European Capitals of CultureΠοιειν Και Πραττειν - create and do

Answers by Liverpool 2008

Comments (HF 2.11.2014)

1

What is our concept of culture for our city?

Liverpool is unconventional, pioneering, unpredictable. It lives on the edge of Europe, the edge of America, and the edge of Africa, on the fault-lines of culture. The city takes a very broad view of the nature of culture, and is the richer for it. To prepare for 2008 the city is specially branding each year from 2003 with one aspect of our culture.

 To be on the edge of things, at the same time on a fault line, that may be a geological concept of culture when compared to areas in the world prone to earthquakes.

Immediately the city strikes a tone of defiance against all odds, and adds due this variety of cultures the city is richer because of it.

It introduces right away the main method, namely that of city branding. It was used by Liverpool deliberately to alter its image from a negative one to a positive one. If this means also becoming more conventional, established and predictable, then one wonders if this concept of culture does not undermine the very qualities for which Liverpool was a strong in before having been designated the title.

Strength is here a key word and is measured differently when linked to the success criteria applied after a huge budget of over 1 billion was spend.

One measure here might become in future 'creativity' itself: to what extent does the ECoC enhance creativity, or does it damage creativity due to its tendency towards over exploitation and over commercialization?

2

How does this fit within a European Context?

Liverpool mirrors the aspirations, challenges and concerns of Europe: regeneration, unemployment, new technologies, cultural identity – all are part of Liverpool’s challenges. In exploring these, the city will build on a wide range of existing links with Europe, both formal and informal.

Important is that Liverpool states European wide problems are also a part of the challenges it faces. This includes four crucial parameters: regeneration, unemployment, new technologies and cultural identity. How they are combined structurally matters to the outcome. Also it needs to be seen to what extent this has been contradicted by Bob Scott's idea that the city having the title ECoC should be the representative of the nation. If so, that would take on quite another interface with the rest of Europe.

Important is the emphasis on formal as well informal linkages. Yet if this means the 'informal network' with other ECoC cities, and which brought about the break-up of the ECCM network labelled as being a formal one, then binding power relates to a wish not to be committed so much a priori when exchanging experiences. It was said after the failure of the EU Constitutional Treaty, that the informal methods of coordination will become the prime basis of preparing through the EU Council decisions at EU level. This would match with the British method of working without a written constitution and therefore represents a specific attitude not known so much on the continent. If Liverpool was willing to problematize this cultural difference is not revealed by this answer. Rather it is assumed flatly European and British problems are the same even though there is to be expected the next comment, 'but I beg to differ'.  

3

What are your themes and objectives?

Liverpool’s central theme for 2008 will be ‘The World in One City’. Its objectives are to confirm Liverpool as a premier European city, to empower an inclusive and dynamic community, and to achieve long-lasting cultural and economic benefits for future generations. The central theme will be underpinned by three supporting themes – Create, Participate and Regenerate – and will be explored through three lenses – Yesterday,Today and Tomorrow.

 There is less talk of heritage, but much more is emphasized the time perspective of past, present and future.

At the same time, a sense of unity is sought by saying "the world in one city". Here Thomas Mann's question can be reinvoked if walking in the streets not merely provinciality but worldliness is met? With that go a lot of other criteria such as openness, individuality within plurality etc.

It should be remembered that Britain changed after the bomb attack on the London Tube in 2005, and this followed on the heels of London having been awarded the Olympic Games for 2012 on the basis of cultural diversity existing in the city. The attack made that vanish since only British defiance was elevated into the key attitude to be adopted towards such terrorist attacks. But at the same time, Britain had entered with America the invasion of Iraq already in 2003 with all the implications this reinvocation of former Imperial power holds. PM Blair kept repeating that Saddam Hussein had to show full compliance and cooperation for otherwise it would have consequences. There was no space given to voices expressing worries about a world entering war again after 911.

So to pick up again the model of participation for the local community along with the future generation, the terminology sounds positive,  but is that what really took place in Liverpool while preparing for 2008, and thereafter?

It seems there was stated an opportunity to blend out both internationally and locally these important questions to pick up only much later when San Sebastian made its bid on the basis of seeking to solicit culture to face terror and violence. That has in the case of Liverpool equal relevance for the local community since its cultural life is thwarted by a gang culture.

4

What organisations will be involved?

The Bid is led by the Liverpool Culture Company for the City Council. The Bid is supported by all the regional organisations of the North West, the Merseyside Boroughs and every major Liverpool institution. Organisations across Liverpool’s arts, sporting, regeneration and other sectors have been involved in the Bid and expect to play key roles in 2008.

There is in this short summary, itself an art to answer critical questions, no mention of NGOs of both the civil society and of the arts sector. By organisations have to be understood as well informal ones if they are to be consistent with what linkages are intended to be created with Europe. Naturally when making a bid there is no guarantee given that the same organisations shall be involved when the decisive year comes around. Here the formulation is used that many organisations have been involved and that they are expected to play a role in 2008.

There is no indication on how the local community is involved, except via the formal representation of the city by having set up the Liverpool Culture Company. Selections and exclusions do take place, and some of them are so systematic that it is no longer an inclusive concept of culture. Hence here it would be expected that the jury when making its selection inquires a bit further on how the continuity of participation by the local community is guaranteed, or even more so how local community and Europe are brought together.

5

How will you ensure local commitment and participation, particularly amongst traditionally under-represented groups?

Local commitment and participation are central to Liverpool’s culture. Excellent good practice exists which will be built on.
There will be a programme of events and activities in
2008 and in the preceding years which will celebrate the
diversity of the city. Following the experience of the Bid there will be constant consultation with voluntary and community groups and agencies. Proper monitoring and an evaluation framework will be put in place.

Upon reading the answer given by Liverpool, there comes immediately to mind one crucial part of this question should have been in case that you realize the desired participation does not come about as originally envisioned, what plans and alternative models do you have in mind to readjust your cultural programme so as to ensure participation?

Instead the answer is mainly evasive by pointing merely a methodology is going to be used which starts with events designed to celebrate as if street participation can be counted as full participation.

The consultative process implies certain experiences were made and all what the answer suggests Liverpool 2008 shall continue this 'good practice'. There is no indication when this method becomes mandatory for the Liverpool Cultural Company.

There was put in place Impact '08 as a most extensive monitoring and evaluation framework. It aime to put the numbers into context so that a convincing narrative that Liverpool was a success could be told. Bob Palmer hinted as much that there came into use spin doctor like reports when 25 years of ECoCs was celebrated in Brussels 2010.

6

How will you involve people from other parts of the UK, Europe and the wider world?

Broader involvement will be built on the foundation of deep local and regional involvement in 2008. Links are planned with other cities, including London, the other Centres of Culture and various City Consortia; at the European level Liverpool will utilise its twin city relationships and the vast number of links
between arts, sporting and educational organisations. Globally, we would exploit the truly international standing of the city: for example, with China, building on our deep links with America, and our strong connections with Africa and Arabia.

The museum looking back at the slave trade and therefore at the history of British Imperialism was opened just one year prior, that is 2007. It is not clear whether or not it was conceived within the bid or was already in the works independently. In any case, it does indicate Liverpool's involvement with the world. As for London, Bob Scott cultivated special relationships with the BBC as part of the media strategy Liverpool 2008 adopted. Also an interesting outcome was after Liverpool received the designation of the title, all the other UK cities which lost out create a network to form a similar idea as existing already at European level, and therefore they duplicated it by having a yearly UK Capital of Culture.

How already existing contacts were finally utilized, is a story by itself and in need of further assessment.

The special emphasis upon China seems to be the common trend with Aarhus having a linkage to Shanghai.

The question itself indicates that the city in Europe is conceived to be more global while at the same time every city in Europe has to face global forces. Insofar as this has an impact upon how the European dimension shall be fulfilled, that matters even more in how the criteria stipulated by the Commission are to be used when selecting a future ECoC.

The question should be if public spaces are given for artists and cultural actors to work out quite other linkages to the world, then the usual business models followed by the Foreign Service i.e. British Council? 

7

What is the scale of your budget and how will resources be provided?

The City has plans to increase revenue spending on the cultural sector by up to £4 million every year between now and 2008, a total of £22.5 million. In addition the Company has determined a budget totalling £22.6 million for the particular years of 2007 and 2008. The majority of this funding would be committed to local organisations, deriving from a mixture of
commercial sponsorship and public sector funding.

 The figures stated by Liverpool in the bid are quite modest and in reality way off from what became the biggest budget in the history of ECoC. It is said the budget exceeded in the final end over 1 Billion. (1)

8

What is the nature of the city' cultural / transport / tourist infrastructure and how would these be utilised or developed in the delivery of the programme? 

Liverpool aspires to be a true Festival City. We have all the pre-requisites for this: a built environment and cultural infrastructure of international quality and renown; a strong indigenous cultural life, particularly in the visual arts; excellent and further improving tourism and transport resources.
In addition we have strong brand awareness amounting to global recognition. The numerous plans to develop this include the Fourth Grace, a new and iconic contribution to Liverpool’s waterfront.

Festivals and city branding means the basic concept of Liverpool was to enhance the attractivity of the city with regards to specialized forms of tourism e.g. conferences. Questions have to be asked if the money spend on improving the cultural infrastructure included a) local spaces e.g. theatres and b) what was envisioned as a build up of cultural resources for the future by developing further the invisible cultural infrastructure needed to sustain future cultural actions and projects. For example, aside from the flagship in the centre of the city and the revamped water front, what else would support in future cultural activities? Any answer to that should be forthcoming in defining cultural resources being available right now and how they can be through the years of preparation be enhanced by opening up many more public spaces and by creating as did Eric Antonis in Antwerp a poetry house with a budget to support the poet of the city selected for three years and with a budget available to realize own projects. 

Naturally the city bounded orientation should also be questioned whether or not it is possible to attract aside from the Tate Gallery other cultural institutes of international reputation and standard? This has also to include an improvement in networking of existing cultural institutions with other but similar ones abroad e.g. museums.

9

How will the event exploit the potential of the historic heritage,urban architecture and quality of life of the city?

Liverpool’s built environment is exceptional; it has more Grade 1 listed buildings than any other city outside London; its waterfront is on the DCMS ‘Tentative List’ for World Heritage Site status; English Heritage chose it when looking for a city to which to dedicate an urban programme. This setting is already
widely exploited in many ways by the existing cultural and festival programme, something that would be further developed in 2008.

Here priority is given to cultural heritage, something which raises as well the question about cities being selected, generally speaking. For it seems right up to Matera 2019 that it is of advantage to be on UNESCO's cultural heritage list, even if only tentatively (something similar is the case with Plovdiv 2019). It seems that this is preferred  because money spend on restoration of cultrural heritage can be more easily justified than if spend on contemporary artistic expressions. The closer culture moves into the present, the more difficult the practical judgement of what is even 'art'. Ever since Duchamp posed that question back to the audience, it became also clear that the defining power of what is considered to be art, and therefore a contribution to an ongoing cultural development does matter considerably. The danger is right now to use cultural heritage as a valorization process of property with an eye to retaining an iconic view of a specific city for tourism purposes. And even then as seen in Valletta 2018 with the restoration of Fort St Elmo, Valletta that crucial traces of the past are erased due to an overkill when cleaning up a cultural heritage site, so as to make the space become not a discovery of the past, but neutral for purpose of multiple uses. The dsyfunctional use of heritage buildings has to be looked at as outcome of strict managerial methods being applied and which cannot really work with the incomplete or with memory being retained by a half destroyed church like the 'Gedächtniskirche' having become in Berlin a true memorial reminding of Second World War.

10

What innovative / imaginative means would you employ to increase dissemination of various events?

Tourism is already big business on Merseyside, and ‘culture’ is already a central theme of all city messaging. The regional dimension – Liverpool in partnership with Manchester and the rest of the North West rather than by itself – is a key element of the marketing programme. Innovative and imaginative ideas will lie at the heart of a detailed 6-year programme to build up awareness of and engagement with 2008.

Given the basic concept of culture meaning festivals, there is very little to disseminate in terms of cultural content. This was the case in Ancient Greece and its theatrical plays being played in the various theatres build around the Mediterranean as a clear system of dissemination. Thus the term 'dissemination' has a very specific meaning and cannot be answered by proposing only a marketing concept to attract more visitors to the festival events. That is an over simplistic notion of culture. How that can lead to greater awareness and engagement on the side of the public remains here a mystery.

11

What do you envisage as the long-term outcome of the event?

 
The outcome of 2008 would be a new Liverpool: a city
recognised for its creativity, internationalism and heritage, but become a better place for a new generation to live in, work in, visit and invest in. For Liverpool the award would be a scholarship, not a cup; something to do great things with rather than a reward for past achievements.

The reply ends on a very modest note. Under statement is, of course, an English art. Still, it stands to question if Liverpool has even come close to fulfil these aims. Certainly the year 2008 was deemed and acclaimed to be a success, even though the real voices objecting this claim are hardly heard or noticed. Certainly given the overall attitude prevailing amongst those who consider themselves to be from Liverpool, they did pull up their socks and got to work together. Whether this same spirit still prevails long after 2008 has faded in the history of the city, that needs to be asked when visiting now Liverpool. And if visits are to be linked to cultural purposes, the question is whether or not even the Beatles are still present in the mind of newer generations? And a visit for cultural purposes has to be defined anew since time passes simply on and then the connectivity between past, present and future alters the outlook on what can and does constitute a continuity of identity. Indeed, the original problem mentioned in question one as wishing to relate to cultural identity no longer reappears in the final note and thus doubt has to be expressed if a stronger sense of cultural continuity has been achieved by being ECoC in 2008?