Next week I’m on a panel called Shaping the City at FutureEverything, an art-music-conference-festival in Manchester, England. FutureEverything, in part, explores intersections of society and technology and there is a big emphasis on city issues. While I’ll be talking about some of the stuff we do here in Toronto, I’m particularly interested in chatting about how Toronto has trouble with its mythology while a city like Manchester does not.
I’ve never been to Manchester but expect when I arrive it’ll have the usual sense of familiarity that I get whenever I’m in a city in the UK or Ireland. This is, in part, due to the colonial nature of Canada — so much of this place is named after that place — but also because smaller cities like Manchester seem to effortlessly be able to exist in the minds of people who do not live there. Apart from the colonial angle, there is also the pop culture one. How did Manchester become such a music powerhouse? How did word get out about the “Manchester Sound” from the late-punk era onwards — why was the “Madchester Scene” of the Cool-Britannia-Tony-Blair 1990s so well known? Why does Toronto have so much trouble doing the same thing? The bands seem just as good here.
Is there a connection between a city’s historical position (Manchester was one of the main engines of the British Empire) and it’s long-term cultural power, even after the sun set on that empire? Are they just better at marketing themselves? Are they cooler (do they ask themselves these questions we perpetually ask ourselves)? Is it the sports teams? The billboard pictured above is of Carlos Tevez who played first for Manchester United and now for Manchester City — nobody would want to see a Leaf welcoming people to Toronto right now, correct? Is it because they have two sports teams and the NHL won’t even give a hockey team to Kitchener-Waterloo because it’s too close (Manchester’s metro area is around 2.5 million while Toronto’s is 4.5ish)?
As I piece together thoughts on this, thinking about what I’ll say next week, I’m interested to hear from our readers what their thoughts are on the state of Toronto’s mythological aura vs Manchester, London, or anywhere else.
For our UK readers (we have some!) and others who might want to forward it to their UK friends who may be interested in FutureEverything, below is more info on the festival.
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FutureEverything 2010
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Manchester England
12-15 May
The Lever Prize winning FutureEverything 2010 global festival of art, music and ideas features world premieres of astonishing artworks, an explosive citywide music programme, visionary thinkers from around the world, and awards for outstanding global innovators.
From a Roman feast in a luxury hotel lobby to a revolutionary new way of connecting globally, FutureEverything 2010 brings together some of the world’s most visionary thinkers and artists to celebrate outstanding creativity and innovation in the digital age. The internationally acclaimed FutureEverything Conference features astonishing talks and visionary people in a global conversation on bringing the future into the present.
Download festival brochure here (PDF)
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Highlights include
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GloNet
Witness the launch of GloNet, a new way to interact globally, extends the festival via live events in five cities in different time zones, and was developed to respond to needs for festivals to find new ways to be globally connected
Conference
Exploring the interface between technology, society and culture, the internationally acclaimed FutureEverything Conference is the crucible that allows artists, technologists and future-thinkers to share, innovate and interact
Serendipity City
Our main art exhibition, Serendipity City, features architecture-inspired art by leading figures in visual culture, a curated selection of city-drifting mobile apps, jaw-dropping data visualisations and a selection of Award nominees
Agents of Change
Agents of Change transform a secret urban location using spray-cans and perception altering art, streamed live across the city as clues gradually reveal their location, culminating in a public opening on the last day of the festival
Ryoji Ikeda & Konono No.1
One of the world’s leading sound artists, Ryoji Ikeda shows us the pure beauty of data in his stunning audio-visual performance, plus legendary Konono No.1’s distinctive, raw sounds taken from traditional Bazombo trance.
FutureEverything Award
Winner of the debut £10,000 FutureEverything Award is The Eyewriter, a pair of low-cost eye-tracking glasses that allow artists and graffiti writers with paralysis to draw using only their eyes.
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FutureEverything Conference
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Thursday 13 and Friday 14 May 2010
Contact, Manchester England
At the heart of the festival is the FutureEverything Conference, is a destination for a world-wide community of inspirational people, an engaging, entertaining and essential event to attend. Join us to hear about why governments should open up the data that they hold, and what we can do with this information to change our lives. Listen to leading artists and scientists discuss what we can dream and do with unlimited bandwidth. We will illuminate the science of the web, the ways the networked city is being rewired, how poetry can be encoded into DNA, ways we can play the city like an instrument, and how relationships between generations are going to change over the next hundred years. Featured speakers include Professor Keri Facer, Dame Wendy Hall, Ben Cerveny, Nigel Shadbolt, Darren Wershler and many more.
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Booking Information
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The Full Festival Pass is the gateway to the FutureEverything Festival & Conference. With the Festival Pass you have access to all festival events including art, music, conference, opening and gala events.*
Pre-booking Rate — Available till 11 May — £135
Walk Up Rate — Available 12-15 May — £150
Day Pass — No deadline — £100
* Some music and gala events have restricted capacity and will be open to a limited number of Festival Pass holders. An event ticket may be required
13 comments
The Manchester billboard featuring Carlos Tevez was put up by Manchester City as a way to get under their cross town rivals (Manchester United) skin.
There isn’t a lot of love lost between the two clubs, esp. since Man U is one of England’s most successful clubs and because Man City was bought up relatively recently and is now the “richest club” in the world.
I think the succes of Man U domestically over the past 20 years and their subsequent growth in fame internationally plays a huge role in their mythology, given that football/soccer is the world’s most popular sport and Man U is arguably the world’s most famous club.
In terms of Toronto, I don’t think we have a “mythology” yet – and I think that’s a good thing. Our generation (around 40 and under in Toronto) are the ones who are creating it now – we love Toronto in a new way and we are expressing it like never before.
If the Leafs/Raptors ever start winning – that would help too!
My father, a Man U supporter, would ask which team various Brit Pop bands from Man supported. He didn’t care for Oasis as they were for City.
I think there are likely many answers to your questions Shawn, but I think the major one is likely history. Too bad, but it is also the one that we are least able to do something about. They just have so much more of it. While Toronto may indeed be a larger city (and more important city) today, they’ve been a significant city for so much longer that everyone everywhere knows something about Manchester and thereby the mythology runs deep. Of course, there are things we could change here. For instance, if we still had a Spirit of Radio-era CFNY or if CBC Radio 3 were available terrestrially, Toronto’s music scene may be all that stronger and better able to compete with the BBC-supported domestic scene across the pond (as one quick example).
Also, there is this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JOl3YaDCQI
I think Toronto is still becoming – we are actually in a really exciting time, as the city figures itself out. When my parents were young in the 1950s, Toronto culture was unrecognizably different from today – after all, Toronto’s first pizzeria (Vesuvio’s) just celebrated their 50th anniversary a year or two ago. We’re a bit shy and insecure, like a teenager, trying on different styles and discovering who we are.
I don’t want to be rude, but if I read or hear once more that “Toronto and Canada have no history compare to Europe” and that in UK “They just have so much more of it”, I will seriously throw up.
Yes North America is very young and green compare to the old continent, but the QUALITY of the history is still existing here. In fact, the real difference between here and the “other side of the big puddle” is that they show a general respect for their history, in all its forms.
Can we say the same thing here? Do we show love and respect for our history in this city? The answer is no most of the time – and some will say “because it so new here”. Please. We just need more people who care.
With newer big names in music, such as Kardinal Offishall, Drake, and Deadmau5, Toronto is quickly getting coverage internationally at an alarming rate. I say in 50 yrs Toronto will be amongst the most recognizeable cities in the world.
When I lived in London for graduate school in the late 1990s, Manchester had a terrible rep. Hamilton, Buffalo or Cleveland to London’s Toronto, if you will. Or Toronto to London’s Montreal for most of the past century, or Toronto to London’s New York today. Nice soccer team, sure, but the local culture was mocked by Londoners and there was no reason to visit a post-industrial failed city that was widely regarded as a mess. So I didn’t.
I’ve read wonderful things since about regeneration, architectural excellence and so on. Would love to see Alsop’s “Chips” at the New Islington development and see how that compares to his work around Toronto’s portlands… Then again, Urbis totally failed and now will become a football museum — kind of like if the Design Exchange in Toronto gave up and turned into the Hockey Hall of Fame Annex.
If you do find that Manchester’s ego is in fact intact and thriving, let us know! Looking forward to reading about it.
Shawn – try to get TO into next year’s global networked event – Vancouver is involved this year
Maybe if we could walk down the street and not see ‘Jersey Boys’ banners hanging from the lamp posts representing Toronto ‘culture’.. Maybe if Torontonians would watch anything but U.S. TV.. maybe if Toronto could make a movie that the world would actually watch- without standing in for some generic American city.. maybe if the anchor store in the Eaton Centre wasn’t Sears.. maybe if the streets weren’t full of U.S. franchises, maybe if we weren’t constantly touting the best ‘Montreal-style smoked meat’, ‘NY style’ this and ‘Paris style’ that..
Maybe if this city actually had something to offer the world rather than half-assed copies of whatever everyone else is doing- 5 years later.. maybe someone would actually take notice.
As it stands, there isn’t a ‘Toronto-style’ anything, other than the ever-awesome ‘messy urbanism’, which is code for “Our streets look like shit so we’re embracing that as a style”.
Just another American city. Nothing to see here people, move on.
Eric – lots of people who care, around here. This isn’t about a lack of history – but rather, how that history/culture is spread.
Lots of good comments… Toronto does need more people who care, but there seem to be alot more now than 10 years ago. So jealous about the development happening in Leslieville and downtown architecture since I left.
Manchester’s music scene was so fleeting and amazing because the city was in such a dire state. It was the only escape for the people there (with football, of course) and you can hear it in the pathos and desperation. There’s alot of great TO music but not enough desperation.
Things are too good in TO, too comfortable, that’s why the apathy and America-loving. I’m still jealous though, miss it dearly. Every time I visit I tell people they don’t appreciate what they’ve got!
Todd, too right, but don’t try to convince any Torontonian who has spent their life here, or one of Ontario’s even drearier towns. I’ve been fortunate to live in Montreal and Tokyo, and traveled to HK, London, Lisbon, etc. I’ll guess you have done something similar. I can tell, because you are informed enough to know that Toronto blows.