Community cinemas in urban regeneration: a case study of cinema Úsmev in Košice

Abstract

The paper is focused on the role of cinemas in culture-led urban regeneration, their potential in the process of place-making and community building. Existing research has shown that there is a link between social and spatial identities based on small town cinemas and that community needs to be at the centre of the regeneration process for it to be sustainable. The paper follows the debate with its objective being to explore this link using a mixed method approach based on a case study. The case study deals with a local community cinema project located in the centre of Košice, Slovakia. It started the process of cinema restoration in 2015 and reflected the collective aspirations of urban inhabitants for the cinema’s survival. The findings conclude that the cinema is an active social actor and cultural asset in the neighbourhood and contributes to the development of a vital and inclusive community. On the other hand, it opens up the debate on the Slovak Audiovisual policies and cinema situation across Slovak districts as potential for further research.

24th International Colloquium on Regional Sciences

“…The adequacy of the policy response is tested on a case study of independent cultural organization -an arthouse cinema Kino Usmev and its sustainability assessment based on the four capital model (Ekins, Dresner, & Dahlström, 2008). The paper builds upon a previous contribution of authors (Tóthová and Šebová, 2020) which analysed the the role of community cinemas in urban regeneration, with the case study of Kino Usmev (Košice, Slovakia). The relevance of community built cultural organizations in urban and regional development has been previously studied and strong policy support has been pointed out as crucial for the development process to be effective (Crowe, 2007;Bailey et al, 2004;Delgado, 2013).…”

“…The main findings of previous research pointed out that Kino Usmev as a bottom-up initiative with strong community ties and projects with social outreach has a potential to be so called "critical cultural asset", however, the lack of strategic funding and planning on both local and national level is problematic in connection to potential for urban development. (Tóthová and Šebová, 2020) As a continutation of our research endeavours, we decided to advance in the case study of Kino Usmev, reflecting upon the current situation related to COVID-19, cultural lockdowns and sustainability of cultural organizations as community actors with strong regeneration and/or development potential. Paper aims to answer the research question of "How is the sustainability of a local cultural centre affected by the pandemic?"…”