VA7040 - The Arts, City Development and Rural Planning

You will learn through lectures and workshops which are in the form of action learning sets (ALS). The ALS work will be focused on developing a project in response to a live brief from a city partner (such as a local government officer or NGO). The lectures will provide you with an introduction to theoretical frameworks and methods and how academic research informs urban and rural policy (or not); and these introductions will enable you to develop your ALS project where your will further interrogate policy narratives and how your practice intervention will support or challenge these. The action learning sets are small group workshops which allow you and your peers to work through the challenges and complexities of the live brief situation and decide which frameworks and methods are required to develop your work together.

Your module tutor will play an active role in introducing the ambitions of the module, guiding you through module sessions, weekly e-learning activities as well as one-to-one tutorials and directing you to additional support as appropriate. All course materials will be available on the Blackboard site. The module tutor will have weekly office hours and you can also make appointments outside of these hours via email.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)

Knowledge & Understanding:
1. Understanding of the histories, practices, policies and ideologies of city-region social and economic development and the role of art within these programmes.
2. Ability to demonstrate a critical knowledge of the role of the arts in the past, current and future urban and rural planning contexts.

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
3. Ability to identify and communicate appropriate urban, rural and arts theory for cultural management.
4. Demonstrate the ability to self-direct your own learning and synergise theory and practice.

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
5. Sensitivity and awareness of cultural diversity and environmental challenge in a global context.

FORMATIVE
Formative assessment will be carried out throughout the workshop sessions where you will discuss literature, issues and themes; and undertake problem-oriented tasks. Peer, tutor and client feedback will encourage sensitivity, ethnics and curiosity. All tasks will encourage the ability to communicate effectively.

SUMMATIVE
The summative assessment will be in two parts: (1) a 1,000 word equivalent presentation and (2) a 4,000 word report which both demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the role of the arts in urban and rural development.

Module Learning Outcomes
KU 1,2,3; IPSA 1,2,3; PV 1,2

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What is the future role of the cultural manager in urban and rural development? In urban and increasingly rural contexts the arts have long been situated as tools for economic development and social renewal. Responding to the complexities of our human-nature environment this module brings attention to the tensions arising from so-called ‘culture-led regeneration’ and asks how the arts can be positioned in support of our future living space and the skills and experience required for cultural managers as the professionals who are doing this work alongside planners and other urban and rural actors. The module draws from key theories including the research of the module tutors as leading academics in this field and the practice experience of a range of contributing professionals. You will develop methods, skills and attributes for developing, delivering and evaluating art and artistic projects in the social, economic and environmental context of the city-region and employment in this area across the public and private sectors in arts, business and social-enterprise contexts.