The bid to make Galway the European Capital of Culture in 2020 is not some sort of raffle. Would it be that it were, then we could all wake up 'the morning after' in a crumpled heap, say either well done to ourselves through a foggy dew of Sauvignon Blanc, strangers and snackboxes, or just say 'shucks, that was a blast, but sure it's the luck of the draw,” and get back to living our lives. If it was simply a matter of throwing the names of the candidate cities into a hat, then you could console yourself for not having done more, for not sharing your vision with anyone, for not taking this once in a generation opportunity to actually have your say in something that will determine the destiny of this city for the next 100 years.
But alas it is not a raffle. Instead, it is totally dependent on the kind of rules that kinda say that the best application will win. They won’t be going on past glories, or perceived rights to the win. No, the judges want the best one, the demanding feckers.
There are only three or four months left until the official application is submitted. It is squeaky bum time and over the last few weeks, one can see that the tension is being cranked up. There is no doubt that Galway has a very strong case. Put our name among the list and write them down and show them to a stranger, and culture will be the first word to hop out of their mouth when they see Galway. But the perception of Galway alone as a city of culture will not be enough to win. We need to show why we want it. Really want it. The other cities feel they have equally as good as a case as we have. They point to greater infrastructure, to a wider array of cultural creatives, to a more contemporary engagement with the arts, but what Galway has is unique among those Irish applicant cities. It has a culture that is linked to the soul of everyone who lives and works here.
Unlike the other applicants, Galway is a place that is solely been seen and defined by its culture.
A lot of emphasis on celebrity endorsement of individual applications has been highlighted in recent days, and while it is nice to get mentioned in a zillion tweets, our application will only be truly successful if we win over ourselves first. Convince the people of this city that we have to get off our chairs now and participate in this process if we are not to be disappointed when the decision is made next year.
The team that Galway has representing it is a formidable one, comprising people at the cutting edge of the arts and academic community. This, married with the drive and enthusiasm of key players like City Council CEO Brendan McGrath and his team, has given Galway the ammunition to get out there with a strong chance.
We have to identify what is very different about our bid, what makes it unique and longlasting; To do this we have to participate our get our message across in the speak outs; (There’s one in Oranmore next week and Athenry tonight ); volunteer in whatever capacity you can to help; get the information yourself and share it with friends and children, start a conversation about Galway. Ask yourself how you would feel if cultural terrorists came into this city in the morning and destroyed all our built heritage; how would you feel if they stole all our mentally constructed heritage; if they robbed Galway of its uniqueness, the air of Barnacle and Macken, the Yeats and the Gregory; the city that gave us Julian Gough and Ken Bruen. And thousands of others who are inspired by here. Take all of this away and you’re left with Temple Bar and tax incentives.
There is something about Galway that makes everyone who visits or lives here want to make art, to scribble or scrawl, to sing or soliloquy. It is this aspect that we have to get across in our application. How welcome we are to encouraging this. What are we doing to generate the next generation of Hynes, Mullen, Lally?
A city without a culture is a soulless place. By becoming the European Capital of Culture, we lock in this culture forever and we preserve the soul of a city that by 2020 will be a structuraly different place anyway. I am loath to mention the filthy lucre, but it will create jobs and define Galway forever.
My daughter is almost seven now and if we are successful, then with the help of God, she will be entering her teens when we host this accolade. If she looks me in the eye (as increasingly is her wont ) and asks me “Dad, what did you do to help get this?" I want to say that I did the same as everyone else, that I cared, I cajoled, I bothered and that I got involved.
Let us all do one thing to help us along the way. www.galway2020.ie
