ENTERTAINMENT, EDUCATION and EXPERIMENT

On first reading, the Cardiff Council green paper Rebuilding Momentum appears to be littered with numerous contradictions, clichés and lazy assumptions. Section1 is entitled A New Economic Vision and appears to offer little that may be considered original or visionary. It opens, for example, with the claim that perceptions of the city have been transformed from ‘an industrial backwater’ to ‘a vibrant small European capital. However, one of the challenges listed later in the green paper, is that the city still suffers from a general poor perception, and that the traditional image of heavy industry and coal mining valleys still pervades the consciousness of many people outside Wales.

It would be interesting to see some evidence to support this. One might claim that the image outside Wales is one of flashy, trashy waterside development, litter, binge drinking and related casual violence. A quick search of ‘Cardiff’ on Youtube will quickly demonstrate negative imagery. The same word search on Google reveals an entirely positive aspect of the city whilst ‘Cardiff night’ in Google Image reverts to the negative. Clearly any external perception of the city will depend on the source of available information - but neither of those sources offer coal mining valleys by way of an initial impression. What is consistent is the presence of cultural and educational institutions on both sources.

Leisure and culture are associated with the beneficial transformation of perceptions of the city in Section 1 of the green paper. It is claimed that the ‘new cultural vibrancy has succeeded in attracting and retaining talent’ particularly in respect of higher education. These elements no doubt play a part and it would be interesting to see a definition of ‘culture’ and to what degree that attracts and retains post-graduate and international students. The dominant culture which has been supported by the City may be said to be populist and collective as exemplified by the mono-culture periodically imposed on the city centre by the Millennium Stadium. At risk of going over very old ground, the support for the Millennium Stadium over the proposed Cardiff Bay Opera House had a lasting impact on perceptions of Cardiff as a centre of ‘high culture’. The proximity of that and other new stadia and sporting arenas may well be an attraction to students. This may not be the case among those who control the flow of investment and development capital, who we must assume are a principal target for this document. For those, Cardiff may be considered a place of ‘low culture’. Opera may be performed at the Wales Millennium Centre but for many outside Wales the abiding associations of that building are with Torchwood not Tosca.

In claiming youthful vigour the city once again demonstrates its adolescence. As with aspects of commercial development in this green paper, which I will address elsewhere, the city has little by way of historical achievement in ‘high culture’. Those associated with the Welsh National Opera and other institutions will contest this but name a creative artist of international reputation born and bred in Cardiff? My point is made if the first name that came to mind was Shirley Bassey. Cardiff is principally in the entertainment business and culture, such as it is, remains a fringe activity. In the visual arts, that which is of truly international quality is a legacy of Victorian patronage in the form of an outstanding national art collection and a unique architectural set piece. These are supplemented by some excellent initiatives and facilities of purely regional reputation. It is only in sport and the performing arts can Cardiff claim any recent international distinction. The failure of the Centre for Visual Arts is now long forgotten in the afterglow of several Grand Slams and the windfall international exposure when the Millennium Stadium was temporarily the home of English Football. Cardiff, and for that matter Wales, is primarily associated with sport and popular entertainment. The ‘assets and attributes’ that the city has to build upon relate to these. No matter how many times the word ‘culture’ is used in this green paper it is to event led tourism and leisure activity that proposed investment in our ‘cultural infrastructure’ is being directed.

The point to be considered by the average citizen and ratepayer in the city is to what extent they will be the beneficiary of this? Presumably there is some economic development rationale given the context of the proposals for a bigger, better indoor arena, a conference centre and other mega projects. At this point in time I cannot see the linkage to the stated aspiration of the green paper for higher value jobs and higher wages. The principle beneficiaries of event led tourism appear to be the hotel and catering sector together with transport and security. Detailed studies will no doubt evidence that job numbers are impressive but the quality of such employment is, in the majority of cases, low. A bigger, better indoor arena will still be a privately owned and operated commercial venture as may a conference centre. These are not civic assets in any sense other than being perceived to be an essential part of the standard offer of a city. Page 14 of the green paper proclaims Towards a New Approach but there is no innovative or original thinking here. It is interesting to see that the third paragraph mentions both an International Conference Centre and that Cardiff Central station does not meet the aspirations of an international city. It is interesting that the latter was built by the Great Western Railway who were advertising Cardiff – The City of Conferences back in 1932

Perhaps it is an idea whose time has come? It might even be of some use to the Universities whose role appears to have been fully recognised by this green paper. I have made a point in my preceding blog about the remark in the foreword that ‘they need to be central to our ambitions in a way that they have not been in the past’. On reflection I may have read that incorrectly the first time and, in re-interpretation now take this to be a sincere mea culpa on the part of the author of the foreword. What is being admitted is that the City has previously excluded the Universities from its strategic thinking and that henceforth they will be central to it. My sincere apologies for misinterpreting the statement on first reading. The recognition of the Universities as equal partners in the strategic development of the city is to be welcomed. Their involvement may bring to the process what it currently appears to lack – innovation and originality.

 For example, a strategy based largely on accommodating private sector property development has neither quality. It is entirely predicated on a recovery of the property market. Furthermore, what appears to be required in the words of the green paper are ‘funds for speculative development and new business development’. As regards property development what we should be aspiring to is serious long term investment not short term 'hit and run' speculative property development. That needs to be coupled with aspiration for much higher quality of both the development and the public realm. Such aspirations are presently notable by their absence, particularly in relation to proposed new public spaces. The present hiatus in commercial property development should afford the opportunity for a serious re-think about future development, both its physical form and the funding and development partnerships. I am wary – if not weary – of proposals for ‘high density Scandinavian style living’ and would like to see some detail. Is the paper proposing architect designed cooperative low cost housing development or simply lots of apartments built close together and filled with stuff from IKEA?

               As to funding for business development it is here that the Universities may work with the city to innovate. As Jane Jacobs said back in 1961 “new ideas need old buildings”. God forbid that the temptation to repeat the recent disaster of ‘Techniums’ or other shiny edifices may be too much for both academics and local politicians to resist. Before new Grade 1 offices are built we could, for example, think about taking out the significant overhang of vacant offices by acquisition or head lease and making it available at low cost, easy in/ easy out terms for business start ups. The City Council would of course need to take a long hard look at its business rates policy in respect of business start ups for, in the current market, rates are higher than rentals in many cases. The intentions for the Coal Exchange and Mountstuart Square are perhaps among the most encouraging aspects of the green paper. I make a plea in passing that ‘Mountstuart Square’ has been a perfectly adequate address for a hundred years or so and there is no need for it to be re-branded as a ‘Creativity Quarter’.

This does however prompt a caution alluded to in foregoing comments on culture. Cardiff has little history or tradition of creative enterprise. Mountstuart Square perhaps epitomizes its former fortune as a place of the agent, middle man and bureaucrat. It saw a brief revival as a place where the ‘creative industries’ flourished but these have since dispersed. Or disappeared together with the financial subsidies of the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation. Much is made of the ‘creative industries’ in the green paper and indeed the Welsh Government has itself backed that particular strand of enterprise. To date the greatest evidence of creativity has been that of the ju-ju men of ‘regeneration’ in milking it for consultancy fees. What can be conceded is that the green paper is not confusing such enterprise with ‘culture’. Knocking out soap operas and cheap reality TV shows in Porth Teigr is an industrial process involving creativity. It is rarely innovative. That quality may come from working with the Universities in other media and the infrastructure for that needs to be in place. However, for ‘creative industries’ to flourish, and for culture to develop there has to be creativity. This is where attention then turns to the Universities, FE colleges and schools and the education system itself. Cardiff Council could test that by providing a few hundred thousand feet of low cost accommodation for business start ups and say “fill her up…….”

In conclusion I would suggest we revisit the concept of Cultural Capital as outlined by Pierre Bourdieu i.e. forms of knowledge, skills, education, and advantages that a person has, which give them a higher status in society. The principle may be applied in equal measure to a city which can earn and retain higher status.