Cultural vibrancy
This theme considers the vitality and sustainability of the cultural system and creative economy of Liverpool in comparison with the rest of the North West and the UK.
Sub-themes include: profile of the sector (number and type of organisations, facilities and jobs); sustainability of the system (e.g. skill development in the cultural sector); and the Culture Company’s contribution (e.g. direct investment / funding of the city’s cultural system).
Creative industries sustainability
This work examines existing data to provide evidence on the medium to long term sustainability of the creative industries sector in Liverpool and Merseyside, and includes primary research based on interviews with a sample of creative entrepreneurs and analysis of data emerging from other Impacts 08 projects, including the Creative Futures panel (see below). Initial work to scope the sector and gather initial impressions of impact of ECoC took place in 2007 and early 2008. The second phase explored sustainability measures and continued until Summer 2009.
Available reports:
Futures of creative industries & arts sector
Using methods that include an adaptation of the Delphi Panel methodology, this project provides a basis for the identification and assessment of the main strengths (or otherwise) of Liverpool’s cultural system, and its potential for sustainability, as well as how it is articulated by local art leaders and creative entrepreneurs in the context of the ECoC. Emerging findings have been reported jointly with the creative industries sustainability project (above).
Available reports:
Arts sector sustainability
This project explores how ECoC status and the work of the Culture Company impacts on the growth and sustainability of the city’s arts sector. This work has been carried out mainly through arts organisation case studies, as well as drawing on quantitative secondary data and findings from ongoing interviews and observations of the sector. A joint report has been produced for this and the project described below.
Available reports:
Artists’ experience and understanding of ECoC
This project aims to understand how artists and small arts organisations articulate their response to the EcoC hosting process.
It also seeks to compare the impact of the ECoC 2008 on Liverpool artists (in terms of levels of engagements and opportunities to develop and communicate their practice) with the experience of previous ECoCs. This work builds largely on existing projects in this area, with Impacts 08 adding additional value to them. This includes an agreement with Peter Ward, Director of Hope Street Ltd., to access and develop the findings of his Arts Council-funded research on other continental ECoCs. An AHRC/ESRC Impact Fellowship that incorporates work on artists’ experiences of ECoC, and which is linked to Impacts 08, will inform an analysis of impact on the city’s cultural system. Impacts 08 will also deliver an online questionnaire to Liverpool-based or linked artists. A joint report has been produced for this and the project described above.
Available reports:
Liverpool's_Arts_Sector- Sustainability and Experience: how artists and arts organisations engaged with the Liverpool European Capital of Culture (2009)
Programming a world class European Capital of Culture
This project assesses the level of recognition of Liverpool 08 programming as ‘world class’. The project proposes an interpretation of the term ‘world class’ and has established the impact that the ECoC 2008 has had on the quality of cultural offering in Liverpool. The results from this work have been incorporated in the final Impacts 08 report, Creating an Impact: Liverpool's experience as European Capital of Culture, within the section on ‘Cultural Vibrancy’.