The weakest link: Creative industries, flagship cultural projects and regeneration

Comunian, Roberta; Mould, Oliver

doi:10.1016/j.ccs.2014.05.004

Cited by 39 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Further criticism of culture-led urban policy includes questioning such an instrumental approach to culture, demonstrating issues of inefficacy, and a misplaced emphasis on consumption over production (Lees and Melhuish, 2013;Markusen, 2006;Peck, 2005;Pratt, 2008). Recent work has also highlighted a paucity of research interrogating the causal mechanisms assumed to link cultural developments to local cultural and creative practice (Comunian and Mould, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Ward

2016

International Journal of Cultural Policy

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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.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Ward

2016

International Journal of Cultural Policy

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“…This reinforces the inadequacy of 'one-size fits all' models, so acclaimed internationally in the deployment of culture-led urban regeneration strategies. Furthermore, attention needs to be paid to understanding how culture-led initiatives 'from below' also contribute to urban revitalisation in creative ways, for cultural flagship projects have a weak relationship with artists (Comunian & Mould, 2014) in times when promoting creative cities has become the new mantra of urban policy (Pratt, 2010). Investigating how the voices of those with a stake in the sites to be regenerated can best shape official culture-led urban regeneration is equally required, if we are to critically interrogate, rather than simply celebrate, policy invocations of culture as panacea.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unsettling the role of culture as panacea: The politics of culture-led urban regeneration in Buenos Aires

Dinardi

2015

City, Culture and Society

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A B S T R A C TIn recent years the rise of culture as a universal cure to a myriad of urban, social and economic 'diseases' has been celebrated without precedent, both in policy and academic accounts. Unlike these celebratory discourses, this paper provides a critique of the politics underpinning culture-led urban regeneration in order to unsettle the role of culture as panacea. Drawing on a case study -the on-going redevelopment of the post office palace into a commemorative cultural centre in Buenos Aires, Argentina -the analysis offers an in-depth account of the policy process by which industrial heritage is redeveloped through a cultural rhetoric. The analysis reveals how the recycling of the post office building enabled multiple meanings of culture to emerge and circulate within a range of policy, architectural, urban regeneration, real estate and media discourses. These, in turn, express existing disputes over the making of cultural policies, the uses of heritage, the image of the capital city and the value of the post office. In the redevelopment of the postal building, the paper argues, policy invocations of culture were aimed at de-politicising cultural activities in post-2001/2002 crisis Argentina, when politics had become a synonym of corruption and mismanagement. The paper concludes by drawing attention to the urgent need to adopt a critical perspective to the study of culture-led urban regeneration in Latin America, one which situates the analysis in historical and political terms and acknowledges the contending circumstances out of which these urban strategies often emerge.

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“…Nevertheless, it is clear that this occurrence is more common amongst visitors that have an interest in the Opera House's cultural produce (Comunian and Mould, 2014;Du Cros and McKercher, 2015) in many cases due to their personal connectivity with it (Marschall, 2015). This was explicitly acknowledged by another interviewee who recognised that the extent to which the Opera House exerts an influence on the visitor's perception of Covent Garden is directly related to their affinity with the arts:…”

Section: ''The Words Covent Garden Go With the Royal Opera House; Evementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Grodach (2008: 496) comments that 'in addition to the physical and economic development implications of this clustering dynamic, cultural flagships may serve as a support centre for local artists and arts organisations by providing a space to meet and exchange ideas, creating opportunities for career growth' (Rahbarianyazd and Doratli, 2017). This approach relates to the notion of creative milieus, where creative individuals and organisations partner and network for the development of a precinct with a strong focus on culture and creativity (Comunian and Mould, 2014;Gregory, 2015). This is noted in the case of Covent Garden given the area's rich supply of different types of performing arts, from high arts at the Opera House to popular street entertainment in its central Piazza.…”

Section: Cultural Flagshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Royal Opera House and Covent Garden: A symbiotic and complex touristic relationship

Guachalla

2017

Tourism and Hospitality Research

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The Royal Opera House has a longstanding and solid relationship with Covent Garden, which is an environmentally clustered urban area for tourism and culture rich in heritage, commercial ambience and provision of different types of performing arts. Located within the core of the area opposite its popular market place, its opulent main entrance faces a less visited precinct. This makes the building less visible to the area's visitors raising questions about its role in the perception of Covent Garden. Given that current studies on flagship developments tend to focus on contemporary projects, this research aims to understand the influence that a well-established cultural flagship exerts in the perception of a popular area for tourism using the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden as a case study. To address this aim, a social constructivist approach was adopted and 306 semi-structured interviews were conducted with domestic and international visitors throughout six locations within the area to understand the role of the Opera House in the perception of Covent Garden. Findings indicate that cultural flagships tend to be stereotyped as grandiose freestanding buildings which is not the Royal Opera House's case given Covent Garden's urban density. Instead, its flagship status is related to the quality of its productions and its historical attachment to the area. This is rooted in the attraction of a diverse set of visitors and international talent leading to a cosmopolitan ambience and a strong sense of civic pride as the UK's leading provider of opera and ballet productions.

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The weakest link: Creative industries, flagship cultural projects and regeneration

Cited by 39 publications

References 44 publications

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

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

Unsettling the role of culture as panacea: The politics of culture-led urban regeneration in Buenos Aires

The Royal Opera House and Covent Garden: A symbiotic and complex touristic relationship

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