City of culture or not, culture is at the heart of our regeneration story

Following Ipswich.co.uk's feature 'Should businesses underwrite Ipswich's culture strategy even if it loses City of Culture?', and as the person who originally suggested this model for Ipswich, here is why I think it matters.

Should businesses underwrite Ipswich’s culture strategy even if it loses City of Culture?

Win or lose its bid to become the 2029 City of Culture, local businesses are being asked to fund a “city of culture” regardless. Can the council convince a cash-strapped private sector to look beyond its past performance and fund its ten-year culture strategy?

Ipswich.co.ukOliver Rouane-Williams

Firstly, the vehicle doesn't have to be the council.

In fact, I would argue that the very best cultural strategies are owned by places, not institutions. Councils change. Political administrations change. What shouldn't change is the long-term ambition for a town.

The bigger question is this. Do we believe culture and creativity are worthy of investment in their own right?

When people look for examples of places transformed through culture, we often look to UK case studies. I think that is too limiting. The most compelling examples are international.

If you look at many of the world's most successful cities, whether capitals or otherwise, they have one thing in common. They invest in culture, creativity and experiences. Those investments do not simply create galleries or festivals. They create places where people want to live, businesses want to invest and talented people choose to stay. They improve productivity, increase wages, attract inward investment and enhance quality of life.

Crucially, across much of the world, that investment is not driven primarily by government. It is underpinned by philanthropy, private investment and businesses that recognise culture as economic infrastructure rather than simply entertainment.

Take Austin, Texas. SXSW did not become one of the world's most influential festivals because the city happened to host it. It became what it is because public and private investment combined to create an ecosystem that attracts entrepreneurs, global businesses, visitors and talent year after year.

Look at East Berlin following the fall of the Berlin Wall. Culture was not the by-product of regeneration. It was one of its principal drivers. Artists, creative industries and cultural organisations transformed former industrial and neglected neighbourhoods into some of Europe's most desirable places to live, work and invest. Creativity changed the perception of an entire city and unlocked billions of pounds of economic activity.

Or consider Philadelphia, where the internationally recognised Mural Arts programme demonstrated that public art could do far more than brighten walls. It tackled blight, strengthened communities, reduced vandalism, improved neighbourhood confidence and became an internationally recognised model for regeneration through creativity.

These are not isolated success stories. They are evidence that some of the world's most successful cities have deliberately used culture and creativity as economic development tools.

So why shouldn't Ipswich think with the same level of ambition?

We have land.

We have one of the youngest populations in the East of England.

We have an enviable geographical position, close enough to London to benefit from its economy while retaining the space and opportunity to shape our own future.

Those are extraordinary foundations.

And perhaps more importantly, we already have the beginnings of that story.

Where previous generations had a mill, we now have an internationally recognised dance house in DanceEast.

Where previous generations had the Public Baths, we now have one of the country's most exciting live music venues.

Where previous generations had Cardinal Wolsey, we now have Ed Sheeran, one of the world's biggest music artists, proudly flying the flag for Ipswich.

These are not disconnected successes. They are evidence that creativity has always been part of our DNA. The challenge is not to invent a cultural identity for Ipswich. It is to recognise the one we already have, invest in it, connect it and allow it to become a driver of economic growth.

That is exactly what the world's best cities have done, and there is absolutely no reason why Ipswich cannot do the same.

The question is not whether the council should own a ten-year culture strategy.

The question is whether Ipswich is prepared to believe that culture and creativity can become one of the engines of its future economy.

For me, the answer is unequivocally yes.

City of Culture 2029 is an opportunity. A significant one. But it should never have been the destination. Whether we win or lose, the ambition should remain exactly the same: to build a town that attracts talent, creates better jobs, raises living standards, improves quality of life and gives people every reason to build their future here.

That will require leadership from councils, businesses, universities, cultural organisations, philanthropists and residents alike.

Because if we genuinely believe culture creates economic value, then our ambition should not stop with a competition. It should be to make Ipswich one of the international examples that other towns and cities point to in twenty years' time.

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