Seventeenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority launched the Liverpool Boroughs of Culture in March 2018. The title is awarded annually on a rotational basis to one of the six local authorities that make up the city region. This paper focuses on the sustainable local tourism strategy adopted by Wirral during 2019 as Bourgh of Culture. ‘Celebrate Wirral’ aimed to increase participation in high-quality arts activities, helping people to benefit from the vital role culture can play in improving mental health and wellbeing. The programme celebrated the borough’s past, present and future through small community-led events to larger-scale spectaculars. The research framework and methodology were co-design with policy-makers (Bergvall-Kåreborn & Ståhlbröst, 2010). This mixed-methods research strategy combined the analysis of events audiences’ survey, and participant observation – key themes were the following: i. Visitors’ profile; ii. Type of visit; iii. Satisfaction, motivations and expectations; iv. Perceptions and learning; v. Sociodemographic characterisation). Qualitative data were transcribed, and content was analysed using N’Vivo 12. Quantitative data were analysed using MS Excel to clean the data and SPSS 26 (95% confidence) for descriptive analysis. ‘Celebrate Wirral’ attracted a local audience, positively satisfied. Overall, ‘Celebrate Wirral’ provided different engagement opportunities for different audiences with different outcomes. Intensive activities/projects tend to have a lasting impact on a smaller number of residents (e.g., social isolation); while events-oriented programmes tend to have an ephemeral impact on a larger number of audiences (e.g., wow effect). Policy recommendations addressing the role of arts in health are offered.

Presenters

Rafaela Neiva Ganga
Associate Professor in Cultural Management & Health Innovation, Liverpool Business School, Liverpool John Moores University, United Kingdom