One
city two names
So good they named it twice, at least they do so nowadays.
This place with two names has had its praises sung with
rapturous emotion by its most celebrated songwriter – “a town that I love so well.”
Nobody can ever argue with its long-suffering citizens
that Derry-Londonderry won the race to be the first ever UK City of Culture.
More
importantly, in the course of the last twelve months, it has lived up to the
name by proving how a title, put to good use, can help to change the image and
self-esteem of a place.
UK and Europe
Before
reflecting on what the city has achieved, it’s worth reminding ourselves that
the inspiration for the idea to designate a UK City of Culture emerged from the
success of Liverpool's year as European Capital of Culture in 2008.
In
1985, Greece’s Minister of Culture the former actress Melina Mercouri
(along with her French counterpart Jack Lang) had the idea of designating a Capital
of Culture. Its purpose would be “to bring Europeans closer together by
highlighting the richness and diversity of European cultures and raising
awareness of their common history and values.”
Bla bla bla.
Despite
the gobbledegook of euro-speak, Athens emerged as the inspired choice to be
Europe’s inaugural city of culture.
Two
UK and two Irish cities have held the title.
They are, respectively, Glasgow and Liverpool, and Dublin and Cork.
The
European title is conferred annually. The
Council of Ministers of the European Union formally designates European
Capitals of Culture. More than 40 cities
have been designated so far.
Since 1999 when
six cities were chosen, more than one city has been selected each year.
In July 2009, the UK’s Culture Secretary announced a
competition to select the first UK City of Culture.
Such was the interest that 14 cities applied,
with Birmingham, Derry, Norwich and Sheffield
shortlisted.
It was announced in July
2010 that Derry/Londonderry had
seen off the competition and that it would be UK City of Culture for 2013.
Unlike the promiscuity of the European designation, the
next UK City of Culture will not explode into action until 2017.
On 20 Nov 2013, it was announced that Hull
had won the successor award having beaten bids from Dundee, Leicester and
Swansea.
It has a big act to
follow.
A strong case can be made to claim that the UK title is
16 times more valuable than the European equivalent.
My rationale is that based on the fact that
the UK title has a rarity value, being accorded only once every four
years. By contrast, the EU accolade is
conferred on at least two and sometimes more cities every single year.
Lest we forget, Derry has something important in common with the cradle of civilisation itself, Athens.
The cities share the unique distinction as being
the inaugural and sole recipient of an urban cultural honorarium.
Support
The arts played a significant part in countering the
grimness of the violent division in Northern Ireland. In the bad days they brought people together
to support and enjoy constructive activities like amateur dramatics, arts
festivals, and exhibitions.
Nowadays,
the arts provide an outlet for celebrating creativity in a more peaceful
environment.
Public support is the payback for those who have taken
the risk to build new venues and stage events as well as for the talented
performers who enrich our lives.
If our
second city is good enough to be designated UK City of Culture, it deserves
everybody’s backing.
I attended three
events in Derry-Londonderry 2013 – not many in percentage terms, and certainly
not enough.
In retrospect, I have a long list of events I regret
missing.
This includes the Return of
Colmcille (directed by the writer of the Olympics opening ceremony Frank
Cottrell Boyce), the visit of the Royal Ballet, the linking of the two cities to
mark the 400th anniversary of the city walls with simultaneous music
concerts in the Guildhalls London and Derry, the Poet and Piper concert Seamus Heaney
and Liam O’Flynn a couple of weeks before the Nobel poet’s death, the Field Day
Theatre Company’s performance of Sam Shepherd’s work A Particle of Dread with
the American playwright in attendance, and the closing concert spectacular with
Shaun Davey’s Relief of Derry Symphony featuring the Ulster Orchestra and a
plethora of pipers.
The official brochure listed approximately 350 events over
an intensive 12 months of programming.
Our choices were, by all accounts, among the most popular and well
attended.
We had always intended to see
the Turner Prize exhibition and also the Lumière spectacle, both scheduled for
the latter end of the year.
As
preparation and to get our bearings, we also decided to begin by making a
summer visit during the Fleadh
Cheoil, the festival of music (11-18 August).
Fleadh
Cheoil na
hÉireann
This was a first, not just for Derry, but for Northern
Ireland.
Never before had Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, the Society of Musicians of Ireland,
agreed in all of its 60 years to stage its flagship event anywhere on the
northern side of the border.
If there were any doubters, they were emphatically proven
wrong as all previous records for visitor numbers at a Fleadh were broken. The programme had anticipated 300,000
visitors.
In fact, it was announced at
the end of the festive week that 470,000 people had attended events.
The Fleadh’s raison d’être is the organising of competitions
for the most talented amateur musicians and singers.
Competing is the life-blood of the
festival.
There were visiting
music-makers from faraway places including the USA and New Zealand, as well as from
neighbouring countries like Scotland and England.
All were all made to feel a part of this most
lively of festivals, adding an international dimension to proceedings.
And when professional performers join in the proceedings
- stars like singer Cara Dillon, the folk group Dervish, not to mention the
master uileann
piper Liam O’Flynn accompanying Seamus Heaney - audiences know that something
extra special is happening.
The nightly coverage of the Fleadh on TG4, the small and impressive Galway-based
television station captured the exuberant joy and variety of artistry on
display.
The later fly-on-the-wall
documentary series by BBC NI TV provided insight into the efforts made by
youthful performers competing to qualify in the Fleadh, illustrating the enormous effort and
talent required just to earn the right to get there.
An advantage of staging the Fleadh Cheoil as part of the
UK City of Culture is that it added Gaelic colour to complement the imported
and international events.
When I visit the UK’s other celtic regions, such as Northumbria, Scotland, Wales,
Cornwall or the Isle of Man, I expect to hear their folk idioms.
Staging the Fleadh with such
aplomb was an example of Derry playing to one of its own strengths, showing
outsiders its local flavours.
Walking
tour
My wife and I travelled by train from Belfast.
This journey reveals the scenic splendour of
the north coast blazing in summer glory as the track routes itself as close as
possible to the pretty beaches and the sea.
The climax comes in the form of the majestic setting of the cultured city
itself sitting proudly on the banks of the River Foyle.
Our first task on arriving is to walk about a mile uphill
near the River Foyle and down another road to find the newly regenerated
Ebrington Square.
This property had been
occupied by the Army during the Troubles.
It is now regarded as part of “the peace dividend.”
The site has been the venue for much artistic activity during
the city’s big year, as host to events like the city’s first ever military
tattoo and BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend, a free festival of pop music which
attracted enormous crowds.
Our walking tour continued with a hike across the modern
and handsome Peace Bridge.
It provides a
practical link for pedestrians across the river linking the Guildhill to
Ebrington Barracks.
Crucially, it is
also a metaphorical bridge across the sectarian divide.
On the other side of the river we arrive at one of the
city’s best known landmarks, the neo-Gothic Guildhall, dazzlingly refurbished and housing
an exhibition telling the story of the city’s history.
We notice that its largest room is today being
used as a concert venue, with a group of folk musicians from the Scottish
Highlands being recorded for television.
A key feature of a Fleadh Cheoil is the impromptu
performances out in the open air.
My
photographs give some impression of the convivial atmosphere created by
musicians of a city en fete, a very public showing of its cultural face.
Free entertainment to lighten the effort of a walking tour.
The walled city
After lunch in a restaurant near the Guildhall, endearingly
called the Legenderry, we decide to walk the city walls.
I had played down their appearance and scale to my wife
telling her that she might be disappointed having recently trekked around the
enormous walls of Dubrovnik in Croatia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
I’m glad I did so because, as I hoped, she
was impressed.
Her surprise was not just because of their preservation, but also because of the
numerous places of interest along the route – such as St Columb’s Church of
Ireland Cathedral and the modern craft village.
These walls are a cultural asset, unique in Northern
Ireland and a real attraction for local people and visitors.
The
Turner Prize
On our return to the city a couple of months later, our
familiarity with the geography meant we were able to stride confidently to
Ebrington Barracks to see the much heralded Turner prize.
This was the first time the event had ever
been staged outside England.
We wanted
to view the exhibits ourselves before the judges’ decision in early November.
Given that the art shortlisted for the Turner Prize is
regarded by many as unconventional, perhaps radical, and often intended to
challenge orthodoxies, it was encouraging to observe the large numbers of
people flocking to the gallery.
In fact,
about an hour after we arrived, I noticed a sizeable queue outside.
Because the gallery had reached its capacity,
people had to wait for others to leave.
The atmosphere of happiness in the room housing David
Shrigley’s’s tall male sculpture seemed infectious.
The artist had invited people to
participate.
The response was
everywhere, as evidenced by the artistic impressions of the naked man lining
the walls, and plenty more people sketching.
Everybody appeared to be involved, this was art communicating with the
audience, and all I saw was smiling faces.
Lumière
The early edition of the city of culture programme for
the entire year described the 4-night Lumière (28 Nov-1 Dec), as
“an
event that will illuminate the city’s walls, buildings streets and bridges
using every form of light from the brightest neon and LEDs to huge projections
and fairytale installations using fire and flame.”
What struck me was that the city itself became the
exhibit.
And what a gorgeous spectacle it was.
One commentator, however, was displeased that
the city’s street lights, shop lights, festive decorations and traffic distracted
from the dazzle[1]. Her favourite work was by the Polish artist Krzysztof Wodiczko who recorded ordinary people talking about the Troubles.
She commented
"Impossible to walk away from these stories of bullets and bombs, of neighbours at war, of terrible poverty, of the uselessness of politicians."
She commented
"Impossible to walk away from these stories of bullets and bombs, of neighbours at war, of terrible poverty, of the uselessness of politicians."
Because the event with its 17 installations was a visual
wonder, the best way to portray it is with pictures.
This slideshow with 20 photographs, is
testament to the adage that a picture tells a thousand words:
My visit was on the final day of the event.
Apart from the beauty of the art, my lasting
impression was of the sheer volume of people everywhere.
It seemed like the entire population of the
city (and far beyond) came out to stroll the streets on a cool but essentially
pleasant winter’s evening.
There were so
many people crossing the peace bridge - bedecked with French artist Cédric Le Borgne's floating Les Voyageurs - that at one point I thought I would miss
the last train back to Belfast.
People, as the cliché has it, voted with their feet.
As Belfast was being distracted by flagging
protests on the previous day, its smaller sister showed the UK and Ireland how
creativity unites and uplifts.
Quite a
contrast as the silent majority had come to sample the joy of art.
The citizens were warmly welcoming their visitors and embracing the
concept of being the first ever UK city of culture.
Nothing was remotely threatening as local
people, families and visitors marvelled at an enlightening experience.
Legacy
Just like 2012, before and after the Olympic Games in
London, there is a continuing debate about the legacy that the last 12 months will
bequeath.
Much of what I have heard is
negative, concentrating on plans to remove the expensive new Venue at the
Ebrington Barracks site and the proposed conversion of the Turner Prize
galleries to offices.
There have also
been arguments about issues like financial arrangements and marketing.
Ignorance, as lawyers say, is no defence.
The programme was widely publicised,
brochures published and full details also available on internet sites.
There was also a helpful ex-post 30 minute
video published every month to remind us of what was happening.
The final one, shown below, reflects on
events during December 2013, ending with a short retrospective of the entire
year. Worth a look:
From my experience in arts promotion, one serendipitous sign of success is a bandwagon effect.
Organisers can sense this when small unintended consequences happen.
One such example is the emotional response of Carly Simon on learning that her anthemic song Let the River Run "has now become a theme song for Derry."
Like a little part of the legacy, the song is being re-released worldwide by her record company on New Years Day 2014 with video images of the City of Culture year including the Lumière, the Fleadh Cheoil, Other Voices and the Return of Colmcille. [2]
I take my cue to judge the culture year from what I observed with my eyes and ears and other senses.
Because the
programme offered so much quality and because the events I attended were
consistently excellent and well-attended, I want to congratulate the organisers.
Despite the managerial spats and the rows about the future of
Ebrington Barracks there can be no dispute that the year has been a huge
success.
The level of public support and
hotel occupancy provide quantitative evidence.
I have never seen so many people at any arts event as the vast throngs
who attended the Lumière - and no wonder.
Numbers, however, are not enough as they tell only a part of the story.
Qualitative evidence of success is seen in
the inestimable public relations success for Derry portraying positive images
day after day.
This was a renaissance, a rebirth of
civic pride.
Try this quotation from a
prominent local[3]:-
“Derry’s year as UK City
of Culture has been an enormous success.
Overwhelmingly...citizens swarmed to embrace almost everything on offer
and reach the end of the year confirmed in the conviction that Derry is an
extra-special place, which it is, a bit.”
On the issue of management disputes, he lauds the company
established to implement the programme.
It was, he says
“a pity that the Culture
Company was subjected to a degree of harassment throughout which threatened, at
times, to disrupt the operation and might have demoralised a less-committed
staff. The problem arose from the
power-grabbing and control-freakery of some council officials backed up by the
Strategic Investment Board, whose inexperience in cultural matters was
dismayingly obvious.”
Nobody ever seems to define what they mean by legacy.
For the objective-setters, it is about
finances, ensuring when the final curtain falls that no loss is bequeathed, a
headache like a hang-over.
There is an
enormous body of evidence justifying the economic benefits of investment in
culture.
To take one recent example, an
independent report published in November “Beyond the Arts: Economic and Wider Impacts of The Lowry
and its Programmes” sets out the substantial financial, artistic and social
impact on Salford.[4]
Culture, however, is about so much more than economics.
Surely the legacy of a culturiad should
judged against criteria which are primarily cultural.
In the short term at least, the enduring
impression emblazoned onto the hearts of the audiences who were there will be
of satisfaction, pride and joy.
The
impact of the arts is not ephemeral, not at all transient. The effect of a series of events staged over a full year and which reinforce each other's impact is long-lasting. That is legacy.
Because permanence is
the hallmark cultural activity,
the UK and Europe should not be surprised if and more likely when over a longer time, the
inaugural UK City of Culture produces yet another outstanding musician, writer, actor or
artist for the world to support – inspired by what has happened in 2013.
Already plans are in place for 2014.
This will afford opportunities for people who
did not get to events in 2013 to visit the city in this New Year.
A legacy fund has been created.
I read that £2m is coming from the Government
Department responsible for the arts, with an extra £450,000 each from Derry
City Council and the Arts Council, and with more expected from other Government
Departments. Hopefully the private sector will embrace it too.
Events planned include a
maritime festival, an open air Beach Boys concert, and the unmissable Pan Celtic Festival[5].
The appraisal by the Observer's Ed Vulliamy of the year past is persuasive. Apart from his interviews with key people from the city, his opener states:
Because of Northern Ireland’s obsessive preoccupation
with separate cultural identities, legacy resonates in the issue of community
relations.
“By any standards, this has been an
effervescence of the arts. But beneath
the surface of cultural prestige, the resounding achievement of Derry's year as
city of culture lies in the way it not only refused to airbrush the Troubles
and Bloody Sunday with arty-farty gloss, but engaged in a reckoning with the
recent past, beyond the politicians' patois of reconciliation.[6]”
Almost without exception, the
programme implemented by the Chief Executive of Culture Company 2013 brought
people together in the host city.
The performers
and audiences went about creating and enjoying the events as one artistic community without
a scintilla of rancorous sectarianism.
As someone from the Lumière event put it:
“what we always hope
when we do a big festival like this is that people forget the things that
divide them and recognise the things they share, which is everyone out with
their families loving the same stuff, the sense of sharing the public demesne
it not being anybody’s territory, and everybody is welcome, and the safety and
friendliness....”
The city that has two names showed us that it is one
community, and a cultured one at that.
Legacy? There you have it.
©Michael
McSorley 2014
[3] Belfast Telegraph 20 Dec 2013 page 32 Eamonn McCann “Flavoured with music art
and talent the city of culture was mostly a year to marvel over.”
[4]The New Statesman 3 Dec 2013 Julia
Fawcett. http://www.newstatesman.com/business/2013/12/lowry-proof-investing-arts-catalyst-regeneration
