Freitag, 23. Mai 2008 00:40:55

Our strategic approaches towards cultural industries on a city level

How it feels to be “the second” city? Or to be a city with a rich cultural life and vivid university life, but to have a small cultural market for creative products, and not to have an attractive geographic location in the hearth of Europe?

The publication "Hands on: Regional strategies for creative industries in Bergen, Tartu and Turku", a result of a year-long project “Nordic Model for Creative Industries Development Centre”, focuses on creative industries development in three cities - Bergen in Norway (the largest city in the western region of Norway with population around 250 000 inhabitants), Tartu (Estonia’s second largest city with more than 100 000 inhabitants and the home of Estonia’s oldest and most renowned university) and Turku in Finland (the oldest and fifth largest city in Finland with about 175 000 inhabitants)

Bergen has a rich cultural life, including higher education and established culture institutions that contribute to the development of the city. In the process leading to the Strategic Economic Development Plan for Bergen 2006-2009 it was emphasized that this cultural life makes the region attractive for inhabitants and companies. Other strategic documents developed are: “New Cultural Strategy 2003–2013”, “Bergen City of the Arts 2008–2017”7, “Plan of action for Rhythmical Music 2004–2007”, “Arts Plan for 2006–2016”, “Plan for the international artistic and cultural policy of the city of Bergen 2006–2009”.

Very impressing that Bergen city has an arts policy for the period 1008-1017. An important aspect is that culture industries development is also emphasized within the framework of the strategic planning document for economic development. Some of the important directions stated in the policy documents of the city are:
- Ensuring artistic freedom-allocating more budget for innovative projects;
- Improving conditions for art and artists;
- Emphasizing the role of art in creating a sense of identity in a diverse and multifaceted city;
- Developing further Bergen’s artistic identity.
The new action plan of the city of Bergen will support 3 new institutions: Incubator for creative industries; Network organisation for design and Audience Development Company.

Tartu has a 5 years strategic plan “The Development Plan of Culture, Sports and Youth Work in Tartu for 2008-2013”. The findings of the research show that the most popular fields in the creative sector include recreational activities, events, festivals, event management, design and architecture. Collective brainstorming and discussions in the city around creative industries lead to conclusions that:
- Creative people in Tartu need support for traveling abroad, setting up an information center to support their working practices and funding possibilities, as well as training in project management, entrepreneurship, etc.
- The term creative industries is not well understood, on practical bout also-on a political level.
- There is a need to set up effective economic mechanisms to motivate young people to create in the city and not to migrate to bigger cities.
- Lack of arts spaces in the city is identified (rehearsal rooms, gallery spaces, studios etc.). An idea for setting up a “culture factory” that would offer rooms for cultural activities is in consideration.
- Statistics shows relatively low salaries in the creative sector of the city.
- Businesses do not show sufficient willingness to invest in the cultural sector.

Turku and Tallinn share the title of European Capital of Culture in 2011. Turku’s strategic documents stress on the desire that “by 1015 Turku would be a nationally and internationally attractive city of culture, and a competence centre providing an excellent quality of life and innovative environment for work.”

It seems that the middle-scale cities face the challenge of having relatively small cultural markets, lower export-import traffic of cultural goods, problems with visibility abroad. New technologies certainly create plenty of possibilities for broadening cultural expressions and city-to-city exchanges.

In our 2008 European Year of Intercultural Dialogue it is important to discuss the role of local governments in developing a cultural policy and creative economy which mobilises diversity, job creation, economic development, urban regeneration and investing in the creative infrastructure and design. A good example for the latter was the international symposium “Creative Construct: Building for Culture and Creativity”, held in Ottawa (April 28-May1, 2008), examining the role and value of cultural infrastructure on a city level. Another valuable source is the May 2008 Newsletter of Arts Management network, emphasising on the importance of the arts for vitality of cities and the new role of cultural managers in the urban development.

http://www.labforculture.org/content/view/full/26703