culture clusters

8/11/2019 Culture Clusters

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Cultural and Creative Clusters:

The West Street Project andpromoting the City

Davinia Galea

HerO Conference

Valletta


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The definition of culture will be restricted to two

versions of the word addressing the broader meaning

of culture, which are:

the way people live, which relies on their identity;

the functional meaning of culture, that includes the

further definitions of creativity, symbolic meaning andintellectual property

(Throsby 2003)


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Other key words: Creative and

Regeneration Creative as in the concept of the creative or cultural

industries which has been defined as the productionand distribution of creative goods by Evans and Shaw(2006) Therefore, cultural and creative clusters would be

a gathering of creative or cultural industries that wouldfeed off each other.

Regeneration has been defined as breathing new lifeand vitality into an ailing community, industry and area[bringing] sustainable, long term improvements to local

quality of life, including economic, social andenvironmental needs(Evans & Shaw 2006, quoted fromLocal Government Association, 2000).


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Culture bringing about economic

success:

Culture whether as a central part of aregeneration initiative, or as a substantialcomponent of a broader programme, can play adistinctive role in bringing economic benefits toan area. It does not just bring direct economicimprovement by providing employment andregenerating revenue, but can have a widereconomic impact on the general prospects of an

area by making it a more desirable place to liveand work, and subsequently, for businesses toinvest.(DCMS 2004)


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The case for the social aspect within

regeneration:

My own blunt evaluation of regeneration

programmes that dont have a culture

component is they wont work.

Communities have to be energised, theyhave to be given some hope, they have to

have the creative spirit released.

(Robert Hughes as quoted in DCMS 2004)


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The aesthetic and environmental

sensitivity to the sense of place:

Thekey to successful transformation is not

only what type of change is promoted, but

how it is carried out. If it is delivered in a

manner which is in tune with the soul of aplace, it is likely to succeed. But if it goes

against the grain of local distinctiveness

and identity, it will struggle to take root andis more likely to falter.

(A. Minton as quoted in DCMS 2004)


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Richard Florida (2002) argues that strong

cultural facilities and creative networks are

key to economic success in modern urban

societies. According to Florida, a largepercentage of the workforce is increasingly

geographically mobile, engaged in forms

of employment in which creativity andinnovation are the source.


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Cultural and Creative Clusters

Around West Street:

Manoel Theatre

School of Art Bicceria

Museum of Fine Arts

Chapels, Auberges, Palaces


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City Gateentrance to Valletta

Around City Gate:

St James Centre for Creativity

Open air space for cultural activity (part ofthe Renzo Piano plans)

Museum of Archaeology


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Malta Arts Festival

old opera house site


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Carnival at Freedom Square


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Around the centre:

St Johns Co Cathedral

Grandmasters Palace Armoury

Bibliotheca


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Around the tip Manderaggio/Dui balli:

Fort St ElmoWar Museum Mediterranean Conference Centre


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Regatta in the Grand Harbour


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Fort St ElmoAerial shot from Grand Harbour side(Photos: MIMCOL report2007)


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A cultural and creative clusters inspired

scheme for the city, based on connective

cultural enterprises have been statistically

proven to be successful entrepreneurialinitiatives. (according to the United Nations

Conference on Trade and Development

(UNCTAD) (2004) such enterprise hasgrown at an annual compound rate of over

7 per cent.)


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Far from being a placed Appollonian

gentility, culture can even be a

battleground on which causes expose

themselves to the light of day and contendwith one another

Edward Said quoted in Eagleton (2008)


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the cultures of cities

Zukinsconcept can be applied to Valletta, in that

the very diversity of the population and their

need for cultural and economic exchanges

create unpredictable spaces of freedom: themarkets, restaurant kitchens, designated

landmarks and parades that become both sites

and sights of new collective identities. This is the

city that people cherish.(Zukin 1995)


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Thank you!

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