Is building another arts centre in Manchester a waste of money? Rupert Christiansen thinks there are things Mancurians need – and perhaps want – more urgently.
When the history of Britain in the last 25 years comes to be written, one major narrative will relate to the way that the arts – and more specifically, new public buildings for the arts – have contributed to the regeneration of inner cities.
All our urban centres now pride themselves on flagship capital projects which have become essential to local self-respect, attracting "inward investment" and radiating prestige: one thinks of the Sage Gateshead, for example, or the galleries that have lit up such bleak spots as Walsall, Wakefield and Margate.
The leaders in the field have been Glasgow and Birmingham, where the glamour of culture has been fundamental to an attempted "re-branding" and the fabrication of a tourist-attracting sparkle that has previously been lacking. But recent cuts in local authority spending have taken the sheen off some of the more extravagant enterprises – Birmingham's ziggurat of a Library, designed by Mecanoo at the cost of £188 million and opened in 2013, has already been forced to slash its opening hours and staff establishment by about half... Keep reading on The Telegraph
When the history of Britain in the last 25 years comes to be written, one major narrative will relate to the way that the arts – and more specifically, new public buildings for the arts – have contributed to the regeneration of inner cities.
All our urban centres now pride themselves on flagship capital projects which have become essential to local self-respect, attracting "inward investment" and radiating prestige: one thinks of the Sage Gateshead, for example, or the galleries that have lit up such bleak spots as Walsall, Wakefield and Margate.
The leaders in the field have been Glasgow and Birmingham, where the glamour of culture has been fundamental to an attempted "re-branding" and the fabrication of a tourist-attracting sparkle that has previously been lacking. But recent cuts in local authority spending have taken the sheen off some of the more extravagant enterprises – Birmingham's ziggurat of a Library, designed by Mecanoo at the cost of £188 million and opened in 2013, has already been forced to slash its opening hours and staff establishment by about half... Keep reading on The Telegraph