Neoliberal place competition and culturephilia: explored through the lens of Derry~Londonderry

ABSTRACT

In this article, we contribute to international debates on the impact and legacy of major cultural events. Using the theoretical backdrop of neoliberal urbanism, and our conceptual contribution of culturephilia, impact inflation and the three Cs, we examine Derry~Londonderry (D ~ L) UK City of Culture (CoC) 2013. Neoliberal urbanism generates fierce inter-city competition to host major cultural events, conditioning the actions of local stakeholders who produce bid documents resulting in excessive targets for impact and legacy, i.e. impact inflation. This is part of a wider fetishisation of the alleged curing qualities of culture, or culturephilia, which is underpinned by claims that cultural and creative policy interventions can enhance cities’ competitiveness, what we term as the three Cs of local and regional development. We show that in D ~ L culture has been somewhat successful as a ‘peace resource’, but less dynamic as an ‘economic resource’. The key lesson from D ~ L is that not delivering on the excessive economic targets creates frustration and disillusionment amongst those at the margins of society. Our advice to future cities of culture is, notwithstanding the incentive to inflate, they must be fully cognisant of the consequences of not delivering on extravagant targets for those most marginalised in society.

RÉSUMÉ

Dans cet article, nous contribuons aux débats internationaux sur et l’héritage d’événements culturels majeurs. En utilisant la toile de fond théorique de l’urbanisme néolibéral et notre contribution conceptuelle de culturophilie, d’effet d’inflation et des trois C, nous examinons Derry~Londonderry (D~L), ville de la culture du Royaume-Uni (UK City of Culture (CoC)) en 2013. L’urbanisme néolibéral génère une concurrence féroce entre les villes pour accueillir les grandes manifestions culturelles et conditionne les actions des responsables locaux qui présentent des documents de soumission ayant pour résultat des objectifs démesurés pour l’impact et l’héritage, c’est-à-dire un effet d’inflation. Ceci fait partie d’une fétichisation plus large des soi-disant qualités de conservation de la culture, ou culturophilie, qui est étayée par l’affirmation que la politique d’interventions culturelles et créatives peut mettre en valeur la compétitivité des villes, ce que nous appelons les trois C du développement local et régional. Nous démontrons qu’à D~L, la culture a été en partie favorable en tant que « ressource pour la paix » mais moins dynamique en tant que « ressource économique ». La leçon clé de D~L est que le fait de ne pas tenir la promesse des objectifs démesurés crée de la frustration et de la désillusion auprès ceux qui sont en marge de la société. Notre conseil aux futures villes de la culture est que, malgré l’incitation à l’exagération, il faut qu’elles soient entièrement conscientes des conséquences de ne pas tenir leur promesse d’objectifs extravagants sur les plus marginalisés de la société.

RESUMEN

En este artículo se contribuye a los debates internacionales sobre el impacto y el legado de grandes eventos culturales. Utilizando el trasfondo teórico del urbanismo neoliberal, y nuestra contribución conceptual de la culturafilia, el impacto-inflación y las tres C, se examina el evento Ciudad de la Cultura en Derry~Londonderry (D~L) en el Reino Unido en 2013. El urbanismo neoliberal genera una feroz competencia entre ciudades para albergar grandes eventos culturales, condicionando las acciones de las partes interesadas locales que producen documentos de licitación que resultan en objetivos excesivos para el impacto y el legado; es decir, el impacto-inflación. Esto es parte de una fetichización más amplia de las supuestas cualidades curativas de la cultura o culturafilia, respaldada por las afirmaciones de que las intervenciones de políticas culturales y creativas pueden mejorar la competitividad de las ciudades, lo que llamamos las tres C del desarrollo local y regional. Se muestra que en D~L la cultura ha tenido cierto éxito como un ‘recurso de paz’, pero menos dinámico como un ‘recurso económico’. La lección clave de D~L es que no cumplir con los objetivos económicos excesivos genera frustración y desilusión entre aquellos en los márgenes de la sociedad. El consejo para los futuros eventos ciudad de la cultura es que, a pesar del incentivo para exagerar, deben estar plenamente conscientes de las consecuencias de no cumplir objetivos extravagantes para los más marginados de la sociedad.

KEYWORDS:

• Neoliberalism
• competition
• culturephilia

MOTS CLÉS:

• néolibéralisme
• concurrence
• culturophilie

PALABRAS CLAVE:

• Neoliberalismo
• competencia
• culturafilia

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Michael Gallagher, Stephen McKay comments and the three anonymous referees for constructive comments on an earlier version of this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Catholic-Nationalists refer to the city as Derry to reflect their Irishness while elements within Protestantism-Unionism use Londonderry to capture their Britishness.

2. This concept draws on the use of ‘metrophilia’ to describe an intellectual, policy and political climate characterised by an overwhelming ‘pro-urban bias’ (Morgan, 2014).

3. This work was supported by the Leverhulme Trust [Grant number RPG-2013–091].

4. Funded by the European Commission to the sum of 1.5 million Euros. During this annual event host cities develop their cultural infrastructure, showcase their cultural talents and attract cultural tourists. It is designed to enhance the ‘development of cities’, raise their ‘international profile’, celebrate the ‘richness and diversity’ of cultures in Europe and link local culture to a ‘common European cultural identity’ (European Commission, 2014).

5. Following local government reorganisation in 2015 it is now named Derry City and Strabane District Council.

6. Culture Company was officially wound down on 31 March 2014.

7. Ilex closed on 31 March 2016.

8. Belfiore (2006, 2015) offers a problematisation of the ‘narrow focus’ on economic impact, set against the merits of the wider ‘multiple dimensions’ of public value; while Garcia and Cox (2013) distinguish between aspirational impact and actual impact, and between impact during the cultural year and the long-term.

9. Such as Florida’s (2003) creative classes, European Capitals of Culture (Garcia & Cox, 2013) and Olympic Games (Gold & Gold, 2008).

10. This is most visibly demonstrated in the creation of a Government Department for Culture, Media and Sport (formerly Department for National Heritage) under New Labour in 1997. On a global stage, there are International Culture Summits, involving Culture Ministers and key cultural players, deliberating on the ‘power, position and profile’ of cultural industries and placing culture on the ‘centre of political stage’ (www.culturesummit.com).

11. There is a conceptual and policy ‘messiness’ surrounding the creativity discourse, and terminological issues regarding what industries constitute the cultural and creative sectors (see Pratt, 2014). We do not intend to rehearse these debates here, suffice to say there is evidence of conceptual and policy conflation. According to the Warwick Commission (2015, p. 12) during 2013 the UK cultural and creative industries grew by 9.9%, employed 1.7 million people, contributed £77 billion to the economy and represented 5% of the national economy.

12. In the UK, Hesmondhalgh et al. (2015) show that New Labour had a ‘complex relationship’ with neoliberalism as regards its cultural policies; moreover, over time using the term neoliberalism to describe different phases of public policy is somewhat ‘simplistic’.

13. Vickery, Mould and Campbell provide commentaries in the report by Wilson and O’Brien.

14. ‘The Troubles’ began in D ~ L following the rise of the Civil Rights Movement in the late 1960s (Byrne, 2015).

15. The Irish Republican Army (IRA, of which there have been many incarnations), and the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA).

16. The Ulster Defence Association (UDA), Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF).

17. As in other cities of culture, it is not entirely clear how these final calculations are justified (on Liverpool see Boland, 2010, 2013).

18. An independent advisory firms providing economic forecasting and modelling to private companies and financial institutions (www.oxfordeconomics.com/about/us).

19. Three local artists who are responsible for painting the famous People’s Gallery murals in the Bogside housing estate in D ~ L (www.bogsideartists.com).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Leverhulme Trust [Grant number RPG-2013-091].