Relevant Media:
- The level of attention paid by central government to the first UK City of Culture may be demonstrated by the fact that, by November of 2013, the Culture Secretary had been ‘too busy’ to pay a visit.
- In the run up to the second UK City of Culture – Hull 2017 – media coverage discussed potential economic rewards, job creation, and whether culture can ‘save’ cities. Some coverage also argued that the non-economic value of the arts needs to be considered. Nevertheless, since 2017, the figures of ‘800 jobs’ and ‘£220m of investment’ have risen to prominence in much coverage. Will 2025 bring more of the same?
- What kind of event does a ‘city of culture’ hold? In 2014, Royal de Luxe‘s giant puppets walked down the streets of Limerick in Ireland, “costing in the region of €1.6m”. The puppets were also present in Liverpool (costing £2m but reportedly leading to “an unprecedented economic impact”) and Nantes in 2014. In 2015 they returned to Antwerp. In 2018, they returned to Liverpool, with claims made for an audience level of 1.3 million people, over twice the size of the entire resident population of the city.
- On the subject of Liverpool and cultural replication, here is DJ Gaylord Fields on the ‘Fake Beatles Phenomena’.
- The role of culture in ‘urban regeneration’ regained prominence at the end of 2015 when Assemble won the Turner Prize for their work in Liverpool.
Cultural Guide:
- Camp and Furnace. Located on Greenland Street in Liverpool, Camp and Furnace claims to have “all the best bits from all the best festivals; indoors. We’re a restaurant, bar, fanpark, conference venue and cultural hangout.” Previously, this location was used by A Foundation, which closed in 2011 due to Arts Council funding cuts.
- Customs House and Revenue Building, Liverpool. Completed in 1839, this neo-classical building was bombed in 1941, and subsequently (and controversially) demolished.
“Situated on a 2.45-hectare brownfield site at Sammy’s Point, at the confluence of the River Hull and the Humber estuary, The Deep began its life as an urban renaissance scheme. In this respect, it reaches beyond architecture to become enmeshed with the infrastructure of the River Hull corridor, as well as the economic, social and cultural renewal of the city in general. Hull’s economic decline over the last 50 years has been extreme – the development of the Deep was viewed as being part of a large-scale urban strategy. The Deep submarium is public architecture at its most populist. The aim at Farrells is to create buildings that win popular support by bridging the gap between elite and populist causes. As a comprehensible, iconic building, The Deep looks for inspiration to a range of precedents and the design conjures up metaphorical associations with wave or glacier-like forms”
“The Museum of Liverpool reflects the city’s global significance through its unique geography, history and culture. Visitors can explore how the port, its people, their creative and sporting history have shaped the city. […] The museum opened on 19 July 2011.”
“St. George’s Hall [opened in 1854] is Liverpool’s principal civic building and arguably the finest neoclassical building in Europe. During the late 20th Century, the building suffered decades of underinvestment and it was closed to the public in the 1980s.”