Leeds

With a bit of northern grit and determination Leeds announced itself to be the unofficial UK City of Culture during 2023. Why unofficial? Well the UK city of Culture, determined by the UK Government, runs every four years, with Coventry having taken that mantle in 2021, after the successful Hull activity in 2017, and Bradford being the next city of culture in 2025. Leeds had prepared a bid to become one of the European Capitals of Culture, confusingly there can be multiple capitals in any one year! But given the UK’s vote to leave the European Union that became a wasted effort. Except Leeds decided it wasn’t going to be wasted and turned that outline bid into preparing a feast of activity during 2023.

But is doing “creative” stuff and sponsoring the “arts” a way to transform and build a place? Many towns and cities have turned to the creative industries to build or sustain regeneration, think of the success of Tate St Ives, or the Turner Contemporary opened in Margate in 2011. But these things require substantial investment, think Hastings Pier or the V&A museum in Dundee.

The Government has recently announced the second tranche of their “Levelling-Up” Fund, an investment of £2.1 billion for one hundred and eleven projects/areas. These include funding for The Eden Project North a transformative £50 million in Morecombe, and £20 million for Gateshead Quays and the Sage (itself a re-development). But do these iconic projects themselves transform and create regeneration? For every Tate there seems to be a Middlesbrough, and for every one project included in Levelling Up there are scores more that miss out!

While many of these levelling up plans are about infrastructure, which does indeed seem to help regeneration, do stand-alone cultural or heritage activity help sustain growth? While sometimes arts seem to flourish during regeneration, is it the regeneration building the arts community or is the arts bringing in regeneration? Its really hard to measure.

What does seem to be clear is that just a stand-alone activity doesn’t build long term growth and prosperity. Things like the Hepworth Wakefield require continued investment. Necessary conditions seem to be a population that itself is growing and has disposable income to support a flourishing arts and creative communities. So one can only wish Leeds much success and if you’re around the area, or looking to visit somewhere, why not Leeds in 2023?