Investment in culture defines the successful modern city, Andrew Dixon will tell an audience at this year’s Creative Scotland Edinburgh Lecture, to be held in the Filmhouse on 2 December 2010.
Andrew, Chief Executive of Creative Scotland, will discuss the significant role that creativity plays in Scotland’s major cities in redefining the identity of a city and its residents.
From Edinburgh’s embrace of The Edinburgh International Festival more than 60 years ago, Glasgow’s year as City of Culture in 1990, to Dundee’s successful project to bring the internationally-renowned Victoria and Albert museum to its waterfront, creativity has inspired cities to achieve social and economic change. These seismic changes have been led largely by groups of creative and visionary individuals.
In anticipation of delivering the lecture, Dixon said:- ‘Creativity is the essential ingredient for successful cities, it’s what makes them unique and defines them as places. A city that invests in culture and creative individuals has potential and opportunity that reaches beyond the arts, and can inspire a whole community.’
Andrew Dixon’s professional experience includes leading the Case for Capital programme in the North East of England, which attracted £250m for major projects such as the Baltic, the Angel of the North and The Sage Gateshead. As Chief Executive of NewcastleGateshead Initiative, he ran public private sector partnership with 176 members, promoting cultural festivals and events and managing tourism and conference marketing for the ‘twin cities’. He led the bid to host the World Summit on Arts and Culture in NewcastleGateshead in 2006.
The Edinburgh Lectures are committed to increasing knowledge and understanding of global issues and past series of lectures have been given by over 100 speakers from around the world, including politicians, writers, academics, scientists, Nobel laureates, broadcasters and royalty.
