Reverberations of a Crisis: The Practical and Ideological Reworkings of Irish State Heritage Work in Economic Crisis and Austerity

Which museums to fund? Examining local government decision-making in austerity

“…This shows a clear prioritisation of an economic function for local authority museums, with funding being withdrawn from those that cannot compete on these terms. These findings build on the work of others who have shown similar prioritisations within policy (Lagerqvist 2015(Lagerqvist , 2016, demonstrating the 'actually existing' impacts of austerity at the level of practice. The data I have presented do not allow for an assessment of implications, but the work of others indicates that we should be concerned by an approach which seems to imply a future scenario where museum provision is concentrated in cities and in fewer, more commercially friendly buildings (see Brook 2016 on accessibility and participation).…”

“…Those with an interest in linking the internal functioning of museums to broader developments, whether in government policy or professional arguments deployed to make the case for continued subsidy or investment mostly capture a time before austerity (Lawley 2003;McCall 2016;Gates 2012;Gray 2016). Studies which concentrate on austerity and museums have begun to emerge but tend to concentrate on changes within policy texts and political statements and consequently neglect how these developments affect individual museums (Lagerqvist 2015(Lagerqvist , 2016Kloosterman 2014). An updated perspective is therefore required, not as part of an assumption that austerity has prompted a paradigm shift but to consider the extent to which it has intensified dynamics already at play or created new ones.…”

From Culture 1.0 to Culture 3.0: Three Socio-Technical Regimes of Social and Economic Value Creation through Culture, and Their Impact on European Cohesion Policies

“…Culture-led local and regional development has been a policy and media buzz across Europe and almost elsewhere in the world in the last two decades [1], and there is ample evidence of success stories, as well as of instructing failures, that provides a basis for an understanding of the structural and contextual conditions that enable (or block) culture's capacity to generate social and economic value [2][3][4]. Despite this, and especially so in moments of economic stagnation where culture is the natural target of public budget cuts [5][6][7][8], there is a widespread perception that the role and potential of culture in long-term competitiveness strategies is seriously under-recognized, and this is especially true for Europe [9].…”

Planning for historic urban environments under austerity conditions: Insights from post-crash Ireland

“…At a national level, the impact of austerity was severe on the already underfunded heritage sector. As recorded by Lagerqvist (2016), in 2013, the budget of the Heritage Council (state body responsible for promoting and protecting heritage) declined by two-thirds from its 2008 level, and the spending of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (DAHG) on heritage was reduced similarly. With specific regard to built heritage management, most grant aids for heritage conservation were suspended or substantially reduced as austerity was rolled-out across the public sector.…”

“…While heritage professionals have often mobilized a narrative of a heritage dividend to provide a rationale for heritage protection and restoration, the renewed vigor for pursuing heritage-led regeneration opens new challenges for practice. Firstly, as highlighted by Lagerqvist (2016), there is a danger that only tangible heritage assets that can demonstrate measurable revenues (e.g. employment, tourism) will be supported or protected, while more 'ordinary' or diverse heritage may by neglected.…”