paul long royal geographical society 2014 presentation

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Whose Culture, Whose Creative City? Cultural Rights Between Policy, Intermediaries And Community . Paul Long, Birmingham City University, Beth Perry, Salford University, Paul Haywood, Middlesex University, Phil Jones, Saskia Warren, University of Birmingham

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Whose Culture, Whose Creative City. A paper given by Paul Long of the AHRC-funded Cultural Intermediation project at the Royal Geographical Society annual conference in August 2014.

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  • 1. Whose Culture, Whose CreativeCity?Cultural Rights Between Policy,Intermediaries And CommunityPaul Long, Birmingham City University,Beth Perry, Salford University,Paul Haywood, Middlesex University,Phil Jones, Saskia Warren, University of.Birmingham

2. Open wide 3. its good for you Participation in culture is inherently a good thing itchallenges perceptions, prompts feelings of happiness,sadness, anger and excitement, creates moments ofpersonal reflection and enables people to understand theworld they live in, its possibilities and the cultures of othersmore profoundly. Cultural activities encourage self andgroup expression and provoke reactions at an emotional,spiritual and intellectual level, improving the quality of lifein the city and a sense of identity and belonging. Culturalactivities can also deliver a range of other outcomesincluding health and wellbeing, social and communitycohesion, civic engagement, economic impact,development of transferable skills and improvedenvironment. 4. Intermediations An assemblage of the cultural/economicimaginary; the equipment of culture Translation between the language of policymakers and that of the cultural producers(OConnor, 2004: 40) Administrators, animateurs, entrepreneurs,the artists themselves A right to practice? To make a living 5. Dear Diary the arts are useful, a right and necessity, nota luxury Through creative opportunities, people canbe encouraged to think with a more openmind and heart about the world around them:to embrace difference and welcome change,to believe in humanity and care about theplanet. Mobilizing rights. 6. Whose culture? I am increasingly wary of a professionalised creative sector thatdisguises its privileges by claiming democratic value. This is not tobemoan the inherent worth of professional and specialist artsproduction nor its contributions to contemporary society; only topoint to a risk. A cultural class has emerged in the region and isappearing to dominate public spaces for engagement and absorbthe major portion of available public funding. The effect,unintentionally, is to obscure the vernacular and living cultures ofsuper-local social communities in the region, in favour of what isclaimed to be high value and high quality arts. My perception is thatit has become increasingly difficult for citizens to influence changethrough their own creative actions and so they have to becomeincreasingly deviant and imaginative as a way of preserving andpromoting their own cultural enterprise (activism). Paul Haywood Perspectives essay: social arts, creative flux andcitizen led innovation Contributed by on 01.04.2013 7. Diverse: UK census of 201160% of the populationrecorded themselves asAsian and 10% as Arab,with 71% stating theirreligion as Muslim (Census2011). Deprived: within thelowest 5% ofneighbourhoods referredto nationally as SuperOutput Areas formultiple deprivations(Census 2011; see also:Blackledge, 2002;Hubbard, 2002) Done to policies andinvestigation 8. A site of dissonance 9. Intermediations A snapshot of the cultural texture of the urbanmilieu For the Hard to Reach Between provision 10. Connecting Communities into Culture? 11. Art Centres official sites 12. ..and organic 13. Funded Projects 14. Intermediations (a snapshot) Between provisionand production 15. A history of culture (not seen orheard?) 16. Local organization 17. A space of culture/s 18. Balsall Spark- an imaginative space 19. A digital culture 20. Connectivity? A walking method 21. Cultural Rights? Time, mobility and gender Expression and connection with theinterviewer Local and global connections Cultural solipsism refusal & recognition Culture as a way of life 22. In the winter of culture (Jean Clair)Behind the picture : a right to? 23. A limited set of rights? 24. Contested rights 25. Contested cultures 26. A canvas for commissioning