Deindustrialisation, culture and education strategies : a case-study of Tate Liverpool’s Youth-Programme

Abstract

At the beginning of the 21st century post-industrial cities, such as Liverpool, were applying art-led models of urban regeneration in the hope of initiating a transition to a knowledge-based society (Harvey 1989; 2001). This process, as one can imagine, has faced strong opposition and resistance from various quarters. This paper discusses the role that an educational strategy plays in the placement of a contemporary art gallery in a post-industrial city. Focusing on the Tate Liverpool’s youth programme, the Young Tate, the strategies required to firmly establish a Tate Gallery in Liverpool are considered, as well as how these strategies should recognise and incorporate the city’s specific social and economic challenges. This discussion is based on the preliminary results of an ongoing ethnographic research project focused on European cultural policies and educational dynamics. The ethnographic study covers three educational departments of contemporary art galleries located in several European Capitals of Culture – the Tate Gallery in Liverpool (2008), the Contemporary Art Centre in Vilnius (2009) and the Fundação de Serralves in Porto (2001). Based on a comprehensive and critical perspective, we analyse how common European policies are translated into different non-school educational proposals by those galleries. Taking into account the specific social, political and economic contexts of each city, the different educational assumptions, models and concepts of each cultural institution are analysed.