Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Niall Griffiths on Culture
posted by John Davies at 3:59 PM
Double-plus good! Ace Liverpool-Welsh writer Niall Griffiths interviewed in ace city magazine Nerve 8:
 [The Capital of Culture win for Liverpool] is a double-edged sword isn't it? It will bring money into the city but only if it will make money back for those who invest. [Glaswegian writer James Kelman] said that [Glasgow's Capital of Culture status in 1990] brought in a load of money, but since then the social problems in the city have only got worse, because the so-called scummy people got pushed out to the estates which never got cleaned up.
Culture, of course, is not just art galleries and restaurants, it's also graffiti and terrace chants and a lot of people forget the grassroots bands, independent publishing presses and everything. They want to focus on culture that is acceptable and saleable, the kind of stuff they talk about on the fucking Late Review.
I don't think it will make this kind of hidden culture die down though. It should become stronger to react against it. You just want this sort of stuff to be recognised sometimes you know, but we would be foolish to expect anything more from this sort of scheme.
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john davies
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