Transcript GEOG 346: Day 19

GEOG 346: DAY 19
Arts and Culture at the
Municipal Level
Housekeeping Items
• Still working my way through the field trip
assignments.
• I mentioned the date for the exam: Friday, April
24th, 1-4 in Building 250, Room 125. The format
will be T/F, multiple choice, short answer, and
essay questions. The weighting will be on the
short answers (terms and concepts) and essay
questions. We will do a review in the last week.
• Before we get started, I wanted to share the
photos that Wenli sent me of her home city and
where her mother lives.
Arts and Culture in the City and Region
• What do you think of when the phrase “arts and culture”
in an urban or regional context is mentioned?
• What do arts and culture have to do with the economy or
with urban/ regional quality of life?
• Are there particular examples of public art that you have
encountered that you think are significant – either as a
tourism draw or for their role in helping to provide a
sense of place and identity?
• One distinction I would like to make is between
community art and public art. I will show you some
examples of each later.
Arts and Culture in the City and Region
• You are probably all familiar with the “three pillars of
sustainability” – ecological, social, and economic.
• Some have suggested a
4th pillar – cultural sustainability.
• Arts and culture contribute
to all of these. They potentially contribute to a more
‘dematerialized’ economy.
• They build local sense of
place and identity, and they
contribute to the economy.
The Specific Contributions of Arts and Culture
• A Conference Board of Canada study from 2008 noted that
• “A dynamic culture sector is a magnet for talent and a
catalyst for economic prosperity.
• Arts and culture industries bring people together locally,
globally, and virtually, helping to bridge large geographical
distances and create communities of interest….
• The real value-added output by culture sector industries
totalled $46 billion in 2007.” They estimate that, “taking into
account direct, indirect, and induced contributions…the
economic footprint of the culture sector [is] approximately
$84.6 billion in 2007, or 7.4 per cent of Canada’s total real
GDP,” and that the culture sector contributed 1.1 million jobs
to the economy.
The Specific Contributions of Arts and Culture
• A 2006 study suggested that the BC arts and culture sector,
through direct and spin-off effects added close to a dollar to
the provincial GDP for every dollar it spent and constituted
approximately 5% of B.C.’s GDP.
• According to a 2013 report, “The arts and culture scene is
thriving in the Nanaimo region, generating more than $150
million in economic activity.” It also supports 1330 jobs.
• “Jobs in information, culture and recreation are also on the
rise, with a 40-per cent increase in employment between
1995 and 2012. General employment only rose by 20 per
cent.” (Nanaimo News-Bulletin, 11/12/2013)
• Meanwhile, the B.C. government’s spending on the arts is
the lowest in Canada -- $62 per capita. However, individual
municipalities tend to spend more than anywhere else in the
country.
Arts and Culture in the City and Region
• According to Greg Baeker (2005), the cultural resources in a
community can be defined as “those more traditionally
defined activities in the arts, heritage, libraries and forprofit or commercial cultural industries. But they go
further to include: the built environment and cultural
landscapes; local traditions; dialects, festivals and local
customs; the diversity and quantity of leisure opportunities; the cultural activities of youth, ethno-racial and
other communities of interest; local products; and skills
in crafts, design, new media, manufacturing, etc.
Broadly speaking, cultural resources encompass all of
those things that together define the unique identity
and sense of place of that community.”
Arts and Culture in the City and Region
• He argues that communities need to treat all of these
elements as their greatest asset, and they need to start
to map that asset collectively and cooperatively.
• What kinds of things might that cultural mapping
include?
-
Arts and Culture in the City and Region
• Monica Shore, who works at VIU, and recently got
her Master’s here identifies six relevant themes for
community cultural planning and policy:
1: Transitioning into the Post-Industrial Economy
2: Municipal Cultural Planning
3: Cultural Policy
4: Stakeholder Engagement and Sense of Place
5: Attracting and Retaining the Creative Class
6: The Value of Small Cities
Arts and Culture in the City and Region
• She argues, as does Florida, for the importance of the
emergence creative economy, and notes that – even where
resource and/or manufacturing sectors remain important –
having a strong cultural creative sector provides more
economic resilience. This is in line with what Rangwala
(2010) calls “place-based economic theory” – seeking “a
participatory bottom-up economy where the individual
community building efforts of local businesses and
residents creates a collective unique identity and sense of
place” (quoted on p. 16).
• The process of municipal cultural planning and policy must
be fully participatory, involving the public and all relevant
stakeholders. Can you think of any examples of where this
is being done?
Arts and Culture in the City and Region
• Many cities, especially large ones that have more to offer,
are building their economic strategies – at least partially –
around attracting the ‘creative class.’ Although it might
seem that smaller cities are at a disadvantage, she argues
that some artists and others “opt for smaller cities[,] seek
greater proximity to nature, convenience and accessibility
of local amenities, more affordable housing, and other
quality of life factors such as the presence of family and
friends, good schools and public services, recreational
activities, and an overall culture of participation.” (pp. 2627)
• One can see an analogy with VIU. It doesn’t have all the
cultural advantages and prestige of UBC, but it offers
human scale, an opportunity to participate, and a pleasant
campus.
Community vs. Public Art
• Public art is art produced by professional artists for the
community, which may or not be meaningful for them.
• Community art often involves professional artists (or not) cocreating art with the community, such that it is directly
meaningful to them. Can you think of significant examples of
both?
• In some Islamic cultures,
there is a tendency to
stay away from representational art and to focus on
abstract shapes.
Community vs. Public Art
Community vs. Public Art
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