Does cultural policy matter? Political orientations, cultural management models, and the results of public cultural action in Barcelona and Valencia

ABSTRACT

Since the beginning of the 20th century, analyses of local cultural policies have sought to highlight their instrumentalisation in projects for urban renewal and/or city branding. In general, the spotlight has been put on the waning Cultural Democratisation Model and its flagging commitment to social cohesion and redistribution. This might lead us to see cultural policy and political management as having little bearing on the construction of The Creative City Model (henceforth CCM). However, this would be a mistake, as this paper will show. It compares two cities, Barcelona and Valencia, whose local cultural policies are strongly conditioned by the CCM. The contrasting political orientation of the two cities, the way each applies the CCM, their differing management models, and the different long-term trends in their cultural facilities end up shaping social and cultural outcomes, the sustainability of these results, and their redistributive impact.

KEYWORDS:

• Cultural policy
• creative city
• local government
• left-right
• management models
• cultural facilities
• social effects
• Barcelona
• Valencia

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The sources on Barcelona can be accessed at: Gaseta Municipal: Gaseta Municipal [Municipal Gazette] (https://w123.bcn.cat/APPS/egaseta/cercaAvancada.do), Estadística Ajuntament [Council Stats] (http://www.bcn.cat/estadistica/catala/dades/anuaris/anuari15/cap06/C0611020.htm), Memòries de l’Institut de Cultura [Cultural Institute Reports] (http://lameva.barcelona.cat/barcelonacultura/ca/icub/estudis-i-avaluacio) and Barcelona dades de cultura [Barcelona cultural data] (http://barcelonadadescultura.bcn.cat/entitats/dades?lang=ca). The sources on Valencia can be accessed at the following adresses: Oficina d’Estadística de València [Valencia Statistical Office] (http://www.valencia.es/ayuntamiento/catalogo.nsf/IndiceAnuario?readForm&lang=1&capitulo=13&tema=0&numPagina=1&bdOrigen=ayuntamiento/estadistica.nsf&idApoyo=58FB3C7A3D56E414C1257DD40057EB6C). Observatori Valencià de la Cultura [Valencian Observatory on Culture] (http://www.ovc.gva.es/es/observatori-valencia-de-la-cultura).

2. Maps created on the Instamaps platform. Cartographic and Geological Institute of Catalonia. Access: https://www.instamaps.cat.

3. The two main cultural institutions of Valencia city have experienced a deep crisis over the last ten years when the Partido Popular conservative government embraced the strategy of ‘putting Valencia on the map’ through big cultural events and institutions” in order to promote tourism: (a) The Palace of Arts is undoubtedly the most emblematic building in the CAC and is the clearest representative of architecture conceived as urban branding through culture (Evans 2003) rather than design for its actual cultural use. Inaugurated in 2006, after more than ten years of work which cost €478 million, the Palace of Arts is a 70-metre high opera house occupying 37,000 square metres, and with capacity for 1,500 spectators. However, despite these perspectives on the CAC’s role, it did not meet these expectations and by 2014 already carried a debt of €579 million, which continues to grow annually given that it runs at a deficit (Sindicatura de Comptes 2016). Additionally, since 2015 several cases of corruption have been uncovered which have severely affected the institution. The most important is that involving Helga Schmidt because she was accused of illegal management commissions estimated at €508,000 (Ballester 2016). She died on the 25 September 2019 before the trial date. (b) The The Valencian Institute of Modern Art (IVAM) was created in 1986 and the IVAM achieved considerable prestige in the nineties. However, since Consuelo Ciscar’s appointment as IVAM’s Director, the arts centre was run almost as feudal fife (Aimeur 2015). Grave management malpractices and corruption between 2009 and 2013 at IVAM were revealed by the Valencian regional government Controller’s Office (Intervención de la Generalitat) and investigated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Aberrations included spending on unauthorised trips (€137,000), the appointment of curators at the Director’s discretion without the consent of the Artistic Commission (€809,000), hiring of external experts without justification (€3.4 million), and the award of service contracts, such as those for IVAM publications, at a cost of €2.4 million without prior public tendering (Generalitat Valenciana 2015).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Spain’s Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities [RTI2018-096299-B-I00].

Notes on contributors

Joaquim Rius-Ulldemolins

Joaquim Rius-Ulldemolins is an associate professor of sociology in the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, and Director of the Centre for Studies on Culture, Power and Identity, at the University of Valencia, Spain. He is the author of papers and books about the sociology of culture and cultural policy, the editor of Debats, a journal on culture, power and society, and a member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Cultural Policy.

Ricardo Klein

Ricardo Klein is a lecturer in sociology at the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology at the University of Valencia, Spain. He is developing research in the sociology of arts and cultural policy, especially in street art and cultural participation. He is the author of several papers about street art in Barcelona and Montevideo.