Study visits and workshops

The Beyond the Creative City network is producing agenda-setting and peer-reviewed research, policy engagement, and creative digital outputs.

With three study visit programmes in Manchester, Melbourne, and Toronto, associated workshops with academics and practitioners, and creative documentation, the network brings together existing knowledge with new challenges for creative placemaking through scoping, discussion and debate.

To find out more about project activities click the sections below.

Manchester

An image of a wall with various questions spray painted onto it

The first in-person Manchester, Melbourne Toronto collaboration workshop took place in November 2022.

Over three days it introduced current research being undertaken by academics within the University of Manchester and undertook a number of site visits to show how cultural policy, cultural governance and creative infrastructure is playing out in Greater Manchester.

Melbourne

Melbourne, Australia

Named Australia's "most liveable city" in the Global Liveabilty City Index 2022, Melbourne in Victoria is proud of its diverse population, infrastructure, culture and education.

The city was still recovering from the world's longest lockdown in the pandemic when we visited in February.

The study visit drew on wide-ranging lenses provided by the University of Melbourne's Arts Management department, Centre for Cities and School of Design and other contacts in the city, to examine the discourse, policy and practice of creativity, culture and the arts beyond the Creative Cities paradigm.

Toronto

Toronto, Canada

The visit to Toronto, erstwhile home of creative class pro-genitur, Richard Florida, was curated by Taylor Brydges, Debbie Leslie and Adam Zendel, and focus on three main themes - Business Improvement Areas, Fashion Ecologies, and Space for Creatives, along related creative cities themes and issues addressed in a day-long ECR workshop.