‘Developing A Cultural Strategy For Liverpool’,

In December 2019 The Fifth Sector was selected to carry out for the twin commission of developing a ten-year cultural strategy for the City of Liverpool and  establishing a Cultural Compact for Liverpool City Region. 

As a Liverpool-based team which has  lived, breathed and celebrated culture in the city  for many years, we were incredibly honoured to be appointed. Our initial research confirmed that there was a shared belief and commitment across the creative and visitor economy to harness a vision for culture forged in the resilience and sense of community that is such a distinctive part of Liverpool and the city region. 

Then along came COVID-19 to knock Liverpool, and its cultural sector, on its backside.  COVID-19 amplified the struggles and inequalities within our society. It confirmed a view which was already developing through consultation: a shared sense of the critical and central role of  culture in addressing the major challenges that face our society: recovery from the pandemic, climate crisis, equality, diversity and inclusion and a fair distribution of wealth and opportunity. 

‘Developing A Cultural Strategy For Liverpool’, is a strategy that sets out the vision for the cultural life of Liverpool up to 2030.

Culture Liverpool’s 2021 River of Light Trail

It provides a direction of travel for the cultural sector as it aims to rebuild and strengthen in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. This is a significant moment where race inequality in the city can be challenged, with the BLM movement providing the impetus and opportunity to change both institutional and structural inequalities through culture and every other aspect of the city’s operations.

Any effective response to those issues will require both flexibility and collaboration. As such, the strategy proposes ideas for delivery and governance, but views them through the lens of the sector’s immediate survival and recovery. We will re-evaluate the action plan and reaffirm the direction of this strategy once the impact of the pandemic has been addressed; only then can the city and city region develop a detailed, long-term delivery plan.

Culture Liverpool website - https://www.cultureliverpool.co.uk/developing-a-cultural-strategy-for-liverpool/