellbeing. For example, the government’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/29-million-know-your-neighbourhood-fund-confirmed">Know Your Neighbourhood Fund</a>, aimed at tackling loneliness, has earmarked £5 million to expand arts, culture and heritage activities across 27 target areas.</p>
<p>At the <a href="https://www.culturalvalue.org.uk/">Centre for Cultural Value</a>, we have spent the past two years <a href="https://www.culturehive.co.uk/CVIresources/culture-health-and-wellbeing/">exploring research</a> to learn about the impact of culture on health and wellbeing. The evidence in this area has grown significantly over the past ten years. For example, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17533015.2017.1370718#:%7E:text=A%20thematic%20synthesis%20revealed%20four,Immersion%20%E2%80%9Cin%20the%20moment%E2%80%9D.">studies show</a> the positive benefits of music for people living with dementia. </p>
<p>Research also highlights the role of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17533015.2017.1334002">social prescribing through the arts</a> in supporting those with mental health challenges and the value of being creative in our everyday lives (<a href="https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/ctra-2022-0012">including during COVID lockdowns</a>).</p>
<p>Yet our deep dive has also highlighted the many things we still don’t know about culture’s role and potential in creating a happier, healthier society.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521629/original/file-20230418-24-2xc040.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Leeds's popular market pictured in the sunshine." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521629/original/file-20230418-24-2xc040.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521629/original/file-20230418-24-2xc040.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521629/original/file-20230418-24-2xc040.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521629/original/file-20230418-24-2xc040.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521629/original/file-20230418-24-2xc040.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521629/original/file-20230418-24-2xc040.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521629/original/file-20230418-24-2xc040.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Leeds indoor market is a popular visitor attraction.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/ey468RPxefA">Korng Sok/Unsplash</a></span>
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<p>Researcher understanding to date has been partly limited by the short-term nature of many studies. This is particularly evident in social prescribing, where the small number of follow-up studies make it difficult to identify long-term impacts for increasing wellbeing or, for example, reducing GP visits.</p>
<p>The struggle of evaluation is exacerbated by the fact that health and wellbeing programmes are often funded on a project-to-project basis.</p>
<p>Another challenge is that there are several invested parties – the cultural sector, the health sector, people with mental health challenges and local authorities, to name a few. </p>
<p>Each has different perspectives on what constitutes “good” methods and evidence. This has resulted in an apparent postcode lottery for what does and doesn’t get commissioned by the NHS.</p>
<h2>Scaling understanding</h2>
<p>While working with the innovative orchestra, <a href="https://manchestercamerata.co.uk/">Manchester Camerata</a>, I had experienced how music can provide poignant moments of play and creativity for people living with the challenges associated with dementia. </p>
<p>I had also seen how young children and their families can experience wonder and joy when engaging with museums while working with <a href="https://twitter.com/CliftonParkMus/status/1578340293002559494">Rotherham Museums and Archives</a>.</p>
<p>But I still had questions about how we understand these “in the moment” experiences – which can be fleeting yet profound – and how to draw out broader lessons from complex, personal events so that governments can roll out and scale up successful interventions.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8DyX4hf2_qg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Advertisment for LEEDS 2023.</span></figcaption>
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<p>One answer lies in developing a better understanding over a longer term. Another is for researchers to use innovative methods, giving space for statistical data and trend analysis alongside the experiences of a diverse range of participants. </p>
<p>This type of research is emerging through groups such as the <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/epidemiology-health-care/research/behavioural-science-and-health/research/social-biobehavioural-research-group">Social Biobehavioural Research group</a> at University College London and the <a href="https://www.culturehealthandwellbeing.org.uk/who-we-are/lens">Lived Experience Network</a>.</p>
<p>These considerations will inform our research work for <a href="https://leeds2023.co.uk/">LEEDS 2023</a> – a year-long cultural programme undertaken by the city when Brexit derailed its bid to become the European Capital of Culture. The programme launched amid a cost of living crisis, leading to questions about whether this was the right time to dedicate resources to a large cultural event.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521631/original/file-20230418-28-5n1164.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Shops inside the round Leeds Corn Exchange building" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521631/original/file-20230418-28-5n1164.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521631/original/file-20230418-28-5n1164.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521631/original/file-20230418-28-5n1164.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521631/original/file-20230418-28-5n1164.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521631/original/file-20230418-28-5n1164.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521631/original/file-20230418-28-5n1164.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521631/original/file-20230418-28-5n1164.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Inside the Leeds Corn Exchange.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/IHyfqdRpxd8">Korng Sok/Unsplash</a></span>
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<p>More answers will emerge through our economic analysis of the programme. <a href="https://www.oecd.org/cfe/leed/OECD-G20-Culture-July-2021.pdf">Previous studies show</a> that the creative and cultural sectors can be powerful drivers of innovation, job creation and economic growth. Although the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-64797580">Coventry City of Culture Trust going into administration</a> shows this is not always a straightforward process.</p>
<p>However, alongside our partners at <a href="https://www.theaudienceagency.org/">The Audience Agency</a>, we will focus on drawing out arguably the more difficult-to-quantify social impacts. </p>
<p>Building on the evaluation of other cities of culture programmes, including <a href="https://coventry2021.co.uk/about/monitoring-and-evaluation/">Coventry 2021</a> and <a href="https://www.hull.ac.uk/work-with-us/research/institutes/culture-place-and-policy-institute/cultural-transformations/preliminary-outcomes-evaluation">Hull 2017</a>, we plan to gather robust, people-centred data on health and wellbeing, which can be used to inform future large-scale cultural programmes, such as <a href="https://bradford2025.co.uk/">Bradford 2025</a>.</p>
<h2>Capturing complexity: the next steps</h2>
<p>Capturing and conveying the nuanced value of culture in health and wellbeing is complex, but not impossible. Our work shows that it needs a more ambitious, joined-up and long-term approach.</p>
<p>This partly means shifting away from short-term funding models, where small pots of money are available for time-limited projects. Instead, there needs to be more investment in both long-term programmes and rigorous mixed methods research. This will mean researchers can learn from successes and failures and continue to build a robust evidence base.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A yellow water taxi boat on the Leeds canal." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521630/original/file-20230418-20-dsvzqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521630/original/file-20230418-20-dsvzqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521630/original/file-20230418-20-dsvzqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521630/original/file-20230418-20-dsvzqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521630/original/file-20230418-20-dsvzqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521630/original/file-20230418-20-dsvzqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521630/original/file-20230418-20-dsvzqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A water taxi on Leeds’s River Aire.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/MgpnLIOcXQM">Tim Lumley/Unsplash</a></span>
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<p>To ensure future policies and funding are grounded in reality, funders, policymakers and researchers must also be mindful of the context (for example, the cost of living crisis) and recognise the knowledge and expertise held on the ground. The voices of cultural organisations, creative practitioners and people with health and wellbeing challenges must all be heard.</p>
<p>Faced with a strained healthcare service and limited resources, making the case for investing in culture and research can be difficult. Yet we must now be more ambitious and rigorous precisely because we need to find out more about which types of programmes – in which contexts – have the most to offer.</p>
<p>After all, arts and culture have enormous potential to complement traditional medical treatments and could even, in some cases, provide a safer and more cost-effective <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/nhs-plan-gps-help-millions-stop-using-antidepressants-painkillers-728xzsqwc">alternative to prescription drugs</a>. They can also provide powerful moments of joy, connection and wonder – at a time when people need them most.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202911/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robyn Dowlen receives funding from the National Institute for Health Research (School for Social Care Research) and the Economic and Social Research Council. Robyn is part of the team at the Centre for Cultural Value who are evaluating the Leeds 2023 year of culture. </span></em></p>
At the Centre for Cultural Value, we have spent the past two years exploring research to learn about the impact of culture on health and wellbeing.
Robyn Dowlen, Research Associate, Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, University of Manchester
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/88115
2017-11-26T12:10:08Z
2017-11-26T12:10:08Z
Why Brexit should not stop UK cities from competing for European Capital of Culture
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196367/original/file-20171125-21858-1nf9rj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The news that UK cities <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-42097692">are now barred from bidding</a> to be European Capital of Culture 2023 has taken the nation by storm. <a href="https://g8fip1kplyr33r3krz5b97d1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/SPOLITICO-171123124911.png">The ruling</a> by the European Commission, which cited Brexit as its main reason, came just days before five UK candidates – Belfast, Dundee, Leeds, Milton Keynes and Nottingham – were due to present their bids to the selection panel. The timing is unfortunate, and <a href="http://iccliverpool.ac.uk/european-capital-of-culture-selection-process-discontinued-for-uk-candidate-cities/">responses of outrage and disappointment</a> from the bidding cities – and the British public at large – were only to be expected.</p>
<p>I am one of the experts appointed to the selection panel – and an academic expert on the long-term legacy of holding the title of European Capital of Culture (ECOC). I have been documenting the experience of ECOC cities since 2002, starting with the <a href="http://www.beatrizgarcia.net/projects-newer/2005-cities-and-culture/">ten-year legacy of Glasgow 1990</a>, and then moving on to Liverpool 2008, a city whose ECOC journey I have researched from 2003 into its <a href="http://www.beatrizgarcia.net/projects-newer/impacts18-ecoc-legacies-10-years-on/">10-year anniversary</a> next year. </p>
<p>My work has taken me to cities, large and small, throughout Europe. I have documented the first <a href="http://iccliverpool.ac.uk/?research=european-capitals-of-culture-longer-term-effects">30 years of the programme</a>, identifying the factors for success – as well as the most common challenges – for over 60 cities in more than 30 countries, since 1985.</p>
<h2>A proud history</h2>
<p>The UK has held two ECOC titles – both of which are <a href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/etudes/join/2013/513985/IPOL-CULT_ET%282013%29513985_EN.pdf">widely thought of</a> as among the most successful in the history of the initiative. Glasgow 1990 pioneered approaches to culture-led regeneration and in doing so proved that a post-industrial city with a reputation for knife crime, poverty and poor health could <a href="http://www.academia.edu/2254092/Deconstructing_the_city_of_culture_The_long-term_cultural_legacies_of_Glasgow_1990">transform its image</a> and become renowned as Scotland’s leading <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-22116672">creative hub</a>. </p>
<p>Almost 20 years later, Liverpool 2008 demonstrated that – at a time when nearly every other UK city declared itself a “creative city” with a “cultural regeneration” agenda – it was still possible to do something distinctive. Liverpool underwent a profound <a href="https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/impacts08/pdf/pdf/Creating_an_Impact_-_web.pdf">urban renaissance</a>, notably through revamping its <a href="https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/impacts08/pdf/pdf/Media_Impact_Assessment_part_2.pdf">creative reputation</a>, revitalising its poorly performing <a href="https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/impacts08/pdf/pdf/Economic_Impact_of_Visits.pdf">tourist economy</a> and advancing meaningful <a href="https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/impacts08/pdf/pdf/Neighbourhood_Impacts.pdf">social and community engagement</a>. </p>
<p>After more than 15 years researching the <a href="http://iccliverpool.ac.uk/?research=our-research-on-the-european-capital-of-culture-programme">impact and legacy</a> of this EU initiative, I have gathered extensive evidence about the transformative impact that hosting the ECOC has had on <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0042098016674890?legid=spusj%3B0042098016674890v1&rss=1&patientinform-links=yes&">Glasgow and Liverpool</a>. The same can be said of Lille in France or the Ruhr region in Germany. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196368/original/file-20171125-21858-mhqstu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196368/original/file-20171125-21858-mhqstu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196368/original/file-20171125-21858-mhqstu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196368/original/file-20171125-21858-mhqstu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196368/original/file-20171125-21858-mhqstu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196368/original/file-20171125-21858-mhqstu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196368/original/file-20171125-21858-mhqstu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bonnie Glasgow.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s not so surprising, then, that the UK candidates remained firm in their ambitions to become the next European Capital of Culture, even after the Brexit vote put a strain on the UK’s relations with the EU. </p>
<p>Their commitment to developing their bids – and to funding partnerships across the continent – should be acknowledged as evidence of ongoing pride in, and support of, the heritage shared by Britain and Europe. In this sense, the continuing bidding efforts should be read as a significant symbolic gesture, which will bring direct benefits for artists, performers and cultural institutions not just in the UK, but across the EU and Europe at large.</p>
<p>It’s not just a one-way benefit. It goes without saying that any UK city named as a city of culture benefits from the increased attention, international expertise and mature network behind this three-decade-old initiative. But the ECOC programme itself has benefited from the unrivalled fundraising capacities within the British cultural sector, as well as the UK’s proven capacity to host innovative cultural events and use novel approaches to whip up public support and media attention. </p>
<p>Look no further than the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games – which included the largest <a href="http://www.beatrizgarcia.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Garcia2013London2012COEvaluation-Summary.pdf">Cultural Olympiad</a> to date. Or the founding of the UK City of Culture initiative – from which Hull has enjoyed <a href="http://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2017-06-28/figures-reveal-impact-of-hulls-city-of-culture-year/">significant benefits</a> throughout 2017. </p>
<h2>Keep collaborating</h2>
<p>The fallout from the European Commission’s decision shows how dangerous it is to think of Brexit as a purely legal exercise. Relatively small initiatives (in EU funding terms) such as the ECOC nonetheless have huge symbolic value. Their impact has been felt not just by the cities hosting it, but by the many others inspired by the capacity for change that a year-long celebration of culture – and cultural exchange – can bring.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196384/original/file-20171126-21805-1do4u2w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196384/original/file-20171126-21805-1do4u2w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196384/original/file-20171126-21805-1do4u2w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196384/original/file-20171126-21805-1do4u2w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196384/original/file-20171126-21805-1do4u2w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196384/original/file-20171126-21805-1do4u2w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196384/original/file-20171126-21805-1do4u2w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Revitalised: Liverpool’s dock area.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/radarsmum67/8346380383/sizes/l">Radarsmum67/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It is true that, in a globalised world – and with pressure to pursue local regeneration agendas, first and foremost – exploring the European dimension of the initiative has often been challenging. But the incentive to consider what it means to be European, and to reflect this through creative programming, has pushed host cities to explore links and histories which they might otherwise have forgotten. For instance, the <a href="http://commapress.co.uk/books/reberth-stories-from-cities-on-the-edge/">Cities on the Edge</a> programme – which came directly out of Liverpool’s City of Culture status in 2008 – linked the port cities of Liverpool, Marseille, Istanbul, Gdansk, Bremen and Napoli in <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5lioBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT34&lpg=PT34&dq=%22Cities+on+the+Edge%22+Liverpool+2008&source=bl&ots=T6hMrWN0_-&sig=gxT8gDFuh0vwsNWh6HCvVzS_hjA&hl=es&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj83sfn-NvXAhWD6aQKHQDHBoo4ChDoAQg3MAI#v=onepage&q=%22Cities%20on%20the%20Edge%22%20Liverpool%202008&f=false">previously unexplored ways</a>.</p>
<p>What’s more, there is increasing support to advance European collaborations, exchange and working together with the other ECOC hosts which, after 30 years, have formed a strong and mutually supportive network. In 2008, Liverpool and Stavanger <a href="https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/impacts08/pdf/pdf/Creating_an_Impact_-_web.pdf">explored partnership options</a> for the first time, and opened routes for ongoing collaboration in their approach to citizen volunteering, which continues to this day. </p>
<p>Now it is time to look beyond the political posturing and finger-pointing by both UK and EU politicians and consider how to ensure that the hard work already done by the five bidding cities takes them, and the rest of the country, in a fruitful direction.</p>
<p>As an expert appointed to the ECOC selection panel, I have signed an <a href="http://www.beatrizgarcia.net/2017/11/24/uk-european-capital-of-culture-2023-selection-discontinued/">open letter</a> highlighting the importance of opening up – rather than closing down – routes for cultural exchange and cooperation. After the furore generated by <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/brussels-says-european-capital-of-culture-cant-be-in-the-uk/">the decision leaked</a> on November 23, I know behind-the-scenes discussions are in progress to try to find a suitable solution. I hope that representatives within both UK and EU institutions come to an agreement so that it is possible, in 2023, to have a version of the ECOC in the UK. The UK may be leaving the EU, but it is not leaving Europe.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/88115/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Beatriz Garcia was funded by the European Commission and the European Parliament to conduct independent academic research on the value and impact of the European Capital of Culture in 2010 and 2013. She has been appointed as independent expert to the European Capital of Culture (ECoC) Selection Panel, and was due to select one of 5 candidate cities for the UK 2023 hosting of the ECoC title. </span></em></p>
The cost of money due for this (from Europe) is tiny – the symbolic impact, huge.
Beatriz Garcia, Director, Institute of Cultural Capital, University of Liverpool
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/86818
2017-11-07T13:23:45Z
2017-11-07T13:23:45Z
How Hull went from crap town to City of Culture – and what it says about Brexit Britain
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193558/original/file-20171107-1008-1g97rpn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tom Arran/Hull 2017</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>All over the city of Hull, sculptures of moths and toads commemorate two of the town’s greatest exports: the aviator <a href="http://amyjohnsonartstrust.co.uk/a-moth-for-amy/">Amy Johnson</a> and her Gipsy Moth aircraft, and the poet Philip Larkin and his symbol for the world of work, the <a href="http://philiplarkin.com/larkin-with-toads/">toad</a>. These emblems of paralysis and flight represent the city’s conflicted nature and at once insular and cosmopolitan, Hull mirrors the cultural rift at the heart of Brexit Britain. </p>
<p>Hull has historically been a cosmopolitan port, promoting international investment, industry and trade. It also produces influential art and culture. The <a href="https://www.hulltruck.co.uk/about-us/history/">Hull Truck Theatre</a>, the eclectic <a href="https://www.hull2017.co.uk/whatson/venue/ferens-gallery/">Ferens Gallery</a> and the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41237992">Skelton Hooper</a> dance school have nurtured a bevy of talented actors, artists and dancers. It is a city of poets: Stevie Smith was born in Hull, and Larkin, Andrew Motion and Douglas Dunn all worked at its university.</p>
<p>Hull has also been at the epicentre of major historical events. The English Civil War was triggered in 1642, when Hull’s dignitaries refused King Charles I <a href="http://www.visithullandeastyorkshire.com/Hull-Ye-Olde-White-Harte/details/?dms=3&venue=2292356">entry to the town</a>. The abolitionist <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/wilberforce_william.shtml">William Wilberforce</a> was born in Hull, and represented the city in parliament. And during World War II, Hull’s industrial and strategic importance meant it was targeted by the German Luftwaffe; more than 90% of its homes were damaged in <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/humber/7387463.stm">air raids</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193537/original/file-20171107-1068-1t8srhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193537/original/file-20171107-1068-1t8srhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193537/original/file-20171107-1068-1t8srhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193537/original/file-20171107-1068-1t8srhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193537/original/file-20171107-1068-1t8srhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=751&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193537/original/file-20171107-1068-1t8srhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=751&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193537/original/file-20171107-1068-1t8srhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=751&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Clearing the rubble.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_British_Army_in_the_United_Kingdom_1939-45_H11954.jpg">© Imperial War Museum/Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Yet the city is also <a href="http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/property/724021/Hull-most-deprived-neighbourhood-England">economically deprived</a>, reactionary, <a href="http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/staggering-rise-hate-crime-reports-667293">xenophobic</a> and <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/27/europe/happy-brexit-hull/index.html">emphatically anti-European</a>. It is a city on the edge of nowhere, an hour by train to Doncaster or Leeds – which makes it, like all island communities, both inclusive and exclusive. It is a bleak, windswept place, isolated by vast tracts of flat land and the wastes of the North Sea, hemmed in by towering wind turbines. In 2003, Hull was awarded the <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/i-said-hull-was-the-worst-town-in-the-uk-in-my-crap-towns-book-but-now-i-m-queuing-to-visit-8952488.html">dubious accolade</a> of being the worst town in Britain; it has often been considered something of a joke by the outside world. </p>
<h2>A place of paradoxes</h2>
<p>In my time as Head of the School of Arts at the University of Hull, I have been enthralled and exasperated by these paradoxes. For all its contradictions, Hull – now in its final months as Britain’s 2017 City of Culture – has emphatically shown that it can be a forward-thinking, outward-facing place. During the first three months of the year, <a href="http://www.hull.ac.uk/Work-with-us/More/Media-centre/news/2017/city-of-culture-impact-findings.aspx">90% of Hull’s residents</a> attended at least one City of Culture event. Yet it holds an uneasy truce with its neighbours in Europe. </p>
<p>A few miles downstream from the mighty Humber Bridge – once the longest suspension bridge in the world – stands a sculpture by Icelandic artist Steinunn Thorarinsdottir, erected to commemorate the city’s historic ties with her homeland. The statue is a replica; the original was stolen in 2011. Hull’s Lord Mayor at the time, Colin Inglis, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-14279752">condemned the theft</a> as “an assault upon the traditions and culture of this city” – but perhaps it also exemplified them. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193542/original/file-20171107-1055-1crzv7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193542/original/file-20171107-1055-1crzv7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193542/original/file-20171107-1055-1crzv7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193542/original/file-20171107-1055-1crzv7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193542/original/file-20171107-1055-1crzv7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193542/original/file-20171107-1055-1crzv7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193542/original/file-20171107-1055-1crzv7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hot property.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/icelandic-voyage-sculpture-victoria-pier-on-718343077?src=twpixOs9o7hrNbKV3W-MlQ-1-19">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Inglis recalled how Hull trawlermen had once toiled in a spirit of mutual support with the people of Iceland. But he neglected to mention <a href="http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/cod-wars.htm">the Cod Wars</a> – the confrontations between Icelandic and British fishing fleets which raged from the 1950s to the 70s. A ceremony earlier this year sought to draw a line under that conflict, marking a reconciliation between the two nations with the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-39031301">symbolic exchange of ships’ bells</a>. But the jury remains out on Hull’s commitment to internationalism.</p>
<h2>Life after Brexit</h2>
<p>This city of contraries has lately turned its back on the continent which once nourished it. In the 2016 EU referendum, <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/27/europe/happy-brexit-hull/index.html">68% of Hull’s electorate</a> voted to leave Europe – despite <a href="https://www.siemens.co.uk/en/news_press/index/news_archive/2014/major-uk-offshore-wind-manufacturing-site-to-be-built-by-siemens.htm">pledges</a> by the German industrial giant Siemens to invest £160m in a new plant to manufacture wind turbine blades and to create 1,000 new jobs in a city where more than a third of children <a href="http://www.endchildpoverty.org.uk/new-figures-reveal-nearly-half-of-children-are-living-in-poverty-in-some-parts-of-the-uk/">live in poverty</a>. </p>
<p>This Brexit-voting city may not be best served by its choice. In 2014, Hull had the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/the-northerner/2014/feb/05/centre-for-cities-2014">highest rate of unemployment benefit claims</a> in the country. Though the optimism during the run-up to Hull’s year as City of Culture boosted <a href="https://bdaily.co.uk/articles/2016/10/24/hull-sees-lowest-ever-unemployment-rate-on-record">investment and jobs</a>, it remains a place of economic and social precarity. During 2016, house prices in Hull rose nearly 17%, but the average house price remained at only <a href="http://www.themovechannel.com/magazine/house-prices/london-house-prices-see-biggest-fall-since-2011/">44% of the national mean</a>. In late 2017, you could still buy a three bedroom property in Hull, including its very own fish-and-chip shop, for <a href="https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/43980928?search_identifier=9c4ae3ee5e92ebe54b632bb5da9adcfc#FpwOpGAfec80Frfw.97">under £20K</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193559/original/file-20171107-1008-3udkoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193559/original/file-20171107-1008-3udkoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=210&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193559/original/file-20171107-1008-3udkoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=210&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193559/original/file-20171107-1008-3udkoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=210&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193559/original/file-20171107-1008-3udkoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=264&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193559/original/file-20171107-1008-3udkoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=264&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193559/original/file-20171107-1008-3udkoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=264&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cheap as chips.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/spicygreenginger/16824823352/sizes/l">spicygreenginger/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Hull’s 2017 cultural programme has offered a snapshot of the riches which the city has bred and attracted – from retrospectives on the works of <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-kind-of-man-was-philip-larkin-hull-retrospective-is-a-fresh-look-at-the-poet-80561">poet Philip Larkin</a> and <a href="https://www.hull2017.co.uk/whatson/events/anthony-minghella-retrospective/">director Anthony Minghella</a>, to the BBC’s Night at the Proms. Yet in October 2017, the Humberside region reported a 62% year-on-year rise in <a href="http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/staggering-rise-hate-crime-reports-667293">hate crimes</a>, the majority of which were related to race. As was the case nationally, this increase saw a particular spike immediately after the EU referendum. It is difficult to reconcile this reality with the City of Culture’s admirable ideals. </p>
<p>Hull is perhaps better described as a city of its own culture; one which both welcomes and spurns the outside world. This little emblem of 2017’s riven Britain, in all its aspirations, openness and isolationism, remains an enthralling and exasperating place. Looking forward, Hull’s own socio-economic sustainability – such as it is – might offer a gauge for the fate of the nation, which this year chose Hull as its cultural capital.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/86818/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Until November 2017, Professor Alec Charles served as Head of Arts at the University of Hull, Principal Partner in Hull City of Culture.</span></em></p>
Kingston-Upon-Hull is a city of contradictions, which is holding up a mirror to British society.
Alec Charles, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, University of Winchester
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/81190
2017-08-31T13:16:32Z
2017-08-31T13:16:32Z
Milton Keynes is bidding to be 2023 Capital of Culture – it should be taken seriously
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183321/original/file-20170824-18746-slj78w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/iancvt55/8419715456/sizes/l">Ian Halsey/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The British city of Milton Keynes is probably not the most obvious contender for the title of 2023 European Capital of Culture. It hasn’t exactly got a reputation for being a cultural hot spot: jokes about the blandness of Milton Keynes are entrenched in the popular imagination. </p>
<p>In his travel notes, popular writer <a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/1004740/notes-from-a-small-island/">Bill Bryson’s</a> began by saying “I didn’t hate Milton Keynes immediately” and ended with a plea for the government to order its evacuation in favour of “real cities”. Author JG Ballard’s <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=qiLIAgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=A+User%E2%80%99s+Guide+to+the+Millennium:+Essays+and+Reviews&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=A%20User%E2%80%99s%20Guide%20to%20the%20Millennium%3A%20Essays%20and%20Reviews&f=false">cleverer barb</a>: “I always suspected that eternity would look like Milton Keynes”, wasn’t meant as a complement either. </p>
<p>Even the local tourism body, Destination MK, resorted to switching the negatives in their <a href="http://www.destinationmiltonkeynes.co.uk/About-us/UnexpectedMK">latest campaign</a>, to challenge people’s preconceptions about the place.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179238/original/file-20170721-28519-gx4szb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179238/original/file-20170721-28519-gx4szb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179238/original/file-20170721-28519-gx4szb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179238/original/file-20170721-28519-gx4szb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179238/original/file-20170721-28519-gx4szb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179238/original/file-20170721-28519-gx4szb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179238/original/file-20170721-28519-gx4szb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Destination MK: turning things around.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">DestinationMK</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But as researchers in sociology and design who live and work in the city, we think there’s a case to be made for Milton Keynes. It was one of the last “new towns” to be built in the 1960s and as such it represents the political commitment to social justice and mobility which emerged at the end of World War II. This makes it a part of the same social democratic settlement which produced the National Health Service and the Open University. </p>
<p>Because it is new, Milton Keynes doesn’t have the long history of well-funded town hall bureaucracies and city benefactors, which help to create the infrastructures of “high culture” – the galleries, theatres and concert halls. But this shouldn’t knock it out of the running – in fact, it’s one of the reasons that its bid should be taken seriously. </p>
<h2>Cultural or corporate?</h2>
<p>Milton Keynes Council decided to bid for European Capital of Culture back in July 2015. Since then, a <a href="http://www.mk50.com/news/mk-council-welcomes-launch-of-european-capital-of-culture-2023">steering group</a> of business, arts and <a href="http://www.miltonkeynesforum.org/outrage-mk.html">civic and community leaders</a> have held a series of public meetings to shape the bid. At one of these meetings with local artists, the debate circled around how to extend the city’s cultural reach, explore its diversity and improve its reputation.</p>
<p>Many lamented that the early efforts of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Keynes_Development_Corporation">Milton Keynes Development Corporation</a> to build the town around the unique artefacts, architecture, archaeology and people that were here first have been abandoned in recent years. Instead there is a Nandos. Then another Nandos. And another.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183322/original/file-20170824-18757-16vg99p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183322/original/file-20170824-18757-16vg99p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=233&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183322/original/file-20170824-18757-16vg99p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=233&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183322/original/file-20170824-18757-16vg99p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=233&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183322/original/file-20170824-18757-16vg99p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=292&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183322/original/file-20170824-18757-16vg99p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=292&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183322/original/file-20170824-18757-16vg99p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=292&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It wasn’t supposed to be this way.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/davep-uk/5515375761/in/photolist-9pnK4x-8Pgoy6">David (MK)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The dominance of global mega-brands in the city’s retail centre is hardly unique to Milton Keynes. It is, though, one of the glorious paradoxes of this place, that locals worry a lot about these things. They worry precisely because Milton Keynes wasn’t an accident – it was built with particular aims in mind. It started, just like the Open University that is also based there, as a means to achieving collective, social democratic ends. </p>
<p>Yet in order to survive, both Milton Keynes and the Open University have had to adjust their strategies in response to different government policies over the decades. First there was the monetarist economic theory that came with Thatcherism which prompted a cutback on civic planning and social housing in favour of market-driven individualism. More recently, the government has led a swing toward the principles of capital-driven digital governance, promoting a focus on development in smart cities, apps and self-driving cars.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183324/original/file-20170824-18693-oxy5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183324/original/file-20170824-18693-oxy5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183324/original/file-20170824-18693-oxy5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183324/original/file-20170824-18693-oxy5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183324/original/file-20170824-18693-oxy5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183324/original/file-20170824-18693-oxy5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183324/original/file-20170824-18693-oxy5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Open University: changing with the times.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/the-open-university/15635343387/sizes/l">The Open University/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These changes from one set of priorities to another are <a href="http://www.bdonline.co.uk/we-love-predicting-the-future-but-weve-lost-the-ambition-to-plan-for-it/5088645.article">feverishly contested</a> by local communities and have been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/jun/13/open-university-jobs-at-risk-in-100m-root-and-branch-overhaul">deeply painful</a> for residents, university staff and students. They are the local consequences of the slow decline of government planning, regulation and international cooperation which have also been manifest in global developments such as the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, the refugee crisis and Britain’s decision to leave the EU. </p>
<h2>The city is culture</h2>
<p>These political, economic, social and personal catastrophes are integral to understanding culture in a meaningful way. As the late Stuart Hall, formerly professor of sociology at The Open University, argued in his opening editorial to the <a href="https://newleftreview.org/">New Left Review</a> in 1960; the experience of culture in all its forms is “directly relevant to the imaginative resistance of people who have to live within capitalism – the growing points of social discontent, the projections of deeply felt needs”. In other words, culture is everywhere; in the commodities people buy, in the laws that govern corporations, in the ways people develop their identities. </p>
<p>Rather than looking at the culture that takes place in the city, Hall showed that the real task is to understand the city <em>itself</em> as culture. Milton Keynes was meant to be different: it is, as the Capital of Culture bid proposes, “different by design” – and yet that design has come to represent many of the battles between capitalism and culture which are taking place in cities across the world. </p>
<p>The city of Milton Keynes is then, a kind of petri dish, where the sometimes discomforting mixtures of art and commerce, culture and financial capital are laid bare for all to see and experience. As such, it is a <a href="http://www.pressesdesmines.com/capitalization.html">powerful guide to the ways that capital is always cultural</a>, and a reminder that culture is always capitalised.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81190/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
In order to take Milton Keynes’ cultural bid seriously, you have to begin by taking culture seriously.
Liz McFall, Head of Sociology, The Open University
Darren Umney, Visiting Research Fellow in Design, The Open University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.