Fourteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

The arts operate within a nexus of cultural policies, those of local and national governments historically being the most influential. Increasingly, though, supra-state bodies, including the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), have also been active in developing programmes and funding initiatives intended to support local and national cultural activity. As part of a major research study examining the role of UNESCO as a global cultural policy operative (particularly through programmes associated with the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions), this paper examines the place of the city in this transnational agenda. In particular, the paper explores and analyses the ways in which recent city-focused arts and cultural initiatives of the Convention coincide with, and diverge from, the concerns of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. As part of this consideration, the paper traces and interrogates key priorities and assumptions, including those associated with digital arts, freedom of expression and the governance of culture. It also highlights the ways in which support for arts and creativity is entangled in the tension between city imaging and sustainable development.