Local governance, disadvantaged communities and cultural intermediation in the creative urban economy

Saskia Warren and Phil Jones

Environment and Planning C, 2015, vol. 33, issue 6, 1738-1752

Abstract: The creative economy is a key arena where austerity, localism and social policy debates are being played out. This paper explores how cultural intermediation has been captured by a broader state agenda on socio-economic exclusion, examining how these processes function at the local level in Birmingham, UK. Intersections of local cultural policy with grass-roots practice are explored in the neighbourhood of Balsall Heath, through two case studies: (1) Birmingham City Council's Community Cultural Pilot and (2) Balsall Heath Biennale. We argue that despite savage cuts the local state is still having a considerable – and not always enabling – influence on processes and outcomes of non-state cultural intermediation, directing ways in which creative initiatives function at the local level. The paper ends on a hopeful note that these unstable times offer a moment where a renegotiation of the relationship between cultural intermediation, disadvantaged communities and the creative economy beyond monetised market-value is possible.

Keywords: localism; governance; urban policy; community; cultural policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:envirc:v:33:y:2015:i:6:p:1738-1752

DOI: 10.1177/0263774X15614661

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