Transcript Fulbright Scholars Conference

Fulbright Scholars Annual Conference 2017
Northern Powerhouse: Culture and
Communities
Jonathan Blackie: Visiting Professor, Northumbria University
Northern Powerhouse: Culture and Communities
 Aim is to transform North of England, rebalance economy and establish
North as global powerhouse
 Main elements are transport, skills and renewal
 Improve connections between Northern cities, full HS2 ‘Y’ Network, HS3, cut
journey times
 Create talent pools, North East=creative and digital, automotive, sub sea,
and professional services
 Investment, North East=£150m marine and offshore sector, £82m Hitachi in
County Durham, Nissan in Sunderland, almost 30,000 jobs in advanced
engineering and chemicals across Tees Valley
 Culture, £110m Factory theatre in Manchester, £20m Great Exhibition of the
North in Newcastle Gateshead 2018, £15m City of Culture in Hull 2017
Northern Powerhouse: Culture and Communities
 Connectivity, skills, enterprise and innovation, trade and investment,
engagement-Combined Authorities and Elected Mayors
 Productivity has lagged in northern regions, Oecd influential shifting
emphasis from subsidy to building on smart specialisations, focus on
agglomeration of city regions and collaboration or devolution
 North of England an area the size of Belgium or Holland, home to almost half
UK car production, seven of 27 UK tech clusters, and 20 universities
including 4 of top global 100
 25% of UK manufacturing output, 33% of UK renewable output
 But connectivity fragmented, hills in the way, limited reach of city labour
markets, fewer graduates in workforce, relative size of public sector
Northern Powerhouse: Culture and Communities
 ‘who the hell wants to live in a city which has no arts and culture’ Leader of
Manchester City Council, 21st May, 2015
 Past twenty five years cultural regeneration instrumental in reviving declining
industrial cities, contributed to greater social cohesion, and emergence of
universities as cultural brokers and managers
 Angel of the North, Mima, Baltic and Sage Gateshead symbolic of the regeneration
of Gateshead, Middlesbrough, Newcastle and North East England
 Different roles for culture, in Manchester associated with quest for inward
investment (FDI), Liverpool with tourism, Hull host for 2017 UK City of Culture has
gone from ‘No1 Crap Town’ to one of top ten places in places to visit, Rough Guide
UK
 Largely metropolitan, although Alnwick Garden symbolic of new economy of rural
Northumberland
Northern Powerhouse: Culture and Communities
 Instrumental and Intrinsic value of culture, First World War Anniversary,
‘medium through which regional identities are forged’
 London+regional cities+towns+rural communities
 shift to more of a network model, some of the closest partners to Mima in
Middlesbrough are international, priority to reach a wider population
 Demonstrate the value of culture to communities post Brexit
 Doesn’t take a lot to build a platform, put places on the map, such as Durham
Lumiere
 Helps recruitment and retention, building a sense of place and identity
North East Culture Partnership: Case for Culture

spread the benefits of arts and heritage
further to make sure everyone benefits

broaden access to culture for children and
young people, to bring benefits to future
generations.

attract and retain the very best cultural and
creative talent; provide routes for
progression.

support economic growth and job creation,
and attract more visitors to our region.

build on and develop our distinctiveness of
place and our rich natural and historic
environment.
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https://vimeo.com/135881767
North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP):
Strategic Economic Plan
• Co-investment - scope for matched funding, £100m300m, particularly Heritage Lottery Fund, and including
culture sector rep. on LEP advisory group
• Engaging the most disengaged - utilising the sector's
expertise around employability, and helping match ESF
with ACE/Grants for the Arts
• Distinctiveness - ideas for Great Places Fund, Great
Exhibition of the North...
• International work - drawing on the sector to connect
for inward investment missions, such as China, hosting
visits, Blyth/Gothenburg Tall Ships Regatta, Royal
Northern Sinfonia touring
• Creative working - use of sector leaders as advocates of
business change
Tees Valley LEP: Strategic Economic Plan
 Aim to contribute 10% of GVA growth to Northern
Powerhouse with only 4% of population
 One of Europe’s largest, integrated industrial complexes in
processing, materials and biologics
 Culture one of six priorities, to change external perceptions,
improve the attractiveness of the area
 Joint programming of events, to hold a cultural conversation
with business and communities, prepare a UK City of Culture
bid for 2025, and support creative businesses
Select Committee Enquiry: Countries of Culture
 Funding and support for the arts outside London
 ‘Need to focus on accessibility …and support for cultural
infrastructure’
 But very tough times, for local authorities and arts
organisations
 More collaboration with London and across the sector
 Greater incentives for private and corporate support
Culture 3.0 (Pier Luigi Sacco)
 Culture 1.0 patronage, visual arts, performing arts,
heritage
 Culture 2.0 mass markets, cultural industries, publishing,
music, cinema, radio tv, video games, design, fashion,
architecture, advertising, taste
 Culture 3.0 content communities, open digital platforms
and social media
 Digital content production and digital connectivity, ‘Fourth
Industrial Revolution’
Next Steps for Culture
 Investment in culture has helped redefine northern cities
 Participation and reach still an issue, from London to
Newcastle
 Cultural education and skills not as visible, putting the
STEAM into STEM
 Arrival of Culture 3.0 offers an opportunity to invert the
pyramid and develop networks in communities
 Digital connectivity is key to success