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The Hidden Side of the Creative City: Culture Instrumentalization, Political Control and Social Reproduction in Valencia Joaquim Rius-Ulldemolins full chapter instant download
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SOCIOLOGY OF THE ARTS
Series Editors
Katherine Appleford
Kingston University
London, UK
Anna Goulding
University of Newcastle
Newcastle, UK
Dave O’Brien
University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh, UK
Mark Taylor
University of Sheffield
Sheffield, UK
This series brings together academic work which considers the produc-
tion and consumption of the arts, the social value of the arts, and analyses
and critiques the impact and role of cultural policy and arts management.
By exploring the ways in which the arts are produced and consumed, the
series offers further understandings of social inequalities, power relation-
ships and opportunities for social resistance and agency. It highlights the
important relationship between individual, social and political attitudes,
and offers significant insights into the ways in which the arts are develop-
ing and changing. Moreover, in a globalised society, the nature of arts
production, consumption and policy making is increasingly cosmopoli-
tan, and arts are an important means for building social networks, chal-
lenging political regimes, and reaffirming and subverting social values
across the globe.
Verònica Gisbert-Gracia
Departament de Sociologia i
Antropologia Social
University of Valencia
Valencia, Spain
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature
Switzerland AG 2021
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether
the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of
illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and
transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar
or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication
does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant
protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book
are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or
the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any
errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional
claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Presentation and Acknowledgements
This analysis of the hidden side of Creative City is the result of a research
project on cultural policies carried out by the authors and funded by the
Spanish Ministry of Universities and Research (REFERENCE:
RTI2018-096299-B-I00), and of research on cultural festivities and gen-
der discrimination in València, funded by València City Council. This
work has been carried out by the research team at the Centre of Studies
on Culture, Power and Identities of the Department of Sociology and
Social Anthropology at the University of València, under the direction of
Joaquim Rius-Ulldemolins and Verònica Gisbert. We thank the research-
ers (Francisco Torres, Gil-Manuel Hernàndez and Vicent Flor), assistant
researchers (Carles Vera) and all the interviewees and participants in the
focus groups for their generosity in contributing their knowledge
and views.
This book partly stems from an article published in European Planning
Studies on 14 November 2018, available online (http://dx.doi.org/1
0.1080/09654313.2018.1547367), from an article published in
International Journal of Cultural Policy on 22 February 2017, available
online (http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2017.1296434), and from
two papers from the Special Issue “Cultural Policies, Urban Policies and
White Elephants” published in Revista Arxius. All these papers have been
expanded and updated specifically for this book to round off and com-
plete six years of research on cultural policy and traditional festivities in
v
vi Presentation and Acknowledgements
València. Finally, we wish to thank the editors and the reviewers for their
contributions.
Lastly, we should raise two preliminary considerations before embark-
ing on our analysis. First, there is our choice of València—a medium-
sized Mediterranean city in Southern Europe. It is a city that has marked
special cultural and other features. While we appreciate many aspects of
its lifestyle and traditions, our purpose is to analyse the city’s hidden side
of cultural projects and manifestations. This unreasonableness stems from
the instrumentalisation of culture for (often corrupt) financial ends and/
or for perpetuating patterns of inequality. The Social Sciences naturally
lend themselves to the critical analysis of inequalities and one might say
that our work is part of a global trend reflected in sundry recent studies
in this field. Our book takes a critical approach to the Creative City
model (with all its inconsistencies, and negative and unforeseen impacts
over the medium and long terms). Yet it also makes a singular, innovative
contribution by covering not only major infrastructure but also local
policies on culture and festivals. At the same time, it places the local
socio-economic issues raised within the context of the broader ‘Creative
City’ movement worldwide. Second, we should mention the grave impact
COVID-19 is having on València’s cultural industry and festivals, which
right now are both at a standstill. The fact that the last time this hap-
pened was during The Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) gives one an
inkling of the severity of the crisis. While it is still too soon to say how
deep and long-lasting the pandemic’s impact will be on local social and
cultural life, it has revealed the flaws in models based upon mass tourism.
It also shows the pressing need to find ways of facilitating culturally based
social gatherings—a subject that is currently ‘on ice’, as is almost every-
thing else in València. The pandemic will undoubtedly prove traumatic
for the city’s culture. Looking on the bright side, it offers a golden oppor-
tunity to reflect on the undesirable social impacts stemming from the
instrumentalisation of culture. With any luck, this will lead to a radical
re-think of the hidden side of the Creative City and the cultural model in
València and elsewhere, and of the need for greater inclusiveness, partici-
pation and sustainability.
València
Contents
vii
viii Contents
7 Conclusions175
Joaquim Rius-Ulldemolins, Juan Arturo Rubio-Arostegui,
and Verònica Gisbert-Gracia
References181
Methodological Annex185
References187
Index213
Notes on Contributors
xi
xii Notes on Contributors
xv
xvi List of Figures
Fig. 3.1 Map of actors in València’s cultural policy. Source: The Authors 62
Fig. 3.2 Visitor number trends for the Science Museum (Museu de les
Ciències), Institute of Valèncian Modern Art (IVAM) and The
Palace of Arts (Palau de les Arts) (2011–2018). Source:
Authors’ elaboration from Statistical Office of València
(2011–2018)64
Fig. 3.3 Trend in loans and users in the City of València’s public
libraries (2011–2015). Source: The authors, based on data
from the València City Council’s Statistical Bureau
(Ajuntament de València) 65
Fig. 3.4 Public libraries and community centres (so-called Popular
Universities) in the City of València (2017). Source: Authors,
based on data from the València City Council Statistical
Bureau (Ajuntament de València) 66
Fig. 4.1 Visitors to MuVIM and other cultural centres in València
(2011–2018)*. Sources: Authors, from the Valèncian Statistical
Bureau (2019). *Cultural centres covered: Centre Cultural La
Beneficència, Centre del Carme, Museu de Belles Arts Sant
Pius V, and MuVIM 85
Fig. 4.2 Trends in audience figures at the Palau de les Arts
(2008–2018). Source: Authors from Fundación SGAE
[Spanish Copyright Organisation] (2019, 2015) 93
Fig. 4.3 Palau de les Arts and surroundings (2020). Photos: The
Authors (2020) 94
Fig. 4.4 The València Regional Government’s cultural budget and the
budget of the Palau de les Arts Foundation (2013–2018).
Source: Authors, from Generalitat Valènciana budgets
(2013–2018)96
Fig. 4.5 Budget revenues of Palau de les Arts Foundation (2013–2018)
in thousands of Euros. Source: Authors, from Generalitat
Valènciana Budgets (2013–2018) 101
Fig. 4.6 Cost per person and public subsidy cost per person
(2013–2018). In Euros. Source: Authors, from Fundación
SGAE (FUNDACIÓN SGAE 2019; FUNDACIÓN SGAE
2015) and the Generalitat Valènciana budget (2015a) 103
Fig. 4.7 Comparison of the cost per person and public cost per person
of three opera houses (2013). Sources: ROH (Source: Arts
Council England (2019)) ONP (Source: Opera National de
List of Figures xvii
xxi
1
Introduction: Urban Development
and Cultural Policy ‘White Elephants’
Joaquim Rius-Ulldemolins
and Juan Arturo Rubio-Arostegui
The role played by culture has been the subject of growing debate since the
1980s, especially in the context of cities, which have turned culture into
one of the main planks of their development models. Such cities include
Glasgow (García 2004a), Liverpool (Connolly 2013), Bilbao (González
2011), and Barcelona (Muntaner 2007). These cases have been considered
as a model for other cities wishing to project themselves as either a global
city (Sassen 1991) or as a creative city (Landry and Bianchini 1995). As
part of these analyses, stress is laid on the growing importance of instru-
mentalising approaches to culture (Gray 2007; Belfiore 2002) in defining
local cultural policies—a trend that has come to the fore (Connolly 2013).
J. Rius-Ulldemolins (*)
Departament de Sociologia i Antropologia Social, Facultat de Ciències Socials,
Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain
e-mail: Joaquim.rius@uv.es
J. A. Rubio-Arostegui
Universidad Antonio de Nebrija, Madrid, Spain
e-mail: jrubioa@nebrija.es