Cities 28 (2011) 2835

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Culture and creativity: A case study from the West of Ireland

Patrick Collins a,, Frances Fahy b,1
a
Centre for Innovation & Structural Change (CISC), Room 339, J.E. Cairnes Graduate School of Business & Public Policy, NUI Galway, National University of Ireland,
Galway, University Road, Galway City, Ireland
b
Department of Geography, Room 104, School of Geography and Archaeology, National University of Ireland, Galway, University Road, Galway City, Ireland

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Taking the dynamics of second tier city of Galway as a case study, this paper sets out to answer two sim-
Received 13 August 2009 ple and related questions: How important has culture been to the citys economic and social develop-
Received in revised form 23 July 2010 ment, and how integral is culture in maintaining the citys economic and social sustainability? In order
Accepted 31 July 2010
to provide answers, we look at the citys development in relation to an emerging body of literature con-
Available online 9 September 2010
cerning creative cities. We focus on production of culture and gauge its assimilation into the economic
life of the city by looking at various facets of the citys economic structure, including the technology sec-
Keywords:
tor.
Creative cities
Economic development
The aim of this paper is to look at cultural policy in Ireland under three interrelated domains: Technol-
Cultural policy ogy; Institutions; and Spatial Culture (encompassing the place of public performance in urban morphol-
Galway City ogy). The case study of a second tier city provides interesting insights for policy and practice as well as
Ireland cultural/creative activity arising out of place specic circumstances. The paper explores the changing role
of culture and concludes by drawing attention to the tensions surrounding the perceptions of ownership
of culture and questions to what impact this will have regarding the citys sustainability into the future.
2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Introduction
The proliferation of academic research in the area of creative
cities and the rate at which it has reached policy making tables
is worthy of note. Indeed, a number of recent issues of this journal
have concerned themselves with this topic (see for example Long,
2009; Vanolo, 2008). For many, the literature of the creative cities
rhetoric has been consumed as the panacea of urban woes (see
Miles & Paddison, 2005). Recent research has elucidated a number
of fundamental ways in which the presence of creative activity can
contribute to the competitiveness of urban economies (Florida,
2002; Gertler, 2004). Successful cities are no longer judged solely
by their protability or rate of economic growth, rather sustain-
ability, quality of life, economic development and distributional is-
sues rank as key factors for assessing success (Lever, 1999). The
role of culture in creating lively cities and communities where peo-
ple want to live, work, visit and its subsequent role in supporting
social and economic health and development are amongst the cen-
tral tenants of creative cities literature (see Florida, 2002, 2005).
Corresponding author. Tel.: +353 (0) 91 493326.
E-mail addresses: p.collins@nuigalway.ie (P. Collins), frances.fahy@nuigalway.ie
(F. Fahy).
URLs: http://www.nuigalway.ie/cisc/people/pcollins.html (P. Collins), http://
www.nuigalway.ie/geography (F. Fahy).
1
Tel.: +353 (0)91 492315.
Developments around the globe are re-dening media, arts and
other related sectors as creative industries which are being recog-
nized for their potential impact on local and national economies.
Cities are making more use of cultural events to attract investors
as well as visitors. Throughout this paper, we contend that artistic
and cultural activities are not simple by-products of a developed
economy but essential elements of economic success and sustain-
ability. Such activities represent alternate forms of expression of
human creativity that encourage lateral thinking and thus comple-
ment scientic and technological innovation (Udo-Ernst, 2005).
Additionally, artistic and cultural activities lie at the core of a num-
ber of growing industrial sectors (including tourism, publishing
and entertainment), and contribute directly to employment
growth. Indeed, creative activities are increasingly being viewed
as alternative development paths for some second-tier cities (see
for example; Markusen & King, 2003).
More dissenting voices have pointed out the ease with which
the Creative city rhetoric ts with the neo-liberal regime. Creativ-
ity has been reduced to a dependent variable in the demand func-
tions of urban/regional attractiveness. It is thereby linked to the
primacy of global markets and is positioned as a central determi-
nant of economic success (Gibson & Klocker, 2005; Peck, 2005).
The concept of creativity has been appropriated by governments
(regional/urban and national) because of its ability to act as a cat-
alyst in the cultural transition of individuals from citizens to
entrepreneurs and consumers, the idealised companions of

0264-2751/$ - see front matter 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.cities.2010.07.004
 P. Collins, F. Fahy / Cities 28 (2011) 2835
the neo-liberal state: liberated, independent and competitive sub-
jects (Peck, 2004, 395).
Using Galway City, in the west of Ireland as our case study, we
explore how the citys economy and society have been impacted by
culture/cultural policies in the past, and what role they have in the
citys economic and social sustainability. In order to do this, we
look rstly at the historical economic and social development of
the city. From this, it quickly becomes clear that the city and re-
gions cultural history is innately bound with its economic and so-
cial development over the past number of years. This exploration
also makes it clear that the citys past economic and social success
is bound with and dependant on the exploitation of the unique cul-
ture fostered in the city. In an attempt to explore this further, we
gauge the citys cultural exposition and sustainability according
to three pillars which have been identied by others (see Craik, Da-
vis, & Sutherland, 2002) as the critical domains of cultural policy:
Technology; Institutions; and Spatial Culture. The spatial manifes-
tation of culture is evident throughout all cities. Garcias work on
the cultural legacies of Glasgow 1990 experience (European City/
Capital of Culture) highlights the importance of local images, iden-
tities and communities in culture-led regeneration (Garcia, 2005).
Also Waitt (2008) outlines the work of geographers investigating
urban festivals as place marketing tools in the contemporary poli-
tics of entrepreneurialism.
The rationale for using the three dimensions of technology,
institutions and spatial culture is how they contribute to the cities
cultural and competitive endowment. Previous work on the tech-
nology sector in Galway (Collins, 2007) acted as a starting point
for an investigation as to the spatial practices in a post-Fordist
economy. Highly mobile rms in an increasingly globalised econ-
omy have a greater breadth of location choices. Analysis of compa-
nies in Galway and Ireland (a country highly dependent on
attracting foreign rms2) pointed to the increased weight placed
on institutions and culture (in the sense of livability and place attrac-
tiveness) in location decisions.
The importance placed on technology and policies related to it
are recognized worldwide. Indeed, technology is found to be at
the core of creative cities rhetoric because it is the sector most eas-
ily related to constant change and high value returns to innovation
(see Florida, 2002; Peck, 2005). The role of arts, culture and their
institutions forms our second pillar. Recognizing that creative activ-
ities have the potential to play a vital role in creating a unique im-
age for a city, there exists a huge value in producing distinctive and
unique cultural products (Gertler, 2004). Stimulating urban devel-
opment or the recycling of urban space is yet another way in which
creative activities are seen to impact urban economies. Here, we
investigate the role that the formation of local artistic institutions
has played on the citys creative development. Our nal pillar of
analysis is spatial culture, encompassing the place of public perfor-
mance in urban morphology. As explored in detail by Franklin
(2004), public performance, and art festivals in particular, are an
integral component of the creative city (echoing Floridas thesis
that part of the environmental and cultural diversity the creative
class thrive on includes institutions like arts festivals). Such festi-
vals often provide an interesting lens to explore how culture is
contested (Waterman, 1998) and the relationship between art
and governance. Notions of ownership of culture and tensions be-
tween cultural and commercial pursuits are explored in line with
what Waterman sees as the transformation of cultural to commer-
cial interests. We explore this further by looking at the promotion
of Galway as a consumer playground for the mobile and afuent
through its cultural events.
2
For example, in the Irish technology sector, over half of employment and as much
as 80% of revenue is accounted by foreign owned companies (IDA, 2009).
29
Methods3
This work builds on past analyses of Galway (and Ireland) as
attractive locations for foreign direct investment and entrepre-
neurial activity. Referring to more critical writings on creative cit-
ies, we set out to question whether Galway City can now see itself
as an entrepreneurial city in the meaning employed by David Har-
vey (1989).
From the economic perspective, assessing culture and creativity
in the city has been long regarded as a move towards a positive
revaluation of urban assets. However, within the creative cities dis-
course, the methods used by the majority of studies to determine a
citys cultural assets and potential have been criticized for their at-
tempts to quantitatively identify and value this potential. Landry
and Woods note that the majority of evaluations on the economic
impact of culture on a city to date are largely quantitatively driven
focusing on tourism gures and levels of participation (2003, 53).
In the context of Ireland, culture and creativity are often too nar-
rowly dened as the Arts and, in the case of Galway City, the
majority of evaluations of culture in the city have simply been
analyses of tourist gures or numbers attending an event. A nota-
ble exception to this trend is Quinns (2005, 2006) insightful qual-
itative research conducted on the Galway Arts Festival.
Methodologically, our research relies more on qualitative than
quantitative approaches. The data contained within this paper was
in part derived from an analysis of policy documents, programs,
and press releases from organizations in Galway; notably, Galway
City Council, Galway City Development Board and Galway Arts Fes-
tival Ofce. In addition, 10 in-depth semi-structured interviews
were conducted with individuals involved in key industries, arts
organizations, and city councils. The interviews were conducted
with commercial institutions between the period of July 2002 and
September 2004. More recently (June 2006 until November 2009),
interviews with cultural actors in Galway-based institutions of arts
and commerce were carried out. This time coincided with an
unprecedented economic boom in Ireland. Key issues that emerged
in interviews with commercial actors regarding Galway as a location
to carry out business (such as the cultural/bohemian vibe in the city
and the generally high quality of life) acted as the main themes for
exploration in the more recent interviews with the citys cultural ac-
tors and institutions. Qualitative interviews are often cited as a
means of gaining greater insight into the respondents feelings,
experiences and beliefs which are important because of the ideolog-
ical nature of the subject material. This research approach ensured a
meaningful insight by exploring core beliefs in respondents regard-
ing the place of culture, be it commercial or artistic. We correlated
responses from representatives of different sectors (namely com-
mercial and cultural) to demonstrate the divergent attitudes regard-
ing the place of culture in the citys development. Miles and
Huberman (1994) argue that there are a number of instances when
qualitative methods are crucial, such as enabling local grounding
and substantial depth. These are key requirements when organiza-
tional and human processes are observed. Through these interviews,
and an in-depth review of secondary material, we have attempted to
build a robust picture of the citys economic and cultural make-up.
Context: the case of Galway City
Irelands economic transformation over the period known as the
Celtic Tiger (ca. 19932007) years had been widely noted by com-
3
A point of clarication might be necessary in how we view the relation between
the terms Creative, Cultural and Artistic. We see these terms as lying on a continuum
which from left to right becomes less quantiable and more subjective. Policies
referred to in terms of creative cities rest somewhere between the rst two terms,
while cultural events like those referred to here lie between the latter two terms.
30 P. Collins, F. Fahy / Cities 28 (2011) 2835
mentators on the Irish scene as well as the worlds international
nancial institutions. On a national scale, however, the dominance
of Dublin was hard to refute (see Collins, 2007; OLeary, 2001). Yet
as one of Irelands second-tier cities, Galway managed to reap the
rewards of the national economic turnaround. We argue that the
structural transformation of the citys economy has enabled it to
position itself well in terms of a culture-led development agenda.
Its focus on culture from the perspective of consumption has, in
the line of Florida (2002), seen it create a momentum in attracting
a pool of creative people and, with it, the establishment of localized
conventions and supporting institutions, facets deemed important
by theorists like Pratt (1997) and Scott (2001).
In this section, our broad theoretical aim is in line with some of
the more recent work (Pratt, 2004; Scott, 2001) looking at localities
functioning as economic-cultural entities and the role local culture
plays. Here, we attempt to identify local milieu and the competi-
tive advantages which exist in Galway, and the possible outcomes
of the future pursuit of culture-led policy.
Galways economic success and failure owe much to its geo-
graphic location. Situated in the middle of Irelands west coast, Gal-
way is the largest city of one of Europes most peripheral regions.
Galway has acted as a nodal centre for the surrounding region
since its establishment on the North East corner of Galway Bay
over 500 years ago. To the west of the city, on the north shore of
Galway Bay, lie the rugged desolate hills of Connemara. With its
exceptional scenery and rural, sleepy towns, this region has be-
come one of the most popular destinations for tourists visiting Ire-
land (Failte Ireland, 2006). In many ways, its success as a tourist
destination owes much to its economic and social failings in the
past. Many of the tourists that sustain the regions most viable
industry are descendants of those who were forced to leave due
to economic and social adversity in the past. As a gateway to the
West of Ireland, Galway City has been quick to exploit the social
and cultural attractions in terms of language and traditions of what
is termed real Ireland (www.visitthewest.ie), a signicant factor
in its claim to cultural city status.
The demographic prole of the city over the last two decades
shows it to be a fast-growing, youthful city. Reaching a popula-
tion of over 71,000 in 2007, it overtook Limerick city as Irelands
third largest urban centre, behind Dublin and Cork. From 2002 to
2005, the city registered an increase of 15%, well above the na-
tional average of 9% (Central Statistics Ofce (CSO), 2008). The
dynamic growth rate is reected in the age prole of the city
and county with nearly half the population aged under 24 years
old. This gure is skewed due to the presence of two higher edu-
cation institutes in the city, the National University of Ireland,
Galway, and the Galway Mayo Institute of Technology, from
which 7000 students graduate per annum (Galway Chamber of
Commerce, 2005).
Galways comparative wealth vis--vis the rest of the western
region is seen in a lower percentage of unemployed and a shifting
of those at work towards more highly valued service activities.
Works by theorists including Giblin (2008) have identied the
emergence of clusters of international signicance in both the
technology and biomedical sectors. Galway is home to 100+ high
technology rms (Pontikakis, Collins, & Cawley, 2007). The two
dominating sectors are led by what Feldman and Francis (2003)
terms anchor rms: HewlettPackard (Software) and Boston Scien-
tic (Medical Technology) employ in the region of 2000 and 3000,
respectively. A focus on the direct impacts in terms of employment
and wages would belie the indirect or multiplier effects in how
both operations have acted as magnets for other industries both
indigenous and foreign. National economic transformation along-
side international organizational changes have seen Ireland and
Galway move up the value chain to what are deemed higher pro-
ductivity activities (see Collins & Grimes, 2008).
The most signicant elements of Galways economy during the
boom years had been the construction and business services sec-
tors. This reected the Irish economy as a whole with both sectors
seen as key drivers of the Celtic Tiger success (see Kirby, 2002).
Other growth sectors in Galway City were retail, as well as hotels
and restaurants, sectors. The latter is reected in the tourist num-
bers arriving in Galway over the last number of years. For the West
region as a whole, these passed the three quarters of a million
mark in 2002, with Galway accounting for 12.2% of tourists to Ire-
land and 13.4% of the countrys revenue from tourism in 2004 (Fail-
te Ireland, 2006).
In highlighting the cultural aspects of a city, the last point is
important. Cultural events and spaces attract tourists and, as in
the case of cities across Europe more easily identied as cultural
cities, a strong tourist base is a good indicator of cultural endow-
ment (see Bianchini, 1993). Cultural Tourism4 as dened by the Ir-
ish Tourist Board is the largest form of tourism in the West. With
nearly 6% of the workforce employed there in the tourist industry
and expenditure on tourism at 7% of GVA for the region, a return
of 1.9 billion per annum demonstrates the productivity of the sector
(Irish Tourist Board, 2008).
The scale of governance here is also worth noting. The Irish
Tourist Board works according to a national agenda though recent
regional restructuring has occurred with the creation of regional
bodies like Ireland West Tourism. Internationally, this is congruent
to the devolution of policy concern and interest in the promotion of
culture and heritage from the national to the regional level (Cunn-
ingham, 2002). The work of both bodies in promoting the city of
Galway as a vibrant and lively place with a buzzing arts scene
has beneted the city not solely in terms of tourism revenue but
in terms of attracting workers to the city (Loowkwest.ie, 2009).
One representative from a foreign investment services company
that recently located in Galway explained it as the cherry factor:
The city has a quality of life second to none. . .when our CEO
asked how we would be able to maintain a workforce of 500
from such a small city we persuaded him that we would have
no problem attracting people here from the whole western sea-
board with a population of over 500,000. When he came here to
open the plant, he agreed. (Company Representative US-owned
MNC Interview September 2006).
Examples such as this serve to lend credence to Floridas notion
of regional development being dependent on the quality of place
(2004). Floridas indicators are referred to as the three Ts (Technol-
ogy, Talent and Tolerance) and the rst two are seen as reciprocal
in the case of Galway. The technology sector is differentiated from
national trends. Unlike the rest of Ireland, the multinationals pres-
ent in Galway are heavily involved in research and development;
with a number of subsidiaries located there winning the global
and regional research remits of their respective corporations (Col-
lins & Grimes, 2008). A dynamic and creative sector attracts talent
from beyond the city which itself attracts more companies to in-
vest in the city.
The above analysis of the socio-economic make-up of Galway
City raises some interesting questions regarding cultural policy.
Galway City promotes itself as the cultural centre of the west
and while qualitative insights into the nature of smaller urban
agglomerations and their dening as cultural spaces is generally
helpful, they are difcult to dene quantitatively. The economy
of the city is set apart from the region it serves. With a youthful
4
The Irish Tourist Board denes Cultural Tourists as visitors interested in historical
and cultural attractions, the measurement of which includes visitors to castles/
monuments, museums, art galleries, theatres and heritage and interpretive centres.
Cultural Tourism remains distinct from activities-based tourism, which includes
hiking, golf, cycling, etc.
 P. Collins, F. Fahy / Cities 28 (2011) 2835
population and a shifting of allegiances towards a more productive
and sustainable economic base, the city shows a dynamic trajec-
tory. In a time of economic malaise, it is more important now to fo-
cus on these areas of comparative advantage.
Related to this is the policy dualism of the cultural agenda. The
relationship of cultural production to commodity production and
wealth creation by commercial means makes for a fuzzy overlap
between cultural and economic policies. The signicance of cul-
tural policy to the development of the cultural industries or the
creative industries has been widely noted, as has the need for cul-
tural policy to engage more effectively with the wellsprings of
commercial popular culture in order to be effective (Flew, 2004).
In elaborating on the case of Galway we note the tension between
cultural and commercial pursuits. Commercial validation of cul-
tural pursuits can be seen in some cases as a paradox. In the case
of Galway, the bringing together of commercial and cultural sec-
tors has led to contested ownership. For both to succeed, individu-
ally and in tandem, a coherent policy has to be put into place,
which will appeal to the needs of both.
A cultural Galway?
For the purposes of this paper, we have adopted Craik et al.s
(2002, 159) denition of cultural policies as the range of cultural
practices, products and forms of circulation and consumption that
are organized and subject to domains of policy. For Craik et al.
(2002), there are a number of key domains of cultural policy which
we have adapted into three cultural pillars of investigation as fol-
lows: Technology (including broadcasting, multimedia, etc.); Insti-
tutions (accounting for arts centers, museums, theatres, etc.); and
Spatial Culture (encompassing the place of public performance in
urban morphology). In attempting to uncover the potential label
of cultural in the case of Galway City, this section gauges the so-
cial and economic ramications of assimilating these pillars into
the life of the city. Two things become clear in this exposition:
rstly, the cultural label can be applied to Galway; secondly, it
can be seen as integral to the socio-economic development of the
city. That said, the sustainability of such is far from guaranteed,
and how it is employed and by whom is open to question.
For clarity, we should state that while we investigate the cul-
tural competencies of Galway under three categories, we do not
see them as separate. We also acknowledge that institutions, tech-
nology and place are in many ways intertwined. This ts with the
broader theoretical debates in geography regarding the centrality
of place. The work of Cooke (2006), Boschma (2005), and Coe, Dick-
en, and Hess (2008) show the inseparability of technology from its
space (of conception and distribution), while theorists such as Jes-
sop and Sum (2000) and Keating (2003) reect on governance and
institutions and their space. Below, we cite examples under each of
the three headings, but all spread across the other two domains.
Technology, communications and media
Creative activities lie at the core of a number growing industrial
sectors contributing directly to employment growth as well as rep-
resenting a sizeable portion of the Irish national product and Gal-
way more specically. The opportunities presented by technology
and emergent digital media are of particular relevance to both city
and country; whether cogent, or indeed, coherent, policies in Ire-
land have reected these developments.
A recent attempt to gauge the creative sector was carried out by
a local regional development body, the Western Development
Commission (WDC), in 2009. The denition employed leaned on
that put forth by the UKs Department of Culture, Media and Sport
in the late 1990s (see Pratt, 2004). Accounting for 11,000 employ-
31
ees in over 4500 businesses, the sector is a prominent one, with
over half a billion euros in turnover in the region in 2007 (Western
Development Commission (WDC), 2009). The most vibrant subsec-
tor was Creative Technology (the other two being Creative Expres-
sion and Creative Application) which includes Internet, Software
and Digital Media. Of particular relevance to the region was the
television and lm sector.
The establishment of Irelands fourth television channel, TG4
(broadcasting wholly in the Irish language), on the outskirts of Gal-
way in 1997, has acted as an anchor to a burgeoning digital media
cluster in the Inverin region on the outskirt of Galway City. This has
seen the establishment of 40 companies in the audio visual sector
employing 220 full time and 180 part time workers (see Table 1).
Including the 75 employees working at the station, the cluster
has had a signicant impact on the local economy (the Gaeltacht),
contributing up to 7 million in 2005 (TG4, 2006):
This is creativity changing the nature of the whole place.
15 years ago the main employer here had people putting food
in cans [basic manufacturing] today the biggest employer here
[Inverin] is creative technology. . . it creates a real buzz (Inter-
view MD of a TV production company, November 2009).
The TG4 cluster is an interesting example of shifting scales in
the cultural arena with a more anthropocentric notion of culture
at play. The station is a national broadcaster with a specic remit
of delivering cultural and heritage programmes pertinent to Irish
national identity (TG4, 2006). The formation of this station can
be interpreted as a more traditional cultural policy associated with
the principles of citizenship, participation and nationalism5 (see
Miller & Ydice, 2002). The fact that the station was located outside
of Dublin is interesting with regard to the Irish tendency towards
centralization (see Collins, 2007) and the choice of Galway is more
interesting still, lending credence to the regions ability to deliver
on a national agenda.
Equally as interesting are the less traditional offshoots of this
policy. More recent contributions to literature on creative indus-
tries have placed creativity at the core of the new economy, where
wealth creation is increasingly driven by ideas, intangibles and the
creative application of ICTs, presenting creativity as an axial prin-
ciple of the new economy, as labor, organization and information
have been in previous epochs (Florida, 2002; Flew, 2004; Mitchell,
Inouye, & Blumenthal, 2003).
Technology and the creative industries are innately linked as
both can be seen as active parts of the move towards the post-
industrial society. Lash and Urry (1994) suggest that creative
industries are providing the model for understanding transforma-
tions in other industries. The rise of the information age and sym-
bolic knowledge have given the creative industries legitimacy in
the new economic/business tradition of moving towards servicing
(Hesmondhalgh, 2007). Problem solving has been replaced by cre-
ative solutions as more and more high tech operations dene
themselves as creative industries. Innovation in the creative indus-
tries mimics that of the more traditional industries in that it is
characterised by uncertainty (in both inputs and outputs) and ben-
ets from spatially concentrated economies of scale/(geographi-
cally dened) clusters. Recent trends also show that aesthetics
(rather than utility) matters to innovation and both enjoy greater
returns to advertising and are cyclical in nature (ephemeral fads)
(Hesmondhalgh, 2007).
5
Understood in this way, cultural policy becomes central to an understanding of
culture as it has developed historically, as well as agging practical means of
intervening in the cultural eld, by recognizing, and working with, the discursive and
institutional force-elds through which cultural policy and administration provides a
means of acting upon the social (cf. Bennett, 1993, 1998).
32 P. Collins, F. Fahy / Cities 28 (2011) 2835

Table 1 Spatial Culture and Public Performance

Production Companies in Galway City and outskirts (derived from Screen Producers
Ireland Database (2007)).
For many in the local community, Spatial Culture and Public Per-
Company name City based Part of TG4 cluster formance is what has come to epitomize Galways creative develop-
p
A Man and Ink ment. Public performance through street festivals has not only
p
Abu Media
p
become the citys most inclusive art/cultural forum, but has formed
Aesop Teo an effective branding of how the city is seen (consumed) from the
p
Amnesia Film Ltd.
Claddagh Films
p outside.
p
Dobhar The parade is probably the signature events in the arts in Gal-
p
EO Telilis
Gael Media
p way. It is most likely what people think when they think of Gal-
p way [arts scene]. . . We have Druid [Irish Theatre Company] as
Hawkeye Films
p
Hofnaus Teo
p
well but things like that arent consumed the way the parade
Ikandi Productions Ltd. is (Interview with member of the Galway Arts Centre, 2006).
p
JDM Film and TV Prod
p
Little Vision
p
Magmamedia The spatial culture associated with performance has come to re-
p
MAGMA Films
p dene the lived urban experience in Galway. In this work, we point
Prazival Productions
p to examples of how the spatial culture has had a real impact on the
Power Pictures
p
ROSG citys urban morphology.
p
Sin Sin Teo The signatory festival of Galway City is the Galway Arts Festival
p
Sonta
p (GAF). Over its 30-year history, the Festival has become a showcase
Telegael Media Group
for Irish arts and international arts and has now established itself
as one of Irelands leading arts festivals (for a comprehensive re-
view of the development of the Festival, see Quinn, 2005). The col-
Institutions, art and culture
orful Festival collaborates with artists and companies throughout
the world to initiate, commission and produce new work. The fes-
Part of what Granger (2009) terms the Upperground of the arts
tival transforms the city (see Fig. 1) and over 100,000 people attend
scene, institutions facilitate the arts at the local level and facilitate
it annually, with hundreds of writers, artists, performers and musi-
its consumption. For Galway, one of the main institutional actors is
cians creating theatre, spectacle, street art, comedy, literature and
the City Development Board (CBD). Though Creatives are some-
music for the two-week long event (Galway Arts Festival, 2006).
what under-represented on the board, it has been quick to recog-
Funding for the festival comes from three main areas: public sector
nize the importance of culture to the city (Galway CBD, 2002). In
grants, ticket sales, and corporate sponsorship (Galway Arts Festi-
so doing it has also pointed out the citys cultural shortcomings,
val, 2006).
citing deciencies in planning and funding, and has been vocal in
The relative success of the GAF as a marketing tool for the city
proposing new ventures. However, without its own funding
sits well with the theorized benets of the neoliberally hyped ur-
stream, the board lacks the necessary impetus to address
ban entrepreneurialism (Peck, 2004). While festivals make cities
shortcomings.
attractive both to tourists and investors, critical urban geographers
Another institution that is closely related to the CDB (sharing
would argue that once a festivals time and space becomes com-
board members) is the City Councils Arts Ofce. It is directly in-
modied within entrepreneurial approaches designed to encour-
volved in Galways cultural fabric and, as part of the local authority,
age people to spend money, it becomes exclusionary (Waitt,
can address the problems of Galways social cultural infrastructure.
2008). More specically, Quinn (2005) illustrates how, below its
Its primary goal is to ensure access to, and participation in, the arts,
inclusive surface, the GAF has overseen a process of social exclu-
through development of models and approaches to working with
sions between participation through the reproduction of the norms
individuals, artists and local communities, state and local agencies.
of differing Arts (see Fig. 1).
Secondly, it developed an integrated and partnership approach to
If the GAF acts as a cultural lynch pin for Galway, then Macnas
working with other sections of the local authority (individuals, ar-
act as a cultural lynch pin for the festival. This community-based
tists, organizations and local communities) to implement a com-
arts and theatre company is responsible for the festivals parade
prehensive and cohesive approach to sustainable arts
through the streets of Galway City. Formed over 20 years ago, Mac-
development in the community.
nas relies on funding from the Councils Arts Ofce and the na-
Another signicant node in Galways cultural network is the
tional employment agency, FAS (Foras Aiseanna Saothair). From
Galway Arts Centre. Established in 1982, the centre is a benefactor
humble beginnings (basically it was a case that you couldnt get
of signicant grants from the Department of Arts. It is responsible
a job in Ireland at that time, and we just wanted to have some
for the citys international literature festival, Cuirt, which attracts
fun. . . thats what the name Macnas actually means [Interview
writers and visitors from many different countries and back-
with Macnas representative, 2006]), the company has been
grounds. Organizers estimated that, in 2006, over 6000 visitors
awarded many national and international accolades and, in 1992,
came to Galway for the festival from the US and the Middle East
it spun out the well-renowned production company, MacTeo.
as well as mainland Europe and the UK. The box-ofce sales for
Bianchini (1993) denes culture-led strategies employed by ur-
2006 represented a 60% increase in ticket sales from the previous
ban authorities to drive economic regeneration as production- or
year (Galway Arts Festival Press Ofce, 2006). More recently, global
consumption-oriented models. Investment in production is
and national economic fortunes have had an adverse affect on the
geared towards the growing cultural or creative industries. As
state funded institution. In 2009, funding was cut by 18%:
we can see from the case of Macnas, it was born, not out of a cul-
Its the same story, the Arts are valued when the money is ture-led strategy, but out of economic malaise. The (relatively)
there to value it, but if its a case that state monies dry up, sup- mass cultural production carried out by Macnas was the result of
porting the Arts is seen as a luxury without justication. . . that an organic evolution. Yet some comparisons can be made between
has to change. (Interview with manager of Civic Theatre, Octo- the Galway cases and other better known examples, such as Man-
ber 2009). chesters Northern Quarter (see Brown, OConnor, & Cohen, 2000).
 P. Collins, F. Fahy / Cities 28 (2011) 2835
Fig. 1. Scenes from the 2007 festival parade including preparations. (Organisers of the arts festival parade often use the display as an opportunity for political satire. In this
years festival one of the main themes was the green monster seen here called Crypto. This is an obvious reference to the outbreak of cryptosporidium which infected the
citys water supply in 2007.) (For interpretation of the references to color in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
In the case of the latter, cultural development strategies are hailed
as the impetus behind the revitalization of a de-industrialized ur-
ban quarter. Though on a different scale, the case of Galway is
somewhat similar. The 1986 Arts Festival invited an open-air the-
atre company from Spain to perform on the streets of Galway.
Their act not only inspired the formation of Macnas but the re-
development of a lost quarter of the city.
The quays area of Galway was totally run down, that suited
their show that was based around death, but what it also did
was bring peoples attention to a forgotten part of the city. . .
later that year the area was re-zoned for development, today
it is seen as the arty segment of the city, and a number one des-
tination for visitors (Interview with Macnas representative
2006).
While positive in terms of urban regeneration, it is also an
example of what may be seen as the benets accrued from the
neo-liberal politics of urban regeneration (Waitt, 2008). This has
been writ large by the branding of the Quay Street area as the La-
tin Quarter in 2009. Proponents of the branding are the busy pubs,
restaurants and commercial outlets that populate the area, leaving
some of the original inhabitants of the area at a loss: [In reference
to the Latin Quarter label] What is it? Where did it come from? We
[a theatre company] have been here for 30 years, this area grew up
around us, I cant see what relevance a label like that has, is it just
to attract drinkers? (Interview with a Galway Theatre representa-
tive, October 2009).
Urban morphology and spatial culture have also had impacts in
other parts of the city. The mission statement of MacTeo (Macnas
spinoff production company) reects an attitude to spatial trans-
formation: Give us the space and well use it in a way that has
never been used before (available at http://www.macteo.com/
about.html). Macnas production of Alice in Wonderland in the
33
early 1990s was based on an unused area less than a mile from
the city centre: again something similar happened there, people
just needed to see it being used (Interview with Macnas represen-
tative, 2006). The area is now home to a multiplex cinema and a
multi-functional production space called the Black Box. This is
the home of Macnas and it is also the venue for various types of
artistic performances.
How well Macnas and other organizations like the Arts Centre
are bound up in the citys identity is another measure of the impor-
tance of culture to the city and the image it seeks to portray. OCon-
nor (1993) identied a number of common themes that continue
to be reproduced for tourist consumption in the West of Ireland.
These included the imagery of a picturesque, unspoiled, timeless
countryside with a friendly and quaint people, a place where past
traditions and ways of life still exist, and a pre-modern society.
This is a romantic image of a magical place contrasting indus-
trial/urban life, a place where the traditional Irish culture and
way of life survives (Kneafsey, 1997).
The popular image of the west is being transformed in recogni-
tion of what it can offer in terms of cultural consumption for tour-
ists. The images that tourists have of the west are changing to
images of modern art and music. Images of Macnas annual parade
abound as Galway City markets its cultural attractiveness to visi-
tors. This is, in part, recognition of what is already in place in Gal-
way and, in part, a reaction to the changing needs of travelers from
within and outside Ireland. Irelands tourist market is changing. It
is moving away from its original remit in the 1950s which focused
solely on the North-American market. This shift is inuenced by
the impact of budget airlines and the arrival of younger tourists
from the rest of Ireland and Europe in the last two decades. The
old images of quaint Irish pastures, with peasants huddled around
turf res in thatched cottages, are being replaced by vibrant arts
scenes offering a wide variety of options in cultural pursuits.
34 P. Collins, F. Fahy / Cities 28 (2011) 2835
Sustaining culture?
Home to 99 cultural facilities including seven theatres, seven
annual festivals, 19 Art galleries/exhibition spaces, six museums
and writing groups, Galway can be viewed as relatively successful
on the basis of its cultural status. Yet many cities are replete with
examples of physical cultural infrastructure doing little to pro-
mote cultural vitality (see Garcia (2005) on Glasgow). The Irish
policy obsession with short term physical expenditure when deal-
ing with the Arts needs to be reassessed. Also, the increasing pro-
fessionalization of cultural policy is not without its drawbacks
(Miles, 2005). Galways multitude of arts venues count for little
in the absence of decent (longer term) funding and a willingness
to nurture local talents for the future. The issue of local and inter-
national involvement in arts festivals is explored in detail by
Quinn (2006) whose research on the Galway Arts Festival and
the Wexford Opera Festival highlighted how the development of
an external festival orientation (i.e. relying on international
expertise) can threaten the established relationship between local
populations and their festivals. Quinn noted that more than two-
thirds of the artists participating in the Galway Arts Festival in
the early 1980s originated in the Galway area. However, the fes-
tival program became so international during the 1990s that, by
1996, only 23% of the total number of artists participating were
Irish (Quinn, 2006).
During the course of our research in 2006, the Galway Arts Fes-
tival was dealt a blow by the local artistic community who with-
drew their support for the festival citing the lack of showcasing
of local talent. The organizers of Galways alternative arts festival,
Project 06, accused the incumbents pandering to sponsors at the
expense of local talent. In this sense, the festival has been a victim
of its own success; as it grew in national and international scope,
the inevitability was that non-local acts were hired. This has seri-
ous ramications for the sustainability of culture in Galway. Recent
work by Pratt (2008) has highlighted the danger of focusing on cul-
tural consumption over cultural production. A continual focus on
importing culture means the city itself becomes little more than
a venue.
The roots of these and other institutions and cultural actors in
Galway go back to the 1980s. Conceived in a period of economic
gloom, many of these organizations matured alongside the city
and the intermittent economic boom. In the midst of the current
economic downturn, support for these institutions and the citys
cultural infrastructure has been highlighted as all too brittle (McG-
reevy, 2009). Cultural institutions have been integral in shaping
the citys development overtly and covertly. The ease with which
these institutions are ignored in times of economic adversity is tes-
tament to short-sightedness of both the commercial and public
sectors. The role that creative and cultural industries play in local
and national innovation systems needs to be recognized, in times
of adversity more than ever.
An underlying theme throughout this study of Galway is the no-
tion of a contested ownership of culture. This can be seen as a
contest among local and state tourist boards, commercial actors in-
volved in promoting the city generally, and artists involved in the
citys cultural development. The entrepreneurial city in terms of
place promotion does not sit well with many of the citys cultural
actors. Animosity is evident as the following quote demonstrates:
You pick up the paper and there are jobs advertised by them [large
multinational based in Galway] and half of their ad is a picture of
our work, so you see our work being used by them to market them-
selves, yet we see no money for that (Interview with member of
the Galway Arts Centre, 2006). Contesting promotions of the city
can involve mixed messages which can lead to a lack of coherency
and consistency in the citys development.
Concluding reections and future research
There is a danger that research can romanticize creative indus-
tries. Consequently, it is imperative that more detailed empirical
investigations be carried out, so that an informed body of knowl-
edge will be available upon which political practices and policies
can be formulated. The central tension between creativity/culture
and capital accumulation must be accommodated and striving to
maintain a balance between these two forces will require a more
nuanced and grounded understanding of creative industries and
cultural spaces.
The unique urban form of Galway City has been central to its
promotion as a centre of cultural activity. The cause and effect of
city space in the case of Galway has been an interesting one. We
have cited examples of urban renewal inspired by cultural perfor-
mance. The involvement of community-led cultural organizations
in the allocation of new cultural spaces in the city is imperative
for future sustainability of a cultural Galway.
Yet a key thread running through all of this paper has been the
ease with which the creative/cultural city mantra has t with the
urban entrepreneurial approach of a city competing in a neo-liber-
al economic climate for investors, visitors and inhabitants. Criti-
cisms of the Floridian method of ranking cities apply to the case
of Galway. It has entered a form of urban competition, one that
sees it compete with other second-tier cities in Ireland and beyond.
By doing so, it has focused on a set of urban, social and economic
assets at the expense of others in what can only be a race towards
the bottom of urban attractiveness. The adoption of creative/cul-
tural city model by smaller cities should be treated with a greater
degree of caution. Larger cities have a greater ability to absorb the
narrow focus on the creative class and spatial culture. The risk of
exclusion is greater in smaller urban centers.
Throughout the case study of Galway, we have highlighted how
the ownership of culture has been contested. This contestation
manifested itself in several ways: in the example of local busi-
nesses withdrawing their nancial support of the Galway Arts Fes-
tival, citing the failure to showcase local artists, writers, etc.; in the
example of the establishment of a new alternative arts festival
Project 06; and in relation to the use of Macnas as a marketing
tool by commercial actors and the state at national and local level.
The above will serve to inform further work on the exploration
of the place of culture and creativity in the development of Galway
and other second tier European cities. We do not claim to have
done more than scratch the surface of a number of questions that
have emerged during the course of this enquiry. Yet this work has
served to raise questions that warrant further investigation. For
example, we question whether the new vocabulary of creative
industries reects real changes in the economy, or whether it is
simply new cloak in which to wrap traditional goals? Related to
this is the question of how much policies on creative cities differ
from traditional urban policies. We note from work carried out
on the community-based arts organization Macnas and Irelands
fourth television channel, very different evolutionary trajectories.
With the former demonstrative of an organic evolution out of eco-
nomic deprivation and the latter the result of a concerted cultural/
language policy, we question the difference between constructed
and non-constructed institutional actors and their relative impacts
on their locale. This area requires more research with impacts not
only for Galway and Ireland, but for the development of second-
tier cities across Europe.
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Interviews
Collins, P. Tech 1 2002 Interview with MD of indigenous technology company
August.
Collins, P. Tech 2 2002 Interview with CEO of indigenous technology company
August.
Collins, P. Tech 3 2005 Interview with founder of indigenous technology company
May.
Collins, P. Tech 4 2004 Interview with HR manager US owned Multinational
Corporation September.
Collins, P. Tech 5 2006 Interview with MD of US owned MNC September.
Collins, P., & Fahy, F. Cult 1 2006 Interview with Macnas representative June.
Collins, P. 2006 Interview with Druid representative September.
Collins, P. 2006 Interview with member of the Galway Arts Centre October.
Collins, P. 2009 Interview with manager of Civic Theatre October.
Collins, P. 2009 Interview with Director of Theatre Company October.
Collins, P. 2009 Interview with Director of TG4 Television Channel.
Collins, P. 2009 Interview with CEO of TV production company November.