Down by the sea: visual arts, artists and coastal regeneration

Abstract

This paper takes a critical approach to the arts-led regeneration of Margate, south east England. It argues that regeneration policy has effectively utilised local characteristics to recreate Margate as an artful space, and has stimulated a local milieu of artistic and cultural activity. However, though the work of local artists is vital in producing Margate as a creative place, local artists are marginalised by policy interventions focussed on attracting new consumers and investors. Thus, this paper argues that a misplaced policy emphasis is failing to support the labour and social relations on which the interpretation of places as 'creative' is built, and arguably undermines the sustainability of an arts-based regeneration. This has implications for culture-led policy, calling for greater attention to be paid to the specific locations in which it is deployed, and to the networks of producers whose labour is critical to its success.

Regenerating a coastal town through art: Dismaland and the (l)imitations of antagonistic art practice in the city

“…British coastal resorts have increasingly aimed at reimagining themselves and promoting place through culture and the arts (Gray, 2006;Ward, 2016). In their case study on the annual, 2-month light festival Blackpool Illuminations, Edensor and Millington (2013, pp. 147Ð148) argued that Òas with most ÔtraditionalÕ British seaside resorts, numbers of visitors have steadily declined since the 1960s, and new measures have been sought to increase the diversity of the visitor base and provide new attractionsÓ.…”

“…This rationale indicates the on-going pursuit of many British seaside resorts to engage residents, tourists and new publics with cultural activities Ð although Agarwal (2002) and Ward (2016) pointed out that the nature of coastal culture-led regeneration in the UK's postindustrial economy cannot be simply generalized. Coastal actors have increasingly and typically endeavored to boost conviviality, create place distinctiveness and, consequently, invigorate place identities that are negatively associated with stagnation, bad taste and the production of Òa bland cultural and spatial samenessÓ (Edensor & Millington, 2013, p. 158).…”

“…Dismaland might therefore be taken as an attempt of the city to Ôre-eventÕ itself through such logic. Ward (2016), in a case study on Margate's regeneration, discussed how such coastification involved a mixture of classic goals of ameliorating the area's socio-economic profile and accentuating a coastal idyll. On the latter, Morpeth and Long (2016) Although the local council seized the temporary Dismaland installation as tourist pull factor, the creators precisely ridiculed tourism as social manifestation (Morpeth & Long, 2016).…”

“…Nakagawa (2010) acknowledged the ÔseductiveÕ and sometimes short-term neoliberal competitive motives for art-led coastal redevelopment in the so-called era of post-urban policy (see Wilks-Heeg, 2016). Nakagawa (2010) conveyed that arts-based coastal regeneration too often bypasses the local material and symbolic idiosyncrasies, as seen in Ward (2016), while it should pay heed to firmer, long-term concerns with resident participation and with advancing social inclusion. As evidenced by Nakagawa (2010), such attention to site-specific publics and social issues (see also Kwon, 2004) too often creeps in as secondary importance to art-led coastal regeneration, which is a critique that may also well apply to this case study.…”

“…Overseas competition, economic stagnation and continuing austerity since the 1990s have led to the decline of visitors to seaside resorts in middle-sized cities across the British coast, including Margate, Barry, Liverpool and Weston-super-Mare (Purdue et al, 2002;Davies, 2009;Edensor & Millington, 2013;Ward, 2016), which were once traditionally attractive as Ôbucket and spadeÕ holiday destinations (Rickey & Houghton, 2009). In the wake of increasing levels of social deprivation, these coastal towns have explored ways for economic revitalization (Beatty, 2011).…”