Local governance, disadvantaged communities and cultural intermediation in the creative urban economy. (December 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Warren, Saskia; Jones, Phil
• Is Part Of: Environment and planning. Volume 33:Number 6(2015)
• Page Start: 1738
• Page End: 1752
• Publication Date: 2015-12
• Subjects: localism -- governance -- urban policy -- community -- cultural policy; Policy sciences -- Periodicals; Public administration -- Periodicals; Policy sciences; Public administration; Periodicals; 333.7
• DOI: 10.1177/0263774X15614661
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0263-774X

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.