‘A rising tide floats all boats’: The image of Dundee and the role of the

city’s waterfront and V&A at Dundee museum in acting as a catalyst

for future development

Grant Smith

Dissertation submitted as part of the final examination for the degree of:

BSc with Honours in Geography

University of Dundee, 2015

2

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the following people that helped and supported with the research

undertaken within this paper:

Dr. Susan Mains

Andrew Argo

Jim Clarkson

Clive Gilman

Stewart Murdoch

Tara Wainwright

Gordon Sharp

Phyllis Worsley

Hearing Voices Network

Whitfield Hub Library

3

Abstract

This paper investigates the way in which the upcoming Dundee waterfront development

and V&A at Dundee museum could be used as a catalyst for development within the

city. This research focuses specifically on the engagement the waterfront development

and V&A at Dundee museum has with the local residents of the city, in particular how

the media is used to do so. To ensure this study was completed with a great deal of

accuracy and facts, multiple personal interviews were used to speak to key figures

within the waterfront development, V&A at Dundee museum and various organisations.

These interviews were supplemented by two focus groups with local people to

understand the opinions that existed in the city. The study found that although the V&A

at Dundee museum will provide a massive economic boost to the city through the

tourism it generates, it must retain a consistent and strong relationship with the local

residents of the city. This can only be done through widespread engagement with local

communities and by targeting different media channels with continual awareness of the

development and construction through weekly blogs online and in the papers, before

and after the museum is open to the public. Only once this is done can the waterfront

development and V&A at Dundee museum fulfill its potential to spark further

development and regeneration in the city.

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Table of Contents

TABLE OF FIGURES 6

CHAPTER ONE 7

Introduction 7

1.1 A Brief History of Dundee 7

1.2 The Dundee Central Waterfront Area and V&A at Dundee Museum 8

1.3 Research Questions 9

1.4 Structure of the Dissertation 10

CHAPTER TWO 12

Literature Review 12

2.1 Introduction 12

2.2 Waterfronts – A History of Importance 12

2.3 The Need for Waterfront Redevelopment 14

2.4 Tourism as a Catalyst for Waterfront Redevelopment 15

2.5 Cultural Tourism as a Catalyst for Waterfront Redevelopment 16

2.6 Conclusion 18

CHAPTER THREE 19

Methodology 19

3.1 Introduction 19

3.2 Primary Data 19

3.3 Data Collection Methods 20

3.3.1 Interviews 20

3.3.2 Focus Groups 22

3.4 Secondary Data 23

3.5 Analysis Methods 24

CHAPTER FOUR 25

Economic Regeneration in Dundee 25

4.1 Introduction 25

4.2 Economic Impact of the Waterfront and V&A at Dundee Museum in the City 25

4.2.1 The Economy and Employment in Dundee 25

4.2.2 Job Creation 27

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4.3 A Case for Economic Revival in the City 28

4.3.1 The Role of the Dundee Partnership 28

4.3.2 Tourism in Dundee and the ‘Trickle Down Effect’ 29

4.4 Culture Led Regeneration in Dundee 31

4.4.1 Culture as a Catalyst for Change 31

4.4.2 Dundee as a Cultural Tourism Destination 33

4.5 Tourism and the Local Population 35

CHAPTER FIVE 36

Images of the City and Engagement of the Local Residents by the V&A at Dundee

Museum 36

5.1 Introduction 36

5.2 The Image of Dundee 36

5.2.1 An Image Shaped by the Past 36

5.2.2 A Legacy of Poor Design 38

5.2.3 Generating a New Image for the City 39

5.3 Engagement 41

5.3.1 The Dundee Community 41

5.3.2 The Living Room Project 42

5.3.3 Social Media and Advancing Technology in Engagement 44

5.3.4 Acknowledging Different Types of Engagement 46

CHAPTER SIX 48

Conclusion 48

6.1 Conclusions Drawn from Methods 48

6.2 The Importance of Tourists and Local Residents 49

6.3 Future Research and Engagement 50

6.4 Final Thoughts 50

REFERENCES 51

APPENDICES 57

Appendix A: Interview Questions for Tara Wainwright 58

Appendix B: Interview Questions for Media Interviewees 59

Appendix C: Interview Questions for Local Organisations and Institutions 60

Appendix D: Focus Group and Local Resident Questions 61

Appendix E – Transcript of Interview with Clive Gilman (Director at DCA) 63

Appendix F – Excerpt of Coded Interview Transcript with Clive Gilman 73

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TABLE OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1 - Dundee Waterfront Development Map (The Dundee Partnership, 2014) .... 8

Figure 3.1 - Table of Interviewees.................................................................................. 21

Figure 3.2 - Locations of community interviews and focus groups ............................... 23

Figure 4.1 - Number of Job Seeker Claimants (Source: Nomis (cited by Dundee City

Council, 2014)) ............................................................................................................... 26

Figure 4.2 - Median Monthly Pay in Dundee and Scotland (Source: Nomis (Cited by

Dundee City Council, 2014)) ......................................................................................... 28

Figure 5.1 - Tayside House, a 17 story council building prominent on Dundee's

Waterfront (Dundee Partnership, n.d.) ........................................................................... 38

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CHAPTER ONE

Introduction

1.1 A Brief History of Dundee

The recent and ongoing Dundee waterfront development has the potential to transform

Dundee into a national and international centre for tourism and living. Through

successful implementation of the master plan set out by the Dundee Partnership (2001),

and with the museum development of the V&A at Dundee being used as the flagship

attraction, it is possible we could see a great deal of positive change within Dundee in

the not so distant future.

Dundee itself has had a varied history, famed for its Jute, Jam and Journalism, the city

has changed from fame and fortune to an area tormented by unemployment and urban

decay within the space of little over a hundred years (Murphy and Wilson, 2010). The

age of fame and fortune occurred during the late 19th

century and early 20th

century as

the city’s textile industry – at one point employing over 43,000 people – boomed

alongside the rise of the jam and journalism industry in the city (Murphy and Wilson,

2010). Despite being one of the richest cities in the UK at the beginning of the 20th

century (Murphy and Wilson, 2010, p234), Dundee has since declined and continues to

experience ‘high unemployment, social deprivation and significant areas of vacant and

derelict land’ (Wiewel and Perry, 2008, p66).

With a period of such great regeneration in Dundee, it is important research is

undertaken to understand the impact the waterfront development and in particular the

V&A at Dundee museum will have on the city. In addition to this, in a time of ever

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present technology, the way in which this technology has affected the way people can

be engaged, whilst also looking at traditional methods also.

1.2 The Dundee Central Waterfront Area and V&A at Dundee Museum

The Central Waterfront itself follows a carefully constructed Master Plan, created by the

Dundee Partnership – an organisation that ‘pools together the strengths of key city

agencies’ with close links to the council that aims to contribute to Dundee’s physical

and economic regeneration (Dundee Partnership, n,d.).

Figure 1.1 - Dundee Waterfront Development Map (The Dundee Partnership, 2014)

A crucial aspect of the Master Plan was the creation of the central waterfront

development map (Figure 1.1), detailing the exact locations of the buildings within the

development and opportunities for outside business to invest within the development.

Using Figure 1.1, it is clear to see how the Dundee Partnership has incorporated its own

aims to create grid iron streets, the creation of two tree lined boulevards and a variety of

9

sites for mixed use development. At the bottom of Figure 1.1 at plot 21, one can see the

V&A at Dundee lying in the prominent position at the edge of the River Tay, to be

installed as the flagship of the development.

The V&A at Dundee will be the focus of my research, as the focal point of the

development I aim to discover the impact the V&A will have in Dundee as a catalyst for

tourism development and on the local population. The museum aims to raise aspirations

and contribute to civic pride within Dundee, stating it will positively impact the city by

supporting more inwards investment and consequently accelerating development

through the creation of tourism-related jobs (V&A at Dundee, 2014). Using this

statement, I used a variety of methods to attain whether this is already, or will be the

case in a research area which has had little attention due to its relatively recent

prominence within the tourism industry in Dundee and Scotland.

1.3 Research Questions

To address this, the following research questions have been set and subsequently

answered within this discussion:

1. To what extent and in what way is tourism within the Dundee waterfront

development and the V&A at Dundee museum being used as a catalyst for

development in the city?

2. In what ways are local Dundee residents being engaged as potential visitors to

the V&A museum?

a) What methods are being used to engage these residents, focusing

specifically on the internet and the print press as methods of doing so?

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The questions have been chosen as each represents an important aspect in answering

why this form of development is needed within Dundee, whilst understanding the role

in which the waterfront and V&A at Dundee provide this catalyst for further

regeneration as a result of greater tourism in the city.

Whilst taking into account the importance of tourism, attention must also be paid to the

role local residents have in the success of both the waterfront, V&A at Dundee and

overall regeneration of the city. This provides the reasoning in questioning the way in

which local residents will be engaged as visitors to the museum and whether the success

of these methods differs between different people, using social media as an example for

this.

This discussion will therefore target to address these areas that have not received

sufficient research. It is not unreasonable to suggest Dundee’s regeneration and

economic future is balanced on the success of the waterfront development and V&A at

Dundee museum, consequently great research must be undertaken to ensure the

development does not fail and this can only be done through understanding the

importance of the local people.

1.4 Structure of the Dissertation

To answer these questions, personal semi-structured interviews are used to attain

information in a detailed manner, whilst also allowing an informal discussion with

personal experiences (Flowerdew and Martin, 2005). Focus groups are also used in the

same structure, allowing an informal discussion to take place between local residents

with the opportunity to take personal opinions and ideas into account (Flowerdew and

Martin, 2005). These interviews and focus groups are then coded and divided into

different themes that provide the foundation of my analysis, drawing on similarities that

were found between participant’s answers.

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The structure of this dissertation will first provide a foundation by providing previous

research in a broad context of waterfront’s and waterfront development, before

narrowing research into this development as a catalyst for culture led regeneration. By

studying this literature, gaps could be exposed in the research that were then sought to

be filled through the methodology of my own research, and the eventual analysis that is

provided by extracting various themes found in the primary research.

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CHAPTER TWO

Literature Review

2.1 Introduction

The waterfront has long been an area of importance, in a variety of aspects, in particular

through a social, cultural and economic sense. Throughout history the dominance of

these aspects in relation to the waterfront has shifted dramatically, matching the ever

changing human and physical landscape of the world. As such, the way waterfronts are

developed has been the focus of humans for thousands of years such is the plethora of

benefits we can reap from them. As a result of this, this review will focus on how

waterfronts have proved their importance throughout history, then focusing specifically

why these waterfronts have been redeveloped and how cultural tourism has been a

factor in this redevelopment. By narrowing the literature further, I intend to relate this

literature to my own research on the Dundee waterfront and how I can use this to

enhance my own results.

2.2 Waterfronts – A History of Importance

As with most cities throughout history, the waterfront has been the focus of constant

change, matching the demands of the people, economy and the environment. The

importance of the waterfront is largely undisputed within popular literature, to illustrate

this; we can look at the literature produced by Callmer (2007) and Rogers (2013) as

examples of waterfronts being considered an important part of life. Interestingly, both

pieces choose to focus on the historical aspect of these waterfronts, Callmer (2007,

p246) stating that ‘the most important of the urban territory was the waterfront’ with a

particular focus on the ship landings that took place around the 12th

and 13th

centuries.

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Similarly, Rogers (2013) chooses to focus on waterfronts in a historical context, instead

emphasising the waterfront’s ‘major topographical importance’ and describing the

waterfront as ‘the major trade outlet itself’. By drawing on the similarities found in both

Callmer (2007) and Rogers (2013), it is evident that waterfronts have been at the

forefront of development throughout history and it is not merely a modern occurrence.

Though there is a vast amount of literature that agrees with the views of Callmer (2007)

and Rogers (2013), there are understandably those that do not agree, one author being

Wennersten (2014). In his book about the Washington waterfront, Wennersten (2014,

p81) claims that “in the late nineteenth century, the waterfront was important only as the

District’s provisioner”. Instead, Wennersten (2014) triumphs the use of ‘JP Morgan’s

Southern Railway system’ giving access to major cities along the United States eastern

seaboard. Despite questioning the importance of the waterfront in the late nineteenth

century, Wennersten (2014, p81) does concede that these waterfronts will later be

important, perhaps not for trade, but instead as ‘fish markets, recreational amenities and

visual constructs for emerging urbanism’. Though the literatures in this paragraph differ

in how and when the waterfronts rose to importance, all three concede that waterfront’s

are an important aspect of towns and cities in some capacity. When comparing this

theory of importance to my research, and in particular the city of Dundee, one is

hampered by the lack of literature regarding this issue. McCarthy (1995, cited by

Blackwood et al, 2013, p583), very much agrees with Rogers and Callmer’s (2013)

view whereby the waterfront has always been important attribute of Dundee’s history,

as it has ‘always had close ties to the river which provided it with rich transport and

trade links’. Again, the notion of ‘trade’ being a pivotal factor in the importance of

waterfronts is prominent, drawing further similarities between the literature of Rogers

(2013) and McCarthy (1995). On the contrary, Blackwood et al (2013, p584) note that

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Dundee waterfront was ‘largely untouched’ until the 1960s, and despite development,

the city was left ‘severed from the waterfront’. The need for further regeneration is an

issue I intend to research further throughout this piece.

2.3 The Need for Waterfront Redevelopment

As previously found, the need for waterfront redevelopment has been a factor

throughout history, and even more so in modern times. To reinforce this point, there is

much literature detailing the need for such redevelopment and why the waterfront has

such potential to ‘afford society diversified opportunities for economic development,

public enjoyment and civic identity’ (National Research Council (U.S.), 1980, p3).

Using this statement from the National Research Council (1980), one can compare how

other literatures use these ‘opportunities’ including economic development and public

enjoyment to justify the importance of waterfront development. In terms of

redevelopment as a case for economic redevelopment, this concept is supported by the

American Planning Association (2012, p327) who note that ‘waterfronts are

increasingly seen as economic and social aspects to their communities’. Similarly,

Loures (2014, p5) identifies multiple benefits through the redevelopment of waterfronts,

citing ‘increased tax revenue’ and the chance to ‘stimulate new economic activity’

among these benefits. Unlike the American Planning Association (2012), Loures (2014)

establishes these benefits through the study of 117 different case studies regarding

waterfront development, giving this literature greater precedence within this field.

Loures’ (2014) benefits draw close parallels to those opportunities found by the

National Research Council (1980), in particular the ‘public enjoyment and civic identity

opportunities that may arise. Loures (2014, p5) found that an ‘increased sense of

belonging’ is evident following post-industrialised waterfront redevelopment, as well as

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‘encouraging recreation and connectivity’, both of which highlight the public enjoyment

and civic identity opportunities that arise through the redevelopment. The idea of

‘connecting’ the people to the waterfront is something that will form a component of

my own research, as Dundee seeks to mend the ‘severed waterfront’ that exists, as

previously discovered by Blackwood et al (2013, p584) and reinforced by Shamsuddin

et al (2012, p747) who believe ‘the main aim of waterfront development is to provide

new urban spaces with the opportunities to reintegrate the city with its waterfront’.

Using this quote as a context for my own research, one can discover how this ‘urban

space’, in Dundee’s case the central waterfront development and V&A museum, can be

used to ‘reintegrate the city with its waterfront’ in both a tourist and cultural aspect.

2.4 Tourism as a Catalyst for Waterfront Redevelopment

Though many factors can be applied as catalysts for the redevelopment of waterfronts,

however it is important to understand that tourism is a key component in the

rejuvenation of waterfronts, a notion that Shamsuddin et al (2012, p746) again agree on

through the emergence of opportunities in the ‘rehabilitation of waterfronts’ through

which ‘recreation and tourism [has] become a catalyst for redevelopment’. It is

unsurprising therefore to find other literatures that draw similarities to the views shard

by Shamsuddin et al (2012), with both Fagence (1995) and Smith (2007) advocating the

role of tourism within waterfront and urban development. Fagence (1995, p135)

believes that although not a crucial aspect of the waterfront, ‘leisure, recreation and

tourism have become closely identified with waterside locations’, while using

‘technological changes’ and ‘revision to commercial practices’ as reasons for the way in

which leisure, recreation and tourism has filled this ‘void’ at the waterfront. Smith

(2007, p145) points out the close relationship we see between the waterfront and

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tourism, with ‘waterfront locations creating new leisure and tourism quarters as a basis

for new urban tourism and regeneration initiatives’. Smith (2007) also agrees with

Fagence’s (1995) argument that the reason for this surge in tourist and leisure at the

waterfront is due to ‘technological changes’ and therefore a degree of globalisation.

Interestingly Smith (2007, p6) capitalises on this not to promote the idea but instead

argues that tourism could be at risk of ‘homogenisation’ as all places may start to ‘look

the same’. Though this may not be specifically directed at waterfront developments, it is

almost certainly something that can be considered – and is considered by Fagence

(1995) – as more waterfronts use tourism as a catalyst for their redevelopment.

Subsequently, one must ask how this may apply to the central waterfront development

in Dundee, and how the city can use cultural tourism to regenerate the waterfront

without this tourist ‘homogenisation’.

2.5 Cultural Tourism as a Catalyst for Waterfront Redevelopment

Of course, with tourism being such a broad subject one can narrow it further and reach

the crux of the matter, especially with respect to my own research regarding the

waterfront redevelopment in Dundee in looking particularly at the upcoming V&A

museum. Kostopoulou (2013) and Gunay and Dokmeci (2012) highlight the need for

culture to be used as a catalyst for regeneration, especially so at a dilapidated

waterfront. Kostopolou (2013, p4579) chooses to focus more generally on the role of

cultural tourism in relation to the waterfront, using history as a means of culture

whereby waterfronts can use this ‘historic culture’ to attract tourists and enhance ‘local

vitality’. This ‘local vitality’ (p4579) is something that I intend to apply to my own

research, as one must understand the relationship the waterfront can have in regards to

both the tourist and the residents of the city. Though Gunay and Dokmeci (2012) apply

17

their findings to the Istanbul waterfront redevelopment, the themes we can draw from

the article close similarities to Kostopoulou’s (2013) theories. Gunay and Dokmeci

(2012, p213) state that ‘culture has become an important theme as means for responding

to the socio-economic decline that waterfronts have been facing’, and by applying this

to Istanbul’s Golden Horn development, it is now very much thought be identified as a

‘culture-led tourism zone’ (p216). As demonstrated, both articles find that through

successful application, culture led tourism can be key to waterfront, and indeed urban as

a whole, redevelopment. On the contrary however, Smith (2003, p153) feels that often

waterfronts can be ‘awash with gentrified cultural and recreational activities, which

often fail to reflect the diverse cultural traditions of local people’. This contrasts directly

with Kostopoulou’s (2013) work, whom emphasises the importance of enhancing ‘local

vitality’, an aspect which Smith (2003) notes as a downfall of many waterfront

developments. Smith’s (2003) view is then reinforced by Carruthers (2013, p312)

following a cultural homogenisation theme, as waterfronts offer ‘little cultural

distinction’. Instead Carruthers (2013, p312) offers an alternative whereby waterfront

development must be ‘complimented by development that reflects something of the

local place and identity’. Interestingly, the notion of including ‘local place and identity’

within a waterfront is one that may be already achievable for Dundee as a cultural

tourist centre through the Dundee Contemporary Arts Museum (DCA). As McCarthy

(2012, p88) acknowledges, the DCA itself was built as a result of culture led

regeneration within the Perth Road area of Dundee, and to be used to ‘develop the local

arts community’ as well ‘develop public access to, and involvement with the arts’. As

the Dundee central waterfront is already ‘complimented’ by a development that reflects

local place and identity, one could argue that the V&A at Dundee will have freedom to

18

offer a plethora of Cultural offerings to attract both local and national visitors without

being restricted to keeping a ‘local’ identity.

2.6 Conclusion

In this review, I have examined various literatures that have studied, or touched upon

the subject of waterfront redevelopment. By starting with the role and importance of

waterfronts in history I focused first on the subject from a broad viewpoint, narrowing it

throughout the piece as the literature of waterfront redevelopment, tourist

redevelopment and eventually cultural tourism as a catalyst for waterfront

redevelopment became more defined towards my own research. Having used this

literature, I can easily identify the areas in which more research must be conducted and

the theories which can be applied to the Dundee Central Waterfront and in particular the

V&A at Dundee to attain the most interesting results.

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CHAPTER THREE

Methodology

3.1 Introduction

To achieve the best answers from my research questions, it was imperative that the way

in which the research is carried out was to a high standard and related fully to the topic.

The methodology detailed in this chapter is therefore an important aspect of my work,

through engagement with key figures in the waterfront development, the V&A museum

and the Dundee community.

3.2 Primary Data

Primary data are data that is collected for the first time and for a particular purpose, in

the context of this dissertation to gather information regarding the V&A museum and

Dundee waterfront and the methods of engagement they have used (Lindsay, 1997).

Collecting primary data is often seen as an important aspect of one’s project, and as

literature within the subject demonstrates, this isn’t without reason. By using primary

data, I can ensure that the data collected are ‘context dependent’, meaning the

information I have collected is intended purely for my own research, and has not been

skewed or edited to match another person’s research questions (Kitchin and Tate, 2013,

p39). Conducting my own research also allows me to know exactly how the information

was obtained, the problems that may arise and how these problems were overcome;

using other research may result in analysing the information, or even misinterpreting the

meanings (Kitchin and Tate, 2013). Once I’d established the importance of primary

research within my topic, it was then crucial to find the methods that would give me the

most useful results to my research questions. Though primary research entails a

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multitude of methods, I decided to advance in my research by holding interviews with

who I considered key figures in my research, and by holding small focus groups among

communities in the city.

3.3 Data Collection Methods

3.3.1 Interviews

Kothari (2004, p97) states that conducting an interview involves a ‘presentation of oral-

verbal stimuli and reply in terms of oral-verbal responses’. Simply this means one can

use interviews to hold a semi-structured, fluid conversation that is used to gather the

‘interests, experiences and views of the interviewee’ (Flowerdew and Martin, 2005,

p111). By using this ‘semi-structured’ form of conversation, it meant I could use a spine

of questions that were relevant to my own topic, however it gives scope to ask

additional and follow up questions if needed. Whilst conducting an interview it is

essential to maintain a good rapport with the interviewee in order to let the conversation

flow and allowing the interviewee to feel comfortable with the questions, and in turn

making sure the questions didn’t turn the interview into an interrogation (Kitchin and

Tate, 2013). Using this method when interviewing meant I could attain more

information than I could through a questionnaire, especially given the amount of

knowledge that my interviewees have. It is because of this knowledge and their role that

I found my respondent’s (Figure 3.1), as each was thought to have excellent knowledge,

with a representative from all aspects of my research, between tourism, the waterfront

development and V&A at Dundee, media and the local community.

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Name of

Interviewee

Job Role

Date

Interviewed

Andrew Argo

Chief Reporter at The Courier

8th

October

2014

Jim Clarkson

Regional Partnerships Director (East)

10th

October

2014

Clive Gilman

Director at DCA Museum

10th

October

2014

Stewart Murdoch

Director of Leisure and Communities at Dundee City

Council

24th

October

2014

Tara Wainwright

Marketing & Communications Manager at V&A

Dundee

4th

November

2014

Gordon Sharp

Development Coordinator at Faith in the

Community Dundee, Kirkton Library

9th

December

2014

Phyllis Worsley

Senior Community Learning and Development

Worker at the Ardler Complex

9th

December

2014

Figure 3.1 - Table of Interviewees

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Interviewing such a range of people meant that I could gather a wide range of views

from different perspectives of my research, allowing for a more detailed and interesting

analysis. To ensure a wide and accurate set of answers, I used three different interviews

using the same spine of questions, but with variations that suited the particular

interviewee. These were split between those that were involved with the waterfront and

V&A at Dundee museum (Appendix A), those that were involved with media, such as

DC Thomson and VisitScotland (Appendix B) and finally, those involved with other

organisations, cultural institutions and the City Council (Appendix C).

3.3.2 Focus Groups

The second primary method I chose to undertake was focus groups which, as

acknowledged by Powell et al (1996, cited by Flowerdew and Martin, 2005, p129), is ‘a

group of individuals selected and assembled by researchers to discuss and comment on,

from personal experience, the topic that is the subject of research’. Drawing on this, I

felt that by using the views and personal experiences of those from local communities in

Dundee, I would be able to gain an interesting insight into the engagement and opinion

on the V&A at Dundee and central waterfront development. The questions (Appendix

D) that I chose for these groups allowed a very flowing conversation where the

participant’s could speak in detail about the issue at hand.

The location of the community Interviews and Focus Groups were chosen by the

respondents, which provided both a familiar surrounding for the participant and also an

easy to reach location (Sector, 2010). These locations, found in figure 3.2, covered a

vast area of Dundee and people of many different backgrounds, an aspect of this

research that is vitally important in encompassing many different views.

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Figure 3.2 - Locations of community interviews and focus groups

Both the Hub Library in the Whitfield area of Dundee, and the Hearing Voices Network

in Hilltown were the locations for the focus groups. These locations were chosen as a

result of the high unemployment and deprivation found in these areas, for example, in

Hilltown (part of the Coldside local ward), 18% of the population are thought to be

employment deprived, compared to the Dundee average of 16.9% and Scottish average

of 12.8%. Whitfield (part of the East End local ward) with 22.1% of people employment

deprived, 5.2% above the Dundee average and 9.3% above the Scottish average

(Dundee Partnership, 2013).

3.4 Secondary Data

This is data that has already been collected for another purpose but has been made

available for me to use (White, 2010). The use of secondary data is predominantly used

to supplement the extensive primary data I collect, for example the use of census

statistics of Dundee to justify a certain area chosen to hold a focus group. In doing so I

24

could collect a large quantity of data useful to my research, without conducting a lot of

time consuming research (St. Martin and Pavlovskaya, 2010).

3.5 Analysis Methods

By analysing the interview data, I was able to form a clear picture of what the

respondents said, and how it related to my own research. Transcribing the data allowed

me to listen through the interview, writing every word and if possible, reaction such as a

laugh or a sigh, an example of which can be found in Appendix E. It was important to

transcribe these interviews as soon as possible to ensure the interview was still fresh in

my mind, ensuring if there was an error the interview would still be fresh in my mind to

take detailed notes, as suggested by Zook (2005). Once the interviews had been

transcribed, I coded each interview whereby I ‘flag up’ certain phrases or words that

appear between different interviews to show similarities or contrasts of opinions (Secor,

2010). This is illustrated in Appendix F by the different colours of highlighted sentences

and paragraphs of the interview, each colour coded to a certain theme, for example

‘engagement’ was colour assigned to orange. From this, themes between interviews

were extracted and compared, eventually analysed against my own research questions,

forming an important part of my own analysis.

In terms of analysing my focus groups, this was done identically to the way I coded the

interviews. This was done this way as by being part of the same analysis, it was

important to remain consistent in the themes I extracted from the interviews and focus

groups. This is acknowledged by Secor (2010) who also groups the two codes in the

same analysis to remain consistent in their analysis. The only difference encountered

between the interviews and focus groups is the protection of anonymity found in the

focus groups, done so as members of the public, rather than a particular position in an

organisation.

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CHAPTER FOUR

Economic Regeneration in Dundee

4.1 Introduction

The analysis of my fieldwork took place over the months of October to December,

involving a wide range of key persons and two small focus groups, allowing me to take

a variety of opinions and facts into account, thus resulting in a more in depth analysis.

Whilst coding the transcripts of these interviews, as suggested by Packer (2010), I

identified separate themes that arose in each interview or focus, drawing similarities

between them. Once these themes were identified, they were divided into sub themes to

find specific ideas relevant to my own research. These themes of economic regeneration

and engagement of the V&A at Dundee museum with the local population is discussed

throughout the following chapters.

4.2 Economic Impact of the Waterfront and V&A at Dundee Museum in the City

4.2.1 The Economy and Employment in Dundee

Dundee has had a turbulent history, and since being one of the richest cities in the UK at

the beginning of the 20th

century, it has declined dramatically and is now an area with

high unemployment and social deprivation (Wiewel and Perry, 2008, p66). As a result

of this, it is important to understand the role the £1billion waterfront development and

V&A at Dundee has in rejuvenating the economic future of the city and as such is

important to begin the discussion with this theme.

Although the Dundee economy has shown a recent resurgence following the 2008

recession, it still falls behind the Scottish average in key categories that determine the

26

economic standing of the city. This includes the unemployment rate (Figure 4.1) which

shows that although the percentage of those unemployed in Dundee has decreased by

1.3% between June 2013 and June 2014, unemployment in Dundee still stands 1.6%

above the Scottish average.

Claimants of Job Seekers Allowance

% of Working age population

Dundee 4,314 4.4

Scotland 97,075 2.8

Figure 4.1 - Number of Job Seeker Claimants (Source: Nomis (cited by Dundee

City Council, 2014))

As Levine (2010) indicates, unemployment can be considered a ‘lagging indicator’, by

way in which it may not reflect the economic status as soon as the economy grows or

falls, but some time later. It is therefore important to acknowledge Dundee may be

growing at a faster rate than figures suggest, however Levine (2010) accepts that in the

long run, there tends to be a link between the economic growth and unemployment rate,

in a given area.

The issue of unemployment was raised at both focus groups held in Hilltown and in

Whitfield, two areas where unemployment rates rise above both the Dundee and

Scottish average. As previously discussed in this paper, both areas suffer from

employment deprivation above both the Dundee and Scottish average, and with this in

mind, job creation was very much at the forefront of participant’s minds, and regarding

the V&A at Dundee, one respondent remarked:

27

More people will start to speak about it once there are jobs. They did say

the jobs are going to local people, but whether or not that actually

happens...

Respondent D – Hilltown Group

Focus Group, 24th

November 2014

However, it was not unusual throughout my research to take vastly different views into

account, as demonstrated here by Gordon Sharp, Coordinator of Faith in Dundee:

Gordon Sharp, Faith in Dundee

Personal Interview, 9th

December 2014

4.2.2 Job Creation

It is unsurprising to see job creation as a prominent topic when discussing the economic

future of Dundee, regarding the waterfront and V&A at Dundee, as Levine (2010)

argues, there is a visible link between the economy and job creation. In addition to the

unemployment statistics, one can observe how the median pay within the city compares

to that in Scotland (figure 4.2). Again figure 4.2 shows Dundee falling behind the

Scottish average, and though the wage grew by 24.4% between 2003 and 2013, this was

behind the median rise of 33.3% as seen by the whole of Scotland (Dundee City

Council, 2014). Of course for fair research it is important to take into account other

I mean there will be jobs in the V&A, jobs in Malmaison and one or two other

places who get some but there’s not enough to make an impact on a lot of

people’s lives, not when you consider the levels of unemployment and the fact a

lot of people are distant from the labour market.

28

factors, such as the cost of living differentiation between different areas of Scotland,

and this is something that must be included in the analysis of Dundee’s economy.

Figure 4.2 - Median Monthly Pay in Dundee and Scotland (Source: Nomis (Cited

by Dundee City Council, 2014))

Although the gap in median pay between Dundee and Scotland is not substantial, it

shows a continuing theme regarding Dundee falling behind the rest of Scotland in terms

of economic recovery.

4.3 A Case for Economic Revival in the City

4.3.1 The Role of the Dundee Partnership

Interviewing key figures in Dundee and analysing the strategy plan the Dundee

Partnership helped develop a clear picture as to how the waterfront development, V&A

at Dundee museum and council plan to transform Dundee’s economic fortunes through

regeneration of the city. The Dundee Partnership’s Single Outcome Agreement for

Dundee 2013-2017 outlines the vision it has for Dundee’s future, and the methods it

will undertake to develop a set of particular outcomes. The document focuses on “jobs

and the economy, social inclusion and quality of life” as issues it must address to

“enable all aspects if the life of the city to flourish” (Dundee Partnership, 2013). Using

this strategy as a basis for analysis, my own primary research has allowed me to reflect

on the ways in which this strategy is being implemented within the waterfront

development and V&A at Dundee.

Median Monthly Pay (as of April 2013)

Dundee £493.3

Scotland £508.3

29

4.3.2 Tourism in Dundee and the ‘Trickle Down Effect’

According to the Dundee Partnership (2013), the city now stands “on the cusp of a scale

of economic regeneration which occurs once in a generation or longer”. The Dundee

Partnership is not alone in holding tangible excitement for the V&A at Dundee and

waterfront development and indeed the future of Dundee, and this theme was evident

through many of the interviews I conducted.

Jim Clarkson, Regional Partnerships Director for the East of Scotland at Visit Scotland,

was quick to support the role tourism will play in the economic growth of both Dundee

and Scotland:

Tourism is all about economic growth for Scotland, if they come here

and spend their money, businesses are going to grow, if businesses are going

to grow they’re going to create jobs, if they’re going to create jobs that’s

clearly important for residents of the city because that creates employment

opportunities for them.

Jim Clarkson, Visit Scotland

Personal Interview, 10th

October 2014

Having the V&A at Dundee as the centrepiece of the Dundee waterfront is very much

incorporated into the concept of using tourism as a driver for economic growth within

the city. This is the first evidence of the ‘trickle down’ effect that can take place within

the city, and this proved to be the key theme that emerged when Dundee’s economy was

raised in the interviews.

30

If there’s employment created, the halo effect, a bit like the trickle down, will

create jobs for people right across the city.

Stewart Murdoch, Dundee City Council

Personal Interview, 24th

October 2014

The ‘trickle down’ effect was raised again by Tara Wainwright of the V&A at Dundee,

instead using the term ‘ripple effect’ but the theory still remains the same, using the

V&A at Dundee as a catalyst for this. Tara does state that although the V&A at Dundee

will only provide between 30 and 40 jobs itself, indirectly it provides much more:

...indirect jobs are sort of the ripple effect, so the likes of hospitality,

accommodation, retail, cafe, culture, gift shops, interestingly what we’re

already seeing.

Tara Wainwright, V&A at Dundee

Personal Interview, 4th

November 2014

Persky et al (2004) regard the ‘trickle down’ effect as the “positive spillover effects

percolating beyond the confined of the original stimulus”, which in this case is the V&A

at Dundee and waterfront development. Within Dundee, the ‘percolation’ is thought to

be the creation of jobs within the city, in particular the creation of craft shops within the

city centre area, including knitting and fabric shops. According to Tara, this is already

happening, three years before the V&A at Dundee has opened its doors the public,

something that perhaps shows a new found confidence by Dundee residents to start up

their own business within the city rather than leaving. Showing local people that they

can have a future in Dundee will greatly aid the economic development of the city

31

through a greater amount of economically active people, with a greater income and

paying taxes, spending more money in the city itself.

It is important to remember however that the trickle down effect is a theory, rather than

an economic model that is abided by as fact. Indeed within my own fieldwork there

have been critics, one of which was Clive Gilman, Director of the Dundee

Contemporary Arts (DCA) museum:

That’s the tricky one because the whole trickle down effect is not particularly

proven, and if anything it’s been disproven [laughter].

Clive Gilman, DCA

Personal Interview, 10th

October 2014

Clive Gilman is not alone in this view, with his stance reinforced by different literature,

namely Fayos- Solà et al (2014) who believe that “trickle down effects are often just

another myth”. Using tourism development as an example, Fayos- Solà et al (2014)

concede that even though employment and incomes are generated through tourism

growth, they conclude that often governments or organisations are more concerned with

development as shown by growth indicators, rather than the contribution of prosperity

to the local area.

4.4 Culture Led Regeneration in Dundee

4.4.1 Culture as a Catalyst for Change

Although Clive Gilman disputes the trickle-down effect as a method of local economic

growth and regeneration, he does offer an alternative by way of culture-led

regeneration. Using culture to regenerate the city is a popular concept amongst many

authors who propose the idea as a way of both ‘responding to the socio-economic

32

decline waterfronts have been facing’ (Gunay and Dokmeci, 2012, p213) and

‘enhancing local vitality’ (Kostopolou, 2013, p4579). This concept was cited by various

respondents in my research, citing the Dundee Cultural Strategy as an example of

cultural regeneration in Dundee already in motion. The Dundee Cultural Strategy

(2009), a plan running between the years of 2009-2014, using the basic premise that

‘investing in and supporting cultural activity will provide a solid foundation for

developing the creativity of Dundee’s citizen’ (p9) and claims that ‘since the late 1990s,

the cultural renaissance of Dundee has been firmly associated with the regeneration of

the city’ (p11).

Clive Gilman emphasises this through his association and partnership with the Dundee

Cultural Strategy and what it means for Dundee:

So we’re in working partnership through things like the Dundee cultural

strategy, with other agencies in the city to try to develop the city as a cultural

city and part of that is about how we regenerate the city, reinvent the city, and

there’s a lot of stuff about Dundee being, what, one of the main cities in the

UK that’s focusing on culture-led regeneration.

Clive Gilman, DCA

Personal Interview, 10th

October 2014

Dundee’s efforts to regenerate the city have been recognised, firstly being shortlisted

into the final four candidates for the UK City of Culture 2017 (BBC, 2014), and

although losing out to Hull, Dundee has gone on to be named a UNESCO City of

Design, the first of its kind in the UK (BBC, 2014).

33

It is evident then that Dundee has already begun its ‘cultural renaissance’ (Jim

Clarkson, VisitScotland, 2014) even before the V&A at Dundee has established itself in

the city. The V&A at Dundee can therefore be used to greatly enhance the cultural offer

of the city, potentially drawing tourists from all over Scotland and the world,

showcasing what Dundee has to offer.

4.4.2 Dundee as a Cultural Tourism Destination

The challenge will be to use the V&A at Dundee as the showpiece of the waterfront

development and tourist offer of Dundee, whilst incorporating other cultural centres of

Dundee, such as the McManus museum and the DCA, into one big cultural offer. The

importance of this was stressed throughout my research, predominantly by both Stewart

Murdoch of Dundee City Council and Clive Gilman of the DCA, sharing the same

ideas. Stewart Murdoch was vocal in emphasising the importance of the V&A at

Dundee to the culture that Dundee offers:

The best way of bringing tourists to Dundee is to improve the quality of the

cultural offer, and the V&A is again the Trojan horse for that offer. If tourism

is going to have an economic impact in Dundee, people have to be persuaded

not to come on the train see the V&A and go back again, they have to stay

over...So if you go to the V&A you also go to McManus, you also go to DCA,

you might go to the theatre, a live music show. You need to have a diverse offer

so when people look at their tourism plan and say actually I could stay in

Dundee and stay 3 or 4 days.

Stewart Murdoch, Dundee City Council

Personal Interview, 24th

October 2014

34

As a ‘Trojan horse’, Dundee can use the V&A at Dundee as a gateway for tourists to

visit Dundee, and once they are here the whole offer can be set out including different

cultural aspects of the city. Clive Gilman of the DCA shares the same thought:

Using the V&A as an anchor but actually all of the other aspects of the city are

in that and it encourages people to engage with that as well. There’s the

phrase ‘a rising tide floats all boats’ the idea being, us, the McManus, the

university and Hannah McLure centre should all see that if we respond to that

well, we should see those audiences engaging with us.

Clive Gilman, DCA

Personal Interview, 10th

October 2014

Similar to the ‘Trojan Horse’ concept proposed by Stewart Murdoch, Clive describes

the V&A at Dundee as the anchor that can attract the majority of tourists, but by using

the introduction of the V&A at Dundee as the ‘rising tide’, other attractions can engage

with these tourists and benefit as well.

Once tourists have been drawn to Dundee, the next step will be to ensure that these

tourists stay in Dundee for more than a day. Again both Clive Gilman and Stewart

Murdoch believe that overnight stays will provide the greatest change in Dundee’s

tourist economy, with Stewart Murdoch believing:

The minute we start getting people to have their Scottish holiday in and around

Dundee, it’ll be past the tipping point. Tourism isn’t about day visits, it’s about

stay visits.

Stewart Murdoch, Dundee City Council

Personal Interview, 24th

October 2014

35

4.5 Tourism and the Local Population

It is therefore fair to assume that for Dundee’s economy to see a real change, the

waterfront development and V&A at Dundee must transform Dundee into more than

day visit, whereby tourists visit for a day and return back to another city, they must stay

and spend money within the city itself. This reflects what Jim Clarkson of VisitScotland

believed earlier in this analysis, once tourists start spending money within Dundee,

businesses will grow and local residents are going to see a difference, created by the

increase in tourism in the city, although it remains to be seen if this will spread to a

large portion of the population.

Despite tourism being an obvious boost to the local economy and V&A at Dundee, it is

the local residents that Stewart Murdoch believes to be crucial in the success of the

internationally branded museum:

If you think Dundee’s economy is going to be changed by tourism you’re

kidding yourself, it’s got to be done by the core audience, having a great

cultural offer and local people coming to it.

Stewart Murdoch, Dundee City Council

Personal Interview, 24th

October 2014

This view is unsurprising given the likeliness of repeat visitors being from the city

itself, and consequently being the greatest source of income in regards to cafe and

exhibition spend. With this being the case, a great emphasis must be placed not only on

attracting tourists to the V&A at Dundee, waterfront development and city itself, but

also including local residents in the cultural offer that Dundee has and can only be done

through enthusiastic engagement with local residents, something which I will cover in

my next analysis.

36

CHAPTER FIVE

Images of the City and Engagement of the Local Residents by the V&A

at Dundee Museum

5.1 Introduction

To understand why engagement is needed within the city of Dundee, one must first

focus on the importance of the image of the city to both those within and outside the

city. This chapter will therefore focus on exploring why engagement is necessary to

eradicate these negative images of the city and the ways in which this engagement can

be undertaken to ensure the V&A at Dundee and Dundee waterfront thrives in the

future.

5.2 The Image of Dundee

5.2.1 An Image Shaped by the Past

The image of a city is a combination of both the ‘stationary objects’ that exist within the

city, such as the buildings, and the ‘moving elements’ of the city, thus the people and

their activities (Lynch, 1960). Using this idea in the context of my research, it is

therefore important to consider both the V&A at Dundee and Dundee waterfront as an

indicator of Dundee’s changing image, while also examining the role the people of

Dundee have in this and the image they have of Dundee at present.

Whilst conducting interviews around the city, the response regarding the city’s image

was varied. Drawing on similar themes from previous discussion in my research

regarding unemployment, Dundee’s turbulent past has shaped views portraying a

negative image of deprivation and post-industrial decline, leading to pessimism,

highlighted by one respondent in particular:

37

Do you know what? Dundee needs as much optimism as it can get really,

Dundee’s got a lot of problems, a hell of a lot of problems, a lot of poverty, a

lot of health issues, it really needs something optimistic.

Respondent D, Hilltown Group

Focus Group, 24th

November 2014

What this does show is recognition of the pessimism that exists within the city, and for a

period this pessimism can be thought of as well founded given the high unemployment

of the city and subsequent economic downturn the city suffered as a result of the Jute

industry declining. This poses another problem for the city in its attempts to regenerate

itself and reinvent itself as a cultural destination, if the negative image is rooted within

the residents; this is likely to translate outside of the city as well. Kolb (2006)

recognises the importance the image of a city has on development within a city,

specifically tourist development. Kolb (2006) believes that a city may struggle to attract

tourists if it has a negative image, attributing this to economic depression within the

area and neglected infrastructure. The notion of neglected infrastructure leading to a

negative image was reinforced in an interview with Phyllis Worsley, Senior Community

Learning and Development Worker at the Ardler Complex in Dundee:

I think because the whole waterfront has been an eyesore for so long and that

Tayside house and the tired looking waterfront, and now it’s going to be all

appealing.

Phyllis Worsley, Ardler Complex

Personal Interview, 9th

December 2014

38

5.2.2 A Legacy of Poor Design

Interestingly in this research, Tayside House (Figure 5.1) became the pinnacle of what

was popularly considered wrong with the waterfront, a large ‘eyesore’ that dominated

the Dundee waterfront skyline, outdated like much of the 1960s architecture that is

evident around the city. In demolishing the building and removing it from the

waterfront, it showed visible steps being taken to connect the waterfront to the people of

Dundee, and active change in redeveloping the city.

The issue of 1960s architecture in Dundee was raised again by Gordon Sharp of Faith in

the Community in Dundee, talking about the waterfront:

It’s really an excellent initiative overall because what we’d done to the

waterfront was a travesty, there were so many travesties during the 1960s,

that we’ve had to demolish, it’s bizarre when you consider some of the

buildings that are 100 years older, that are still standing and admired whereas

the crap that was built during the 1960s has had to be demolished because it

Figure 5.1 - Tayside House, a 17 story council building prominent on Dundee's

Waterfront (Dundee Partnership, n.d.)

39

wasn’t fit for purpose, it was badly designed, they just lost the plot as far as

design and architecture is concerned. We’re paying the price now.

Gordon Sharp, Faith in the Community Dundee

Personal Interview, 9th

December 2014

Again as a resident of Dundee, Gordon’s contempt for the ‘travesties’ that were built

during the 1960s and into the 1970s reinforces the negative image that local people tend

to have of the city, whilst showing an example of resident’s embracing the change that

is occurring in Dundee. I was fortunate in my research to speak to an international

student as part of a focus group held in the Hilltown area of Dundee, who held a

different view of Dundee to the local residents, highlighting the highly different

perspectives observed in my fieldwork:

It is beautiful when you come from the outside. When you walk around town

and you look at the buildings it is beautiful, adding later...Hopefully - the

waterfront development - it’ll get people to realise Dundee has potential, and

it’s working towards it. This is what I think anyway...I definitely think Dundee

is on the up and I hope it continues that way.

Respondent C, Hilltown Group

Focus Group, 24th

November 2014

5.2.3 Generating a New Image for the City

This optimism from someone out with Dundee could be attributed to various factors.

The respondent may not have experienced Dundee’s ‘turbulent’ economic history of the

past 40 years and thus unaware of the ‘poverty and health issues’ (Respondent D,

Hilltown Group) that existed. However this could be evidence that the image of Dundee

40

is changing already, something that Tara Wainwright (V&A at Dundee Museum, 2014)

believes is the case through the ‘ripple effect’ previously discussed.

Regardless, this is the first instance within my research that indicated a positive image

of Dundee from a local resident, and is an indicator which is greatly important to

Dundee’s success as a tourist destination. According to Kolb (2006, p227), the negative

image must be shed before the city can have an emotional appeal in attracting tourists to

the city, whilst “cultivating the local resident’s pride in their city”. The V&A at Dundee

has already recognised the role it will play in raising civic pride within the city, on its

website it states its roles will include “raising aspirations and contributing to civic

pride” (V&A at Dundee, 2014).

Raising civic pride is an important aspect of both the V&A at Dundee museum and

Dundee Waterfront project to Gordon Sharp:

If it creates civic pride as an attractive space, it’ll be a winner if it can do that.

Gordon Sharp, Faith in the Community Dundee

Personal Interview, 9th

December 2014

Civic pride has a close relationship with the image local residents portray of the city, if

the residents of Dundee are going to proud of the city, that will reflect a positive image

of the city. This positive image can then be used as a catalyst for both tourist

development, and in turn economic development through the attraction of new tourists

and new development.

41

In terms of using this civic pride as a mechanism for tourist development, this concept

would be crucial in both engaging and attracting tourists as according to Stewart

Murdoch:

Best promotion you can ever get? Word of mouth.

Stewart Murdoch, Dundee City Council

Personal Interview, 24th

October 2014

Of course, for word of mouth to be successful in promoting the city and the V&A at

Dundee museum, residents in the city must be engaged in what is happening with both

the museum and waterfront development and what it means for both them and the city

as a whole.

5.3 Engagement

5.3.1 The Dundee Community

Earlier within this chapter, I discussed the importance the ‘core audience’ would have

on economic growth, building on the responsibility Stewart Murdoch placed on the

local residents rather than tourists visiting the V&A at Dundee Museum. For the ‘core

audiences’, in this case the local resident’s of Dundee, to contribute to the economic

growth of Dundee, and success of the V&A at Dundee museum and waterfront

development, the engagement must not be good, but excellent. As Simon (2010, pii)

recognises, “when people can actively participate with cultural institutions, those places

become central to cultural and community life”.

The notion of ‘community life’ being a crucial aspect of a cultural centre is one that the

V&A at Dundee has already embraced through the ‘living room of the city’ project,

42

emphasising the role the V&A at Dundee will have in the city and the way it can be

made the ‘living room’ of Dundee. This was the first engagement project run by the

V&A at Dundee, encompassing the whole city, where local people could take a photo of

their living room and send it in to the V&A, through a variety of media channels, such

as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram (V&A at Dundee, 2014). The idea of the ‘living

room’ was described by Tara Wainwright of the V&A:

We’ve always said we want to be somewhere where everybody can come in and

feel comfortable, and that’s why we did our living room for the city campaign

earlier this year. The idea for that is that it’s just like your living room but it’s

a new museum.

Tara Wainwright, V&A at Dundee

Personal Interview, 4th

November 2014

5.3.2 The Living Room Project

This was an interesting project in such a way in it emphasised how the museum could

be part of local resident’s lives, as somewhere for them to feel comfortable in. As

Munro (2013, p56) acknowledges, “Social inclusion – at its most basic level – requires

museums to ensure that they are accessible to as many social groups as possible, and

that they work to attract diverse audiences”. In the context of my own fieldwork, the

challenge for the V&A at Dundee was to make sure the living room project could reach

everyone in the city, which it took steps to do by engaging with those in community

centres, which was particularly interesting hearing from Phyllis Worsley of the Ardler

Complex:

43

They’ve got community representation, the V&A, because this year they’ve

been coming into our community centres, and I’m sure it was called design a

living room. So they were here with examples over the summer and they all

made lamps. They went to most community centres and got local people

involved in designing a lamp, a real lamp with the blub, and the only thing they

asked for was could they take it back and make it sort of the V&A in the future.

So they were taking pictures, they called it design a living.

Phyllis Worsley, Ardler Complex

Personal Interview, 9th

December 2014

By expanding the engagement project into community centres, the V&A at Dundee

shows its ability to maximise social inclusion within the city by reaching out to people

without relying on social media to do so. This is a crucial way in which the V&A at

Dundee are engaging with local residents to encourage them to visit the museum, by

using social media as a mechanism for this project, whilst making an effort to reach

those that may not have access to this technology.

Despite the living room project being a successful outreach for the museum, and with

engagement with community centres in Dundee being acknowledged by those involved

with the centres, there are examples of this engagement not reaching everyone. Gordon

Sharp (Faith in the Community) believes that the engagement has ‘tailed off’ since the

design of the museum was chosen and as such is unaware of what was happening at the

museum. Gordon Sharp draws on this by referring to his own engagement with media

platforms; something which he considers is poor:

44

I’m not great with social media so I don’t use much down that way. It’s one of

those things these days that I probably read papers less than I used to and yet

I’m not picking up news in other ways, there’s a gap there, I’ll blame social

media.

Gordon Sharp, Faith in the Community Dundee

Personal Interview, 9th

December 2014

Gordon provides an interesting viewpoint for this research, as he tends not to use social

media or the internet for news, but has began to use papers less and instead cites the

radio as his main source of day to day information. What this shows is the need for the

V&A at Dundee museum to expand its engagement through every medium possible,

although the radio may only reach a small number of people compared to the scope of

social media or the print press, for there to be total social inclusion every aspect of

media must be included.

5.3.3 Social Media and Advancing Technology in Engagement

Despite this, the role of social media and the internet must not be underestimated in its

power of both engagement and raising awareness of the museum and waterfront project.

Using the Dundee Contemporary Arts Museum (DCA) as an example, Clive Gilman

revels in the ‘big social media presence’ the museum has, citing its 12,000 followers on

twitter as a testament to that. Building on the large social media presence, Clive draws

on Stewart Murdoch’s importance of word of mouth promotion, in this context through

the ‘retweeting’ of visitors views and experiences within the DCA whereby people’s

own views can be cycled around social media rather than the museum itself doing so.

The V&A at Dundee have already taken steps to follow in the footsteps of the DCA and

its media presence, putting great emphasis on the role of social media:

45

Online channels and media are essential, couldn’t do it without them.

Tara Wainwright, V&A at Dundee

Personal interview, 4th

November 2014

Being able to have this media presence without having physical walls is an important

aspect to Tara in being able to showcase what the V&A can offer whilst the building is

being developed.

Jim Clarkson of Visit Scotland uses the rapid advances in technology as a major factor

in the rise of social media:

Social media is hugely important, it really is, adding, Social media platforms,

and the access to 4G, the content is there, it’s where they get access to that

information.

Jim Clarkson, VisitScotland

Personal Interview, 10th

October 2014

The ability to access social media, and the internet, so readily available through a

mobile device wherever you are, can be considered key in the prominence of social

media for both the DCA and V&A at Dundee museums. Being able to send information

about future exhibitions to the fingertips of potential visitors or local residents through a

mobile device shows the incredible advancement of technology in the last 15 years,

displaying the ever changing platform that engagement sits on.

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5.3.4 Acknowledging Different Types of Engagement

However, for the purpose of this research it was important to acknowledge ways in

which social media and the internet may not fulfill the engagement necessary for the

V&A at Dundee to have greater social inclusion. Within the focus group in the Hilltown

area, there were mixed opinions about the success of the internet and social media as a

medium of engagement:

Interviewer: Is there anything more that could be done maybe in the newspapers, and

would that make you switch towards the internet perhaps?

Respondent D: I’m not a big internet fan at all so it wouldn’t make me switch!

Interviewer: Should more development stuff, maybe in the way of a blog, be put in the

papers then?

Respondent D: Yeah, definitely.

Respondent C: A lot of the people beyond the internet, there will be a lot of people on

the internet, but a lot of people in Dundee will be reading newspapers rather than going

online.

Respondent D: It would keep people’s attention as well, if it was maybe fortnightly, it

would keep their mind on it and not let them forget it like’s happening at the moment.

It’s like the V and what? That would keep engaging people.

Hilltown Group Focus Group, 24

th November 2014

47

Many of the respondents shared Gordon Sharp’s view of being excluded from what was

happening within the V&A at Dundee museum. Although Tara Wainwright was quick

to point out the museum has an online blog – although not updated as much as she may

like – it is noticeable that print press may be left behind in this regard. Instead the group

agreed that a weekly blog in a local newspaper such as ‘The Courier’ would be an ideal

way in which local people could be kept up date with what was happening, the greatest

engagement may well be keeping the V&A in people’s mind such is the time scale

before the development is finished in 2017(correct at the time of research).

Engagement with the local audience will be crucially important to the V&A at Dundee

museum and waterfront development if it is to act as a catalyst for tourist development.

What this research has discovered is the variety of ways in which people can be

engaged, the extent of which cannot be covered in such a piece and would be a subject

for its own research. The engagement must then be consistent in its attempts to reach

everyone in the city as a mechanism for total social inclusion, only once this is achieved

can the project be considered a success. The success can then be measured by the way

in which local people portray the image of Dundee, if the optimism and passion for the

museum and development of those involved can be passed onto the local people then

one will undoubtedly see a rejuvenated and positive image of the city.

48

CHAPTER SIX

Conclusion

The Dundee waterfront regeneration and upcoming V&A at Dundee have the potential

to provide a foundation for a bright future for the city of Dundee and its residents. My

research has therefore set out to understand the role the waterfront and V&A at Dundee

museum have in being a catalyst for development and how local people can be engaged

with the development and V&A at Dundee museum.

6.1 Conclusions Drawn from Methods

To do so, this research focused primarily on personal interviews with both key figures

within the development of the waterfront and V&A at Dundee museum, and local

people in the city. By also using focus groups, a variety of opinions from many different

people could be observed within the space of a short period of time, providing a more

time efficient manner of gathering information. In doing so, I was able to collect both

facts and opinions to form a sound analysis by drawing on various themes that arose

throughout each interview and focus group.

Within this research there were particular themes that were recurrent within the

interviews I conducted, and so provided the basis for my analysis. Following closely to

my initial research questions, economic regeneration in Dundee surfaced as the biggest

hope pinned on the waterfront development and V&A at Dundee museum. Interestingly

however, there were contrasting views as to the importance of tourists within this

economic regeneration, Jim Clarkson of VisitScotland regarding tourists as the key to

economic growth, whereas Stewart Murdoch of Dundee City Council viewing the local

residents as an important factor to this. It is fair to conclude here that both will be

49

crucially important in the success of the V&A at Dundee museum, given the

international prominence the museum plans to have in attracting visitors from all over

the world, whilst local people will be at the heart of the museum’s focus in making the

building the ‘living room’ of Dundee.

6.2 The Importance of Tourists and Local Residents

It can therefore be argued that although tourists will provide the greatest economic

boost to the city by visiting the V&A at Dundee museum, and if the museum is

successfully marketed, converting day visits into holidays lasting 2 or 3 days and thus

providing an incredible economic boost to the city by spending money in local

establishments. However, for the V&A at Dundee itself to be successful and be

accepted within the city, it must be a local ‘hub’ for residents in the city that not only

markets itself to tourists, but act as a city institution, something we have already seen

with the ‘living room’ project.

Once it was established local residents would be an important aspect of any economic

regeneration in the city, the focus of this research could be turned towards the

engagement with these local residents. By looking at the ways in which the V&A at

Dundee museum and other cultural establishments already engage with the local

community, I was able to observe the importance these cultural establishments place on

social media as a way of releasing information and utilising word of mouth as a form of

advertising, as is the case at the DCA (Dundee Museum of Contemporary Arts). From

speaking to Andrew Argo and local residents in the Hilltown and Whitfield focus

groups in addition to Gordon Sharp of Faith in the Community Dundee, it became clear

that the V&A at Dundee must not only use social media, but also take advantage of

every available source of media. For example, although a blog is running on the V&A at

Dundee museum website, a blog could also be published in a local newspaper such as

50

the courier to expand engagement in the local community and ensure the V&A at

Dundee museum and waterfront development is at the forefront of local topics.

6.3 Future Research and Engagement

It is hoped that this research can be integrated into the planning and thought of both the

waterfront development and the V&A at Dundee museum, whilst also allowing the

realisation of the importance both project hold as a catalyst for economic regeneration

in a city that is due something back.

Although this research has endeavored to encompass a wide variety of people from

vastly different backgrounds, whilst considering different methods of engagement, it

must be conceded that such research must be done on a far larger scale to be effective. It

is therefore recommended that this research only sounds as a foundation for future,

broader research that can reach as many people as possible in the city.

6.4 Final Thoughts

It can be concluded from this paper that the Dundee waterfront project, and in particular

the V&A at Dundee museum, can be used as a catalyst for development in the city.

However, this can only be done with the creation of a close relationship between the

waterfront, the upcoming V&A at Dundee museum and the local residents. Excellent

engagement must be sought between the museum and local residents for this to be the

case, encompassing a wide range of methods without focussing specifically on one

particular aspect. Once this is achieved, I believe the waterfront development and V&A

at Dundee museum will provide a spectacular space for both tourists and local residents

alike, whilst providing a much needed boost to the city of Dundee.

51

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APPENDICES

58

Appendix A: Interview Questions for Tara Wainwright

1) What is your role within the V&A?

i) What does this role involve?

2) How would you say your role involved the residents of Dundee?

3) In what ways will the residents of Dundee be targeted as tourists following the

opening of the V&A at Dundee?

4) Would you say there is any demographic that is targeted in particular as a potential

tourist at the V&A?

5) As well as those that reside in Dundee, how will tourists from the rest of the UK be

targeted?

6) Will the method of both targeting and attracting tourists from Dundee and the rest of

the UK differ?

i) Why, and in what ways?

7) Are there any barriers that create problems for the V&A in attracting tourists from:

i) Dundee

ii) The rest of the UK.

8) What role, if any, will the media, and in particular print press and the internet, play in

attracting future tourists to the V&A at both a local and national level?

9) Is there a form of media that the V&A currently uses or plans to use in the future to

attract future tourists?

i) Will different demographics be targeted by different forms of media?

ii) If so, in what ways?

10) Do you feel that the V&A will benefit Dundee as a tourist centre, and also in a

social, cultural and economic aspect?

59

Appendix B: Interview Questions for Media Interviewees

1) What is your role within your organisation?

i) What does this role involve?

2) In what ways does your role involve the residents of Dundee and if at all the Dundee

waterfront development and V&A museum?

3) What impact does your organisation, and your role in particular, have on the touristic

aspects of Dundee tourism, at a local and national level?

4) In your opinion, is there a certain demographic that museums, and in particular the

V&A, tend to focus on?

i) How is the media used to influence or reinforce this?

5) In addition to tourists in Dundee, how can the media be used to target and attract

tourists from the rest of the UK?

6) Is there a difference in methods used by cultural centres, and the media, in attracting

local tourists as well as national tourists?

7) Would you say there are any barriers that stop cultural centres, including the V&A,

reaching potential tourists from;

i) Dundee?

ii) The rest of the UK?

8) From experience, which form of media do you find it the most successful in reaching

potential tourists?

i) Does this change when focussing on certain demographics?

9) Do you feel that the V&A will benefit Dundee as a tourist centre, and also in a social,

cultural and economic aspect?

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Appendix C: Interview Questions for Local Organisations and Institutions

1) What is your role within your organisation?

a) And what does involve day to day?

2) In what ways does your role involve the residents of Dundee and if at all the Dundee

waterfront and possible the V&A when that opens?

3) In what way does your organisation target, or plan to target potential tourists from

Dundee?

4) Is there any demographic that is/will be specifically targeted?

5) As well as residents of Dundee, how are potential tourists from the rest of the UK

targeted and attracted to Dundee?

6) How do methods of attracting these potential tourists from Dundee and the rest of the

UK differ, if at all?

7) Are there any barriers that make it difficult to reach certain tourists from;

i) Dundee?

ii) The rest of the UK?

8) What, if any, role do you think the media, in particular print press and internet, play

in attracting tourists to your organisation/Dundee on a local and national scale?

9) Is there any form of media in particular that your organisation uses to target tourists,

again looking at both a local and national scale?

10) Does this method of media change when focussing on a certain demographic?

i) If so, why?

11) Do you feel that the V&A will benefit your organisation, Dundee as a tourist centre,

and also in a social, cultural and economic aspect?

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Appendix D: Focus Group and Local Resident Questions

1) Are you aware of the V&A museum currently being built as part of the Dundee

Waterfront regeneration project?

i) What can you tell me about the Dundee waterfront project?

ii) How did you find out about the V&A and/or the Dundee waterfront project?

2) Do you feel you have been considered as a potential tourist to the V&A and

waterfront?

i) Will you consider attending the V&A once it is completed?

ii) Have you visited any other of the cultural centres such as the DCA or

McManus in Dundee??

iii) What can you tell me about your visit, what did you enjoy or not enjoy?

3) Can you tell me if you feel there is more than could be done in order to attract you to

these cultural centres?

i) What could the V&A offer that would make it more likely for you to visit?

4) Do you know anyone outwith Dundee that is aware of the V&A museum or

waterfront development project?

i) Is there anything you feel could be done to encourage more people from the

rest of the UK to Dundee?

5) Have you seen anything in the media regarding the V&A museum or the waterfront

project?

i) Which source of media do you tend to use the most in day to day life? E.g

print press, websites etc.

ii) How do you feel the media could be used to engage residents like yourself

with the V&A and waterfront development?

6) Do you feel there are difficulties in attracting certain people to museums in general,

for example teenagers and the elderly?

62

i) Is there a way the media could be used to get these ‘harder to reach’ groups to

the V&A and other cultural centres?

7) Finally, in your opinion, do you feel the V&A will benefit the city as both a tourist

destination and on a social, economic and cultural level?

63

Appendix E – Transcript of Interview with Clive Gilman (Director at DCA)

Grant: What is your role within your organisation, The DCA?

Clive: Okay, so my title is Director, and essentially it’s a chief executive role, I’m the

person who’s responsible for overall strategy and management of the organisation.

Grant: And what does involve day to day?

Clive: I lead a staff team of about 70 staff, and that involves looking at long term

strategy ensuring that we’re a good employer and basically that we achieve on all the

things we say we’re going to achieve on, so have programme staff that deliver in our

particular programme areas, so gallieries, cinemas, education staff, marketing staff, and

then an operations team who look after things like HR and admin and finance and that

sort of stuff, and I lead all that.

Grant: Okay, so it changes it day to day between targets and...?

Clive: Yeah, yeah, I mean it can vary quite a lot so this morning I had a meeting about

the cultural strategy for the city which we’ve just been working on signing that. I’ve just

just had a meeting with some guys up at the welcome trust building and some scientists

that were exploring how they might get involved with some arts projects, em, what else

are we doing, there’s a mix of things, but a lot of it is about working within the city and

beyond to develop some longer term strategies for how culture works within the city

and making sure the DCA is a player, a significant player in all of that.

Grant: Was the Cultural strategy about the waterfront development as well, or?

Clive: It includes the waterfront development, so essentially it’s for the whole of the

city so, because the waterfront development is obviously a big thing for the city but it’s

only a part of what the city is about, we’ve got to make sure that the waterfront

development and all the other things about the city work together

Grant: Great.

Grant: In what ways does your role involve the residents of Dundee and if at all the

Dundee waterfront and possible the V&A when that opens?

Clive: Yeah, okay...

Grant: Start with the residents of Dundee though! <Laughter>

Clive: Well I suppose we have a lot of people that come through our doors every year,

we actually have about 350,00 people come through our doors every year which is a

big, big number of people, and those people come and do a lot of different things here...

Grant: Yeah.

64

Clive: Some are very active in engaging with cultural activity within the building, some

will have just come here just because it’s a really good social place just to hang out so

we function as a really popular, a high quality destination for people who want to

engage with what’s going on within the city, so it’s kind of like, everybody...people...if

people are in the city, visiting the city, they tend to end up here, we’re kind of an anchor

destination in that way. And so in terms of the residents of the city, the citizens of the

city, we perform a number of different functions, one of which is that we are a place for

people to come and do things, so a lot of people just come and see films, go to galleries,

do workshops or whatever, but we’re also working to try and develop what the city’s

about, so we’re in working partnership through things like the Dundee cultural strategy,

with other agencies in the city to try to develop the city as a cultural city and part of that

is about how we regenerate the city, reinvent the city, and there’s a lot of stuff about

Dundee being, what, one of the main cities in the UK that’s focussing on culture-led

regeneration, about how we reinvent the city through the cultural life of the city and that

only works if as many people in the city are involved as possible, so it can’t just be

about a small group of people in the west end. It’s got to be on something on a bigger

scale so a lot of our work is, although we’re based here along the Perth Road, in the

west end, we work a lot with other people in the city and so part of that is getting people

to come and do things with us and people like us connecting beyond a network.

So yeah, the waterfront, we, technically speaking, we actually border the waterfront,

that waterfront actually start down there...

Grant: Ah yeah, is that the new development that’s going to be down that corner there

there?

Clive: Well yes, this corner site here is actually zoned for a hotel development, I don’t

know whether that’s going to happen or not but there’s been various conversations

about what’s happening there, but, this the lad immediately...the DCA is actually built

on the old land sea wall, so the sea used to come up to the bottom here,

Grant: Ah right!

Clive: Over the years all of this land was reclaimed, when they built the railway, they

then drained a lot of this land and started to build on it so the actual waterfront

development area, it actually doesn’t, although this is the boundary of it, a lot of this

area around here is actually Scottish...erm, enterprise development area, so it it’s not

part of the current live development which is that area there. So although we’re

obviously an element of the waterfront, we’re not part of the key waterfront

development because that tends to be happening 100m or so over there, but we work

quite closely with all that’s going on over there, but so far there aren’t any new

developments that are happening right on our doorstep. That site there is, is actually

more linked to the digital media, seabraes yard development than it is to the waterfront

development.

Grant: If that hotel was built would you be looking to sort of connect that to the DCA...

65

Clive: Well, I think that would be nice, I think the city is obviously changing, there’s a

lot of new developments coming along and it’s very difficult to know how those

developments might affect you until they’re on the ground and working, you know, I

think that part of the reason why the DCA was developed was to be a big catalyst for

the city and so obviously the success of that is things happening in some of those areas

so you know it’s part of why we’re here.

Grant: How do you think, if at all, you’ll involve the V&A in what you do, will there

be a connection between yourself and the V&A?

Clive: Yeah, once the V&A is up...we work quite a lot with them at the moment so a lot

of the staff at the V&A, we work with, not on a daily basis but in terms of the work

they’re doing at the moment in terms of developing a pre-opening programme we work

with them around that so we’ve done a lot of collaborative work with tara and people

like that, the educational programmes they’re bringing out we work with them on some

of those, and I also I meet regularly with staff from the V&A just to get updates on

programmes and obviously at the moment they’re in the kind of build/development

stage so there’s not much really that we can talk about because they’re not running a

programme. We’re planning for that so when the V&A opens we’ll be able to kind of

work in partnership over some of the plans for what they’re going to show and how

they’re going to show it, what events are going to happen and stuff like that.

Grant: Erm, sort of focussing on the DCA itself, in what way does the DCA target

tourists, or local people, from Dundee. So if you went up to somewhere like Ardler,

how would you engage them?

Clive: There’s different ways, I think of because the DCA doesn’t have one offering,

there’s a lot of things go on here, so we obviously communicate with different people in

different ways depending on what they’re planning on doing with us, so, for example,

we have the basic marketing activity which is you know, how we get all our information

out to certain places, like Ardler, will have things like our guide, information about our

workshops and creating skills development. We have information about our gallery

programmes, that goes out there and that goes to those places. Obviously that’s quite

passive. In terms of more active stuff, we’re involved in a group that’s called the

Cultural Partners group which is a group that meets quarterly which is a networking

group between the cultural agencies and the community centres of the city..

Grant: Ah, okay.

Clive: So we actually talk to them about joint programming, we develop projects

together and we also work jointly on elements of the cultural strategy so, like,

menzieshill community centre they developed a little art gallery and they run a projects

that we help them out with so have all these sort of dialogues going on all the time with

those structures across those areas. Obviously the community centres themselves don’t

cover everybody within those areas, so there’s a lot of quite difficult to reach areas in

terms of encouraging people to connect with the cultural aspect of the city in some of

66

the far flung places of the city, well one of the challenges of the city is how it does

effectively communicate with people in these places for anything that goes on in the city

centre. There’s a story running at the moment about mill o mains, we did a little bit of

work a few years ago and they’ve just had their bus service withdrawn so there’s a bit of

a sense that no one can actually get out of mill o mains to do anything so...

Grant: Yeah. You mentioned the Menzieshill community centre. Do you know what

activities they have on there? Because part of my project will be to do focus groups

around different parts of Dundee to see what their take on it will be.

Clive: Ah okay. The art gallery they have is quite cute because it’s the smart gallery,

and they claim it’s the smallest art gallery in Scotland because it’s actually a little, it’s

almost like an old ticket window that they turned into a little gallery space so, because

they have, like a photography group meets there, and a pottery group and things like

that and some textile groups so they periodically show stuff in those spaces, the

photography group has also done some exhibitions in the foyer we might target

undergraduates who are learning to be teachers, but we might work with them to

introduce them to how they can work with creative arts. That’s probably less...viewing

them as less of an audience and more as kind of partnership group. When we do the

childrens film festival, because the focussed on people 0-25, there’s obviously quite a

lot of difference between someone that’s 5 and someone that’s 19 so we find out how

we can engage most effectively with these age groups, but I think we’re very well aware

with the different groupings out there and because we’re quite broad based we want to

try and communicate with as many people as possible we can only be tactical with that

so we might look at a particular film we might be showing, we might know that that

attracts...every now and then we’ll show a film that’s kind of for adventure sports kind

of stuff so it might skateboarding or mountain biking or something like that so there’s a

very specific audience for something like that. So we know how we can tap into those

and that might be going through groups, clubs, shops that sell the kit or whatever, so

there’s often a specific tactic for a specific activity that we’ll do.

Grant: As well as residents of Dundee, how are potential tourists from the rest of the

UK targeted and attracted?

Clive: We don’t make huge efforts to cover those bases directly, so we maintain a high

presence in the city, and also probably within the wider Tayside region and we rely so

that being the way in which people connect with us if they choose to visit the city, so

what we wouldn’t be doing is saying to someone in Belfast, come to the DCA, because

we don’t have enough weight to do that, what we would be doing is working as part of a

city offer, so there’s a city website called Dundee.com which is a tourism brand website

so we will try and make sure that we are represented well within that, so if someone is

thinking of coming to this part of the world, DCA is part of that offer. So rather than

promoting DCA singularly it’s part of that city based offer.

Grant: Do you think the V&A would have an impact on ‘weighing’ people?

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Clive: Yeah, and I think that’s where the V&A will have an impact, because it’s

designed around that whole concept of culture and tourism and how it’s designed to

attract people to come to the city, and therefore all the other things that go on in the city

will benefit from that so the idea being if someone comes to visit the V&A the task will

be they also engage with the rest of the city in that visit. There’s a lot of talk about

Dundee having some success in people making day visits but it doesn’t have a huge

number of overnight visits so if we have the V&A can we translate some of those day

visits into overnight visits so people come visit the V&A, visit the McManus, visit the

discovery, visit the rep, visit us and actually that makes it a much more rounded and

attractive package and so..

Grant: How do you feel that, if you were to attract people from outwith the UK, would

it differ to how you attract local residents?

Clive: I think so, I mean in some ways, our offer is, that what we try to represent is a

vibrant an cultural social space where you can feel that you’re getting almost like an

authentic experience, like you’re becoming part of the city, so people might go to the

V&A and see a blockbuster exhibition but might want to experience a bit of Dundee so

they might come here and we might be showing an artist that’s got roots in Dundee and

actually we’ll get a diffetent kind of feel here, you’ll actually meet people from the city

out, and enjoying themselves, so it’ll be a bit more of a social hub, to use that term, the

tourists might want to connect with. If you go to somewhere like Bilbao, you might go

to the Guggenheim museum, but that might not actually be where you hang out, you

might want to be somewhere where the locals hang out, so you make that connection

with another space.

Grant: Erm, do you think there’s any barriers that make it difficult to reach tourists

from Dundee?

Clive: Well, I suppose it depends on who you’re talking to, I mean there’s specific

barriers in Scotland because the perception of Dundee, historically being poor but I

mean that’s changing, it’s changed massively over the last10 years, and it’s shifting, and

I think people are beginning to see Dundee as an interesting place. I don’t think they yet

know it, um, and perhaps see it as a place they might visit, I think there’s actually

massively improved perception of Dundee from outwith the city, but that hasn’t yet

necessarily translated into people now saying ‘let’s visit Dundee’. So we’ve got to try

and push that a little bit further and I think the V&A will help with that. Beyond that, I

think it’s kind of tricky, you go to the rest of the UK and there’s not the same kind of

prejudice towards Dundee that had previously existed in Scotland. I think there’s a lot

of people in England that probably just have no idea where Dundee is and only know it

as another Scottish city and wouldn’t necessarily think to make it a destination unless

there was that kind of anchor, and I think the V&A will help with that. One of the

problems is that, Scotland is pretty rich in good tourist destination, you know,

Edinburgh and Glasgow are fantastic cities and so therefore if anyone is coming to

Scotland to pay a visit from the rest of the UK, there’s plenty to occupy them in those

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cities. Then if you want something else you just go ramming up the A9 to the highlands,

and we miss out on that. It’s a shame cos I think that the whole area around here, and I

guess down into Fife and up the coast isn’t necessarily what the popular image of

Scotland is in people’s head, but it’s actually a pretty good place to come and visit, it’s

got a lot to offer but we haven’t quite figured out yet how to talk about that or how to

sell that to people, so it think there’s a bit more work to be done on that.

Grant: Do you think that will come eventually?

Clive: It’s kind of difficult because I think everyone is trying to achieve that, so we’ll

do something here, Glasgow will do something, Inverness will do something, everyone

is trying to do that. Even if you go to places...I mean I was at a cross party group on

culture with the government and people from Paisley and Kilmarnock are all trying to

do something, all trying to rebrand themselves, move themselves forward to become

some big destination, so the question is is, how can you do something that is authentic

and rich, and genuinely attractive? As opposed to just being a one trick pony. They built

that new burns museum in Alloway, I mean it’s a great museum but it’s not going to

regenerate because you go in, you see it and you leave again. Those things are quite

difficult because you’re competing.

Grant: Do you think the city of culture bid in Dundee raised the profile of Dundee?

Clive: It made a big difference I think, it also made a difference internally because I

think there’s a lot of people in the city who didn’t think Dundee could make a credible

bid, but because the bid was very credible and actually was very well received, I think it

made people in the city realise, yeah we’ve got a lot of really good things here.

Grant: Do you think people in Dundee talk, sort of, badly, about the city?

Clive: A lot of cities that, there’s a sense where the residents of the city of often the

biggest drag in promoting the city, I don’t know that that’s necessarily the case now in

Dundee, I think it might have been the case a few years ago, but I think a lot of people

now celebrate the city, so I think some of that has shifted. I think there’s also a sense

where...the city doesn’t feel corrupt, it feels the leadership in the city are quite earnest,

they’re trying to do the right thing, whereas in other cities you feel the leaders are on a

different planet. I think there’s a sense among people in Dundee that the city is actually

quite well run and it’s quite well led and they think it’s going somewhere which I think

makes them quite supportive of what the city is about.

Grant: What, if any, role do you think the media, in particular the print press and

internet, play in attracting tourists to the DCA?

Clive: We have a big social media presence, and that works for us, we see a lot

of...people in Dundee who are active on social media have...they have quite a big

connection with us, we have about 12,000 followers on twitter, and we have a large

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turnover of comments, people talking about their experiences of the building, and we

keep that cycling around. That’s a really positive thing for us to keep that since it really

works, and that means there’s a kind of social media dialogue of what’s really

happening all the time and that really works for us. I guess in terms of newspapers,

that’s kind of a visibility thing, I mean the courier are good, if we give the courier a

story, they’ll run that story and they’re very positive about the cultural life of the city

and that really helps as well, so keeping the visibility among the newspaper readers in

the city, because the social media community is still fairly small but the newspaper

community is still fairly big. I think even things like broadcast media are pretty good,

the radio stations are good and there’s already an STV app that is part of STV but they

run a really good app, so they’ve started to explore new ways in which local news

actually works and they’ve being doing some interesting things around that, so they’re

very supportive.

Grant: Is there any sort of media you would use specifically for tourists?

Clive: [pause]

Clive: Social media probably will work for some tourists, but we don’t target tourists

specifically through social media, if somebody is thinking of coming to Dundee and

they look at Dundee.com and they look at our website, we have have a good website

and the website covers what we do in quite a bit of detail, it’s a good space, it’s very

live, it’s a good space to access a lot of things that are going on here, and access to the

social exists through the website, so if people follow that route in getting good access

through our social media channels, but we don’t target specifically tourists. It will work

for tourists but we don’t have much in the way of tourist offers.

Grant: What about word of mouth?

Clive: Word of mouth is very powerful, I mean I think that’s number one on most

recommendations, we work on this basis that it’s really important for us to have 3rd

party recommendations of what we do here, so social media is really good for that so

it’s not us saying this is a good film or exhibition, we just retweet comments quite a lot

so, our new film programme starts on Friday each week, so when each film is in we

look out for someone that has just said’ just been to see this new film at DCA’ and that

just gets retweeted back out again, so it’s not us saying this is really great, it’s about our

customers saying it.

Grant: Would change your media, when you target a specific demographic?

Clive: I think probably not...we have our promotional approach which is quite broad

based and then I think we very very quickly drop into very specifically targeted areas so

we tend not to break our broad based generic approach into other subsets, so we

wouldn’t say, okay, heres our gallery programme and we thing this is going to work for,

parents with young children, so therefore we wouldn’t target specifically...quite often

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we’ll go a little bit further than that so we might have...we do have, a group of older

cinema goers, a specific club for them, it’s called the senior citizen kane club, and

we’ve then got a very loyal grouping of people that we know are into something, so we

might have a film coming up that works for them so we’ll promote it very specifically

to them, so it’s not about developing multiple strands of promotion, it’s about

communicating very directly with the people that we know are interested in a particular

aspect of what we do here, cinema is quite good for that because we capture quite a lot

of data through that, the gallery is a bit harder because it’s free entry so we don’t really

know about gallery audiences, so what we’ll rely on, so we might put a show on that we

know interests a particular cinema audience so we might promote that directly to them,

but we don’t generate multiple forms of promotion, we just tend to tell people using the

same form of promotion knowing they’re already expressed an interest in that area.

Grant: How would you contact them? Is it mainly phone or...?

Clive: No, it’s mostly electronic, so email. We have big e-bulletins going out all the

time and they will be quite focussed then through post. So if we think a particular

grouping are not big on social media, we might do it through post. For example if we’re

working with teachers, it’s very hard to contact them by email so what we’ll do is we’ll

send a leaflet to them and getting that in their head. And that’s constantly evolving

constantly, testing it out to see what does and doesn’t work.

Grant: Do you find that older generations respond quite well to the electronic aspect

now?

Clive: Some of them are very good, I mean not all of them, I think there’s quite a big

split there because those that haven’t engaged with it are simply not engaged in it at all,

but those that have have really adopted it and it’s a big thing for them, so we have a

quite motivated and engaged senior audience here, they’re a big part of...i think the

cultural sector relies on them, they’re a big part of any arts or cultural venue across the

UK...the older age group are really, really big.

Grant: This is the last one...it’s quite broad. How do you feel the V&A will benefit the

DCA...we’ll start with that.

Clive: Um, I suppose, it’s this thing about...Dundee doesn’t have this major cultural

tourism draw that, we will get people who travel to see our exhibitions here, but it’s not

going to operate on the same level blockbuster exhibitions they’ll get into the V&A, so

what we hope around that is that more will come to the city, explore the city and spend

more time so it’s about the creating an offer for the whole city, using the V&A as an

anchor but actually all of the other aspects of the city are in that and it encourages

people to engage with that as well. There’s the phrase ‘a rising tide floats all boats’ the

idea being, us, the McManus, the university and Hannah McLure centre should all see

that if we respond to that well, we should see those audiences engaging with us.

Grant: Would you serve out leaflets...have leaflets in each others museums?

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Clive: We did a joint cultural attractions leaflet a couple of years ago and I think that

worked quite well so I think we’ll probably do some campaigns like that.

Grant: How do you think the V&A will benefit Dundee as a tourist centre? Do you

think it will attract people from outside Dundee?

Clive: Yeah, yeah, I think so, I think...the difference the V&A will make to the city will

be about attracting people from outside, the V&A will be of interest to people in the

city, but the principle difference it will make will be people who are travelling to the

city and seeing it as a destination.

Grant: Do you think you would change your approach if it became more nationally

renowned if not internationally?

Clive: Yeah, we’ve got...we’re known internationally in our own networks, so the DCA

is one of about dozen contemporary arts venues that’s operating at the level we’re

operating at, so the people that know about that know about us and connect with us on

that basis. I think the hope is that with the V&A, and more people to the city, we’ll be

able to connect more people with the offer that we have, not necessarily that we will

change our offer, but that we can build new audiences for it and new methods of

engagement around it.

Grant: Cool, and just lastly, how do you think the V&A will benefit the residents, on a

social, cultural and economic context?

Clive: That’s the tricky one because the whole trickle down effect is not particularly

proven, and if anything it’s been disproven [laughter], the thing for me is that if the

V&A is going to work for the city, it’s got to work on stimulating the development of

new creative businesses in the city that support the image that we’re projecting of the

city, so if we say Dundee is a creative cultural city, that can’t just be about the V&A,

the DCA and the rep, it’s got to be about, you know if you walk out of the V&A and

into the city centre there’s really interesting little shops selling jewellery that’s made

locally, there’s good cafes, all of those kind of things have to work, and the idea is that

all of those things sort of link back into the hinterland of the city, so people that are

growing up in ardler think...it’s really cool. Somebody might be into fashion...’I’d love

to open a fashion shop in the city centre’. That all adds value and it adds to the image

and it also feeds back into the city and it’s all about low level jobs that support that

tourist economy, it’s about building the creative potential of people that live in the city

to reflect what’s going on at places like the V&A.

Grant: Do you think the V&A will try and aspire to be a bit like the DCA, and try and

be a social aspect of people in Dundee?

Clive: I don’t know, I think maybe they will but I don’t know how easy it will be to

manage that, I mean I’ve had experiences of...I used to work in Liverpool and Liverpool

has a tate gallery on the waterfront...Tate Gallery did very well and it was a great venue

but it was predominantly for visitors so the locals of the city didn’t really go there,

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they’d go see an exhibition but it’s not where they hang out and I don’t know, maybe

the V&A will function a bit like that. I don’t know. It could well be that it does very

well, as a space where...like the Malmasion you know if you turn up in town, you’re

there for 2 or 3 nights, you know the malmaison, you know the V&A brands, you’ll

connect with them. If you’re coming back on a regular basis you’re connecting with

people locally you might venture out into other places and experience another side of

the city, those things will all be interconnected. When you get those big branded

institutions, you tend to go, take part in the thing that is being promoted at that time and

you leave, as opposed to it being that browsing destination.

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Appendix F – Excerpt of Coded Interview Transcript with Clive Gilman