Expert article
Modifier 19 June 2021
by Lucia Scopelliti
LEVERAGING INNOVATIVE APPROACHES FOR CULTURAL POLICIES: ART TECH INITIATIVES IN AVEIRO STEAM CITY AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON AVEIRO EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE 2027 CANDIDACY
It is widely recognized that cultural policies represent levers of urban economic development of cities, as well as producing significant social impacts. However, innovation in culture is still, in some contexts, conditioned by a traditional vision of cultural policies, which sees a concentration of efforts on the system of cultural production or on physical and tangible investments for recovery and refurbishment.
The vision that has been spreading in the last 10 years pushes towards a new orientation, often expanding the scope of the cultural and creative industries, focusing on the hybridization of models that come from various market segments, and betting on the combination of art and technology. Embracing this vision, the city of Aveiro decided to combine its strong assets coming from the tech industries locally based, together with a tradition and history in cultural heritage. This is the reason why we don’t call the UIA project just Aveiro “STEM” city but Aveiro “STEAM” city (ASC), where “A” stands for Art.
The vision that has been spreading in the last 10 years pushes towards a new orientation, often expanding the scope of the cultural and creative industries, focusing on the hybridization of models that come from various market segments, and betting on the combination of art and technology. Embracing this vision, the city of Aveiro decided to combine its strong assets coming from the tech industries locally based, together with a tradition and history in cultural heritage. This is the reason why we don’t call the UIA project just Aveiro “STEM” city but Aveiro “STEAM” city (ASC), where “A” stands for Art.
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