Visit these unique cities in America
IN OCTOBER, the Trump administration announced that the United States would withdraw from Unesco, the United Nations cultural organisation known for its World Heritage sites program, by the end of 2018. But that rejection, tied to perceptions of anti-Israel bias, has not stopped Unesco from naming a number of American cities to its Creative Cities Network.
In November, Kansas City, Missouri; San Antonio; and Seattle joined a class of 64 cities inducted into the program which evaluates applicants in seven different creative fields, including crafts and folk art, design, film, gastronomy, literature, arts and music. The network, which now includes 180 cities from 72 countries, aims to encourage members to share best practices “to promote creative industries, strengthen participation in cultural life, and integrate culture into sustainable urban development policies”, according to a statement announcing the new members.
“Being a member of the UCCN is the starting point of a long journey to which Unesco invites all cities wherever they may be, provided they share the vision of working together to stimulate culture and creativity as motors for sustainable urban development,” Emmanuelle Robert, project manager for the Unesco Creative Cities Network, wrote in an email.
Unlike Unesco’s World Heritage Center, which singles out cultural and natural landmarks like the Great Wall of China or the Great Barrier Reef for their universal value to humanity, the Creative City designation is looser.
For travellers, a Creative City designation can provide a new lens through which to view a destination.
The latest group of Creative Cities ranges far and wide and includes Limoges, France, as a City of Craft and Folk Art, based on its famed ceramics. Alba, Italy, synonymous with truffles and Barolo wines, was named a City of Gastronomy. Chiang Mai, Thailand, was named a City of Craft and Folk Art, based on its lacquerware, bamboo weaving and other artisanal work. Bristol, England, home to the Oscar-winning animators Aardman Animations and the BBC’s Natural History Unit, was cited as a City of Film. Istanbul drew on its historic architecture and craft traditions, as well as its emergence as a contemporary design centre to be named a City of Design.
Some cities offer guidance to orient travellers to their creative sides. For others, the designation is a push in that direction. The following new American designees represent that spectrum.
Kansas City, City of Music
Birthplace of the jazz soloist Charlie Parker Jr, Kansas City earned the nation’s first City of Music title, based on its history of jazz, especially bebop and swing, and the influence those styles had on musicians at home and abroad.
The application was made by a number of organisations, including a neighbourhood association representing Wendell Phillips, the city’s African-American community. It is home to the 18th and Vine district, also known as the jazz district, where visitors can still hear live music in the Blue Room at the American Jazz Museum. The nearby Mutual Musician Foundation International, a union founded in 1917, still holds jam sessions on weekend nights after midnight.
San Antonio, City of Food
San Antonio based its pitch as a City of Gastronomy on its long history of settlement tied to its river and natural springs. Spanish colonists drew on these to create irrigation canals that linked their five regional San Antonio Missions, which are collectively a Unesco World Heritage site. Later, German immigrants contributed flour mills and breweries.
“Our food here is a composite of all these different cultures – German, Spanish indigenous and Mexican,” said Elizabeth Johnson, a chef who owns Pharm Table restaurant and worked on the Unesco application. “We made the case that we have all these amazing traditions and we need to protect, reclaim and prioritise traditional foods.”
It’s not hard to find good TexMex food in San Antonio, but Johnson highlights the Pearl Brewery, a former brewing complex now revitalised with distinctive restaurants that include Southerleigh Fine Food & Brewery, which makes its own beer amid the historic works.
Seattle, City of Literature
Seattle has thriving music and culinary scenes, but applied to Unesco as a City of Literature, highlighting its 19 independent bookstores; widespread library system with a central showpiece attraction in the Seattle Central Library, designed by Rem Koolhaas; and the number of nonprofits sponsoring writing workshops and author readings.
“We decided on literature because it tells a story about Seattle that maybe people haven’t heard before,” said Stesha Brandon, the board president of Seattle City of Literature who worked on the Unesco application.
While music and dining might be more concrete experiences to hang a trip on, Seattle offers an array of creative programs that show off its literary leanings. The first Wednesday of every month, a silent reading party – where people read silently in the company of others – takes place at the Hotel Sorrento.