The Hidden Side of the Creative City: Culture Instrumentalization, Political Control and Social Reproduction in Valencia

Description

This book analyses issues related to the political use and economical misappropriation of urban cultural events, cultural infrastructures, public resources, and cultural traditions in the city of Valencia, Spain. It deals critically with a variety of sociological questions related to cultural production in the city, including geographical segregation as culturally defined in the city; misogyny and the peripheral role of women in traditional cultural events, xenophobia; and nationalism/regionalism. As such, the book will be useful to students and scholars of sociology of the arts, cultural policy, and museum management, and urban sociology.  Presentation and Acknowledgements Contents Notes on Contributors List of Figures List of Tables 1: Introduction: Urban Development and Cultural Policy ‘White Elephants’ 1.1 Cultural Policy as a Factor in Local Development 1.2 Local Cultural Policies: Legitimations, Objectives, and Main Strategies 1.3 Local Cultural Participation and the Sustainability of the Creative City 1.4 The Hidden Side of Cultural Policy in the Creative City References 2: Regional Entrepreneurialism, ‘Creative City’ and Strategic Projects in València 2.1 The Strategic Projects and the València Region’s Planning and Development Policies 2.2 Urban Transformation and Cultural Policy in València 2.3 Strategic Projects in the Valèncian Region: Genesis, Development and Economic, Urban and Social Impacts The Fifth World Meeting of Families in València (2006): Using the Pope’s Visit to Promote the Region and Consolidate the PP’s Political Hegemony The America’s Cup (2007): An Elite Sport as a Gentrifying Development Plan European Grand Prix (2008–2012) The City of Arts and Sciences, and the Palace of the Arts: The City’s White Elephant (2008) The Cost of Putting València on the Map: A Balance References 3: Local Cultural Policy, Political Orientations, the Cultural Management Model and the Results of Public Cultural Action in València 3.1 Valèncian Local Cultural Policy, Political and Budgetary Priorities and Organisational Forms: The Mixing of Post-modern Rhetorics and Traditional Bureaucracy 3.2 The Main Outputs of València Cultural Policy: Prioritisation of Shows and a Lack of Cultural Participation 3.3 Political Change and Cultural Policy: The Long Shadow of ‘the Creative City’ Model The Cost of the Calatrava Effect: The Abandonment of Cultural Participation References 4: Cultural White Elephants in the Creative City 4.1 MUVIM: The Stumbling Grey Elephant A Sociological Analysis of an Historical Space in Central València From the Museum of The Valèncian Enlightenment to The Valèncian Museum of the Enlightenment During the Period of the Rafa Company (1997–2004) Philosophical and Graphic Enlightenment, Román de la Calle’s Term as Director (2004–2010) The Direct Political Control Stage: MuVIM Management Under Javier Varela (2010–2011) Museum Populism, Joan Gregori’s Directorship (2011–2015) 4.2 IVAM: Cronyism and Corruption in Valèncian Cultural Policy 4.3 València’s Opera House as a Cultural White Elephant: The Effect of the Creative City Model, Bureaucratic Management, and the Absence of Accountability in Opera Management Public Sector, Opera Management, and Cultural Policy The Palau de les Arts: An Opera House Framed Within the Creative City Paradigm Financing, Management, and Public Value of the Palace of Arts References 5: Traditional Culture, the Creative City and Social Reproduction: the Fallas Case 5.1 The Notion of Field, the Rules of Art and Its Limited Application to the Festive Ritual 5.2 The Fallas, Social Space and Political Domination 5.3 Fallas and Heteronomy of the Field with Respect to the Economic Field 5.4 The Interaction Ritual: Classifying and Ranking the Urban Spaces Aesthetic Innovation in Fallas, the Rive Gauche of the Fallero World? The Fallas as a Space for Social Stratification and Reproduction of ‘us’ (and ‘them’) Fallas and Political Instrumentalising of the Traditional Ritual References 6: The “Queen of the Festivity”? Traditional Festivities and Social Reproduction of Gender Inequalities 6.1 Festive Culture, Domination and Gender Discrimination: The Dimension of Conflict and Patriarchal Domination 6.2 The Totemic “Queen”: The Fallera Mayor as the Silent Festival Queen 6.3 Social Change in the Fallas and Gender Equality: The Role of Feminism References 7: Conclusions References Methodological Annex Personal Interviews Focus Groups References Index