International experts set to help Sligo ‘re-imagine’ town
SLIGO County Council is to host a two-day online symposium, featuring a wide range of national and international experts, to look at how we can “rethink Sligo town and redesign its potential future”.
Called RIOT: SLIGO 2021, the twoday event will investigate the role of culture in the development and re-generation of towns and small cities. RIOT is an acronym for Re-Imaging Our Town.
The council say that it is the first online event of its kind in Ireland to “re-imagine an entire town using a cross section of international experts and innovators”.
Hosted by the council’s Culture Team and supported by Creative Ireland, the goal is to “find clear solutions for the issues faced by such large towns and small cities”.
Dorothy Clarke, chairperson of the council’s Culture Team, says: “Sligo County Council’s vision and mission is to achieve a better future for our town and county. This is the first event of its kind, initiated by the Culture Team, where we can re-imagine our town from the multiple perspectives of culture, economics, environment and enterprise.
“By bringing together a collection of Irish and international experts and innovators to focus on our town and gift us their imagination and expertise, we hope to gain new insights into our town’s potential which will be transformative.
“The council is committed to supporting the positive ideas and outcomes from the conference and enabling them to be realised. We hope other towns and small cities will also take away ideas and inspiration from RIOT: SLIGO 2021.” A large virtual audience is being invited to join in what the council calls “a super-forum shaped by creativity, imagination, innovation, heritage, culture and an ability to work together”. A key feature of these exchanges will be comments and questions from the virtual audience. Asking key questions like ‘who gets to decide what a town’s identity is’ and post Covid issues like ‘will our high streets recover after the pandemic?’ RIOT: SLIGO 2021 is being promoted as “more than a talking shop” in that it will host conversations from the people with proven success and experience in re-imagining small cities/towns. The speakers are: Vaimoana (Moana) Fadwa Oufi Niumeitola (artist and educator born in Nuku’alofa, Tonga) – Moana has been involved in hundreds of community-based visual, performance and literary events and is overflowing with experience and ideas.
Jens Thoms Ivarsson (Creative Director for the city of Gothenburg, Sweden) – Rainman Jens, uses rain as an asset, turning it into a possibility through the project.
Arjo Klamer (First ever chair of Economics of Art and Culture Professor at Erasmus University, Rotterdam) – Arjo has researched and written extensively on the economics of art and culture.
Helen Marriage (Director of artichoke.uk.com) – Helen, who was Creative Director of Galway 2020, European Capital of Culture, has been awarded a prestigious Loeb Fellowship at Harvard for her ongoing work with urban life and was awarded an MBE for services to the arts in Britain.
Joost Heinsuis (European expert in cultural and creative industries, co-author report for European Parliament on consequences on Covid-19 for the CCS and recommendations for the future).
Rossella Tarantino (Development and Relations Manager, Matera, European Capital of Culture 2019) – Rosella is an authority on the challenges and opportunities, the practical politics and processes of reimagining. Stephen Kinsella (one of Ireland’s leading economists) – Stephen will talk economics and accounting to keep conversations both creative and grounded.
Laoura Ntziouru (Institutional Business Development, European Investment Fund – Cultural and Creative Sector Guarantee Facility in Creative Europe 2014-2020) – Laura’s work combines financial expertise with collaborations that have an impact on society beyond economic terms.
Claudia Zeiske (Founder of Deveron Projects, an international residency programme in the market town of Huntly in north-east Scotland).
Cliff Hague (Emeritus Professor of Planning and Spatial Development at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, who has worked extensively on EU INTERREG projects in the Baltic Sea region).
Mark O’Brien (CEO of AXIS Ballymun).
Niamh NicGhabhann (Assistant Dean, Research for the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Limerick). Lorraine Maher (Founder and director of IamIrish www.iamirish.org a project that celebrates and challenges perceptions of Irish identities in the 21st century).
Diarmaid Lawlor (Associate Director at Scottish Futures Trust) urbanist, with a multi-disciplinary background) – Diarmaid uses design thinking to unlock problems and describes himself as a principled pragmatist.
Neil McInroy (A leading commentator on economic development and public policy).
Nathalie Weadick (Director of the Irish Architecture Foundation, IAF). Eoghan McDermott (Managing director of The Communications Clinic).
The schedule for the two days is: Tuesday, March 23:
Conversation 1 (10am – 12 noon):
The New Paradigm – Creativity, Culture, Society Economy Conversation 2: (2pm– 4pm):
What are we talking about when we talk about culture? Wednesday, March 24
Conversation 3: 10am – 12 noon): How do we develop the resource of culture to the benefit of people, community, and economy? Conversation 4: (2pm– 4pm): What is Sligo’s position in the 21st century? Who are we now and tomorrow? Conference review and close (4.30pm– 5pm).
More information at riotsligo.ie.