9. • I remember, in March 2007, going to see Tony Blair make a
speech on the arts at Tate Modern, in which he boldly claimed
to have presided over a cultural ‘golden age’. The arts, he told
the gathered great and good, were a vital component of
Britain's continued economic success: ‘A nation that cares
about art will not just be a better nation. In the early 21st
century, it will be a more successful one.’ In new Labour
parlance, the arts had become the ‘creative industries’. Like
bankers and stockbrokers, artists were expected to prop up
the wobbly edifice of consumer capitalism, to generate profit,
attract tourists, help Britain market itself as a cultural - and
therefore financial – ‘hub’. Placing culture firmly at the service
of finance had its advantages for the arts administrators in the
audience, too, as it gave them a clear claim on their slice of
the government pie (Alice O’Keeffe, New Statesman, Feb 2009)
10. Strategies for Newcastle/
Hunter region CIs
1. Mapping of creative businesses
2. Audit of cultural and creative resources
3. Building on local success stories (e.g. Renew
Newcastle)
4. Catalytic role of university
5. Open channels of communication between
all levels of government and the local
creative community.