2017 Press Releases
Cork: ‘ideal’ for culture
UCC’s Glucksman Gallery was cited as one of the reasons that Cork was designated one of eight ‘ideal’ cities for culture and creativity across the European Union.
Cork was ranked as number one for cultural venues and facilities amongst European cities with a population of under 500,000. It also came top of the table for cultural vibrancy amongst small to medium-sized European cities.
The report noted the success of the 2005 European Capital of Culture where over one million people, seven times the city’s population, attended the official Cork 2005 events and it also cited the nomination of the Lewis Glucksman Gallery for the Stirling Prize, a British prize for excellence in architecture.
Along with Paris, Copenhagen, Glasgow, Utrecht, Leuven, Eindhoven and Umea, the European report says that Cork has some of the characteristics of the “ideal” cultural and creative city. It noted how most of these leader cities were of small or medium size and how the lion’s share of the cities were second cities; a finding that recognises the creative dynamism that second cities harness.
The European Commission’s ‘Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor’ rated Cork on its cultural pulse, how it supports the creative economy and how it attracts and fosters creative talent.
Ireland’s stellar performance as a cultural destination was further strengthened by the performance of Dublin, Galway and Limerick who were also recognized for their contribution to the cultural arena. In the light of the development of Ireland’s first Cultural Strategy and the Creative Ireland initiative, this shows that our national policy development is aligned to the European ideal of acknowledging the importance of culture and creativity in the development of our cities.
The Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor benchmarks the performance of European cities across 30 countries including Switzerland and Norway. The Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor follows a research project covering 168 cities in 30 European countries.
Link to the EU study
The EU Science Hub published a new tool The Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor to benchmark the performance of European cities compared to their peers using quantitative and qualitative data. https://composite-indicators.jrc.ec.europa.eu/cultural-creative-cities-monitor/# - the monitor provides comparable data on how European cities perform in the areas of culture and creativity, and how this performance relates to jobs, wealth and economic growth.
#EUCreativeCities
For more information about the Glucksman's exhibitions and lectures visit The Glucksman Gallery
Read about Glucksman's involvement with teenagers in direct provision via The Irish Times
Read more about the arts in UCC via the College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences
For more on this story contact:
Ruth Mc Donnell, Head of Media and PR, Office of Marketing and Communications, UCC Mob: 086-0468950