European Capitals of CultureΠοιειν Και Πραττειν - create and do

The full conference theme was

Culture and Growth – magical companions or mutually exclusive counterparts?

and took place in Umeå, European Capital of Culture 2014

The conference aimed to clarify the term "culture-driven growth" so as to ascertain if culture can be perceived as being "an important motor for growth and success". Yet alone this mechanical metaphor implicit in the term 'motor' with presumably a link to 'growth engine' is a misconstrued concept and highly suggestive at that. The most obvious contradiction is that culture and more so the arts do not know growth or progress as it is understood in economic terms. A poet of Ancient Greece, a sonnet by Shakespeare or a poem by Pablo Neruda cannot be compared in trems of a linear development. What counts is finding true words to address the human spirit. This counts for all times no matter which conditions prevail, and it is expressed in such working titles for projects such as "the art to remember peace in difficult times".

In German, there is this term 'Vorhandenheit'. It was used by Heidegger to contrast it with 'Zuhandenheit'. While the former, so Heidegger, is just potentially existing, the latter exists since it has a stamp and therefore is recognized by the administration to exist. That is like being potentially a human being but without a passport you do not exist (Brecht).

What is meant with that brief excursion into philosophy, and Heidegger is not necessarily a good example, that the arts struggle constantly between the potential and what can be brought into existence so as to remind of the existence of the human being. This is why Marx spoke about the human self consciousness only then coming into existence if there is being used a language which includes categories of both productivity and creativity. This separation between work and the arts has existed already when Odyssey went past the Sirens by having himself being tied to the ship's mast while his men had wax in their ears so that they could not hear that enchanting, equally dangerous song of the Sirens. Adorno and Horkheimer in 'Dialectic of Enlightenment' (1944) recall this and identify this adventure narrated by Homer as a telling evidence as to when the separation between work and pleasure existed already.

If the University Network wishes to examine the relationship between culture and economy, they should be careful not to follow the usual trend started by KEA and demanded by the European Commission, namely that culture has to prove it is of value to the economy for otherwise no funds. It can get even worse as to what receives funds is what can be used by hard economic drivers to mask their real motives so as to appear civilized when they are clearly not. Here then it would be expected that a conference organized by the University Network continues to reflect what has been addressed already in previous conferences, and undertakes at conceptual level an epistemological critique of how the term 'culture' is used nowadays, and in particular by the European Commission as made explicit in its funding programme 'Creative Europe'.

So it is interesting to read in the introduction to this year's conference the following:

"Together with another concept for the year – co-creation – the message is that everyone can contribute to the programme, to culture, and to growth. However, both culture and growth constitute multifaceted concepts that sometimes work together and sometimes contradict one another."

Unfortunatley instead of being consistent with this theme of contradiction, that is not taken up for in the very next paragraph emphasis is put upon city and development even it is done with the purpose "with special emphasis on the intersection of culture and growth."

It remains to be seen as to what shall be the outcome of the conference which set itself the following frame of possible sub-topics:

Culture and Growth – magical companions or mutually exclusive counterparts? 

Empowering or disarmament
Co-creating culture – challenges, implications, and outcomes.
Whose culture and whose growth?
Theorizing  culture and growth
Culture, place, and space in growing cities
Cultural integrity and cultural wellbeing
Culture and identity
Local culture vs. globalization

For the conference Culture and Growth - Magical companions or mutually exclusive counterparts?

Asked for were research papers sharing insights with colleagues from other disciplines so as to facilitate a cross disciplinary overview how differently the same topic can be treated in sociology when compared to history, economics or even philosophy. It matters, therefore, to clarify the epistemological field of terms used by universities faced by equally a number of challenges when it comes to educating students.

Of interest is also how these scientific and academic debates / viewpoints "differ from or enhance the views we encounter in the media or in political or ideological debates?"

Hence the conference organizers expected contributions from political sciences, sociology, psychology, urbanism, geography, economy, history, cultural and literary studies etc., but also from less evident fields such as medicine, epidemiology, engineering, architecture etc.

As to the specific context, the Network underlines its special linkage to European Capitals of Culture. Hence it was a call for "papers from universities and other institutions of higher education that are located in cities which are, have been, or will be designated European Capitals of Culture."

LIkewise they would welcome papers "from individual scholars, local administrators and cultural managers involved in the ECoC programme or other actors and networks where the study of culture constitutes an important part."

As a third category, there were invited "practitioners from European Capitals of Culture and universities situated in them to share their experiences and good practices in dealing with culture and growth."

Since the conference took place Nov. 23 - 24, some reports are expected to show what out of this could be relealized in Umea, one of the two current ECoCs in 2014.

Hatto Fischer

Athens 26.10.2014