S1:E11 Civic creativity and creative bureaucracy – Charles Landry in conversation with Adrian Ellis
Guest
Charles Landry
In conversation with
Adrian Ellis
Key Takeaways Contributor
Stephanie Fortunato
In this episode, our host Adrian Ellis speaks with author and renowned urban expert Charles Landry. They go over his remarkable career, retracing the route and influences which led him to his famed Creative City concept. They also discuss his current focus on creative bureaucracy – best illustrated by his annual Creative Bureaucracy Festival.
After, Adrian is joined by Stephanie Fortunato to explore key takeaways. They discuss the practical applications of Charles’ work, especially as an ethical reminder to cultural institutions to prioritize ideals of openness and curiosity in an increasingly polarized world.
Date of Recording
15 November 2021
Date of Publication
2 December 2021
[00:00:00]
[THEME MUSIC]
[00:00:06]
Adrian Ellis: Hello, and welcome to The Three Bells. This podcast is one of a series brought to you by AEA Consulting and The Binnacle Foundation for the Global Cultural Districts Network, in which we explore what's happening around the world on those busy and sometimes congested intersections of cultural and urban life.
The series and supporting materials can be found at www.thethreebells.net and if you like our content, please subscribe and give us a positive review on your podcast listening platform of choice.
I'm Adrian Ellis, Chair of GCDN, and today our guest is Charles Landry. Charles, I think will be known to many of our listeners as somebody who for at least the last 35 years has been at the leading edge of thought about the relationship between cities, culture, and creativity in various roles as an author, as a lecturer, as an advisor to governments at all level, and as a thought leader.
So Charles, I'm thrilled to have you here on the podcast.
[00:01:11]
Charles Landry: Well, I'm really pleased to be having this conversation with you, Adrian, because I've also always loved what you done and thought, I wished I had some of your skills (laughs). Anyway, you fire away and ask me some questions.
…
External Links
Robert Skidelsky, Keynesian economist and emeritus professor of political economy at Warwick University.
Sir Peter Hall, geographer and urban planner, and Professor of Planning and Regeneration at the Bartlett School of Planning, University College London.
Marc Pachter, Cultural historian and American museum director who headed the United States National Portrait Gallery from 2000 to 2007.
Culture at the Crossroads: Culture and Cultural Institutions at the Beginning of the 21st Century – a book by Marc Pachter and Charles Landry.
Creative Bureaucracy highlights the human perspective. It understands people are at the heart of the system. It puts the lived experience of working within or with a bureaucracy centre-stage…
The Creative City Index, developed by Charles Landry and Jonathan Hyams, is a method for assessing cities holistically.
The Creative Bureaucracy Festival: creating a better bureaucracy isn’t easy and can’t be done alone. It requires hard work and strong partners…
Poetry in Theory: An Anthology 1900 - 2000 (by Jon Cook) – brings together key critical and theoretical texts from the twentieth century which have animated debates about modern poetry.
Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake – “the more we learn about fungi, the less makes sense without them.”
The Soul’s Code: In Search of Character and Calling – James Hillman presents a vision of our selves, and an approach to the mystery at the center of every life.
About Our Speakers
Charles Landry, inventor of the Creative City concept, is a renowned author and international authority on the use of imagination and creativity in urban change. He is currently a fellow at the Robert Bosch Academy in Berlin – and creator of the annual Creative Bureaucracy Festival. +
Adrian Ellis is the founder of AEA Consulting (1990) and the Global Cultural Districts Network (2013). He has worked in senior management and as a board member in both museums and the performing arts and as a strategy consultant to leading clients in the cultural, public, and business sectors around the world. +
Stephanie Fortunato is Director of the Department of Art, Culture + Tourism for the City of Providence. Her work sits at the intersection of cultural planning and urban development, collaborating with local communities on creating policies and partnerships to strengthen neighbourhoods and transform public spaces. +
