Towns and the Cultural Economies of Recovery
2021

Towns and the Cultural Economies of Recovery followed the UK Towns Fund allocation in 2021. In the emerging Levelling Up agenda, the Government identified 101 towns that required investment in transport, connectivity, skills and culture. It surveyed newly-established Towns Boards and tracked the development of their Towns Fund plans. The project sought to examine how towns understood the role of culture in their recovery, and how the idea of town recovery resonated differently during and after the pandemic.

Towns and the Cultural Economies of Recovery delivered three policy outputs. First, it produced a multidisciplinary mapping for the AHRC that explored how towns use, deploy and imagine culture as a strategy for regeneration. Second, it hosted a series of online forums that included perspectives and provocations from Whitehall, town halls, the education sector, and the NHS. Third, it gave evidence to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee with recommendations on how culture can reanimate public spaces and high streets.

We collaborated with communities and decision makers in four case-study areas to understand the specific role of culture in place. We worked with local artists in Bournemouth, Darlington, Hereford and Southend to produce creative artefacts that were shared with communities. These artworks included: