Post-debate Film

This post-debate film pulls out the key takeaways from the fourth Urban Age Debate on 'Changing Cultures', which took place on 13 October 2021 and asked the question 'How are cultural institutions reframing their relationships with audiences, the community and the city?' This film is part of the Urban Age Debates programme that explores what could and should happen in cities over the next decade.

Watch the post-debate film   

Featured Speakers

Elaine Bedell is the Chief Executive of the Southbank Centre, the UK’s largest arts centre. She has worked for over 25-year in media, having senior roles at the BBC and ITV, where she produced some of the UK’s most popular entertainment titles. Elaine served previously as Executive Chair of the Edinburgh International TV Festival and was appointed a Trustee for the V&A Museum by the British Prime Minister in 2015.

Gabriella Gomez-Mont is the Founder of Experimentalista, a novel creative studio that specialises in cities, public imagination, and system change. She is the former Director of Laboratorio Para la Ciudad, the award-winning and experimental think tank of the Mexico City government. Gabriella is a documentary filmmaker, visual artist and journalist. She has worked as a creative advisor to several cities, and is a TED Senior Fellow, an MIT Director’s Fellow and a Yale World Fellow.

Andreas Görgen is head of the German Foreign Office’s Culture and Communication Department. He began his professional career in 1996 at the Berliner Ensemble theatre before moving to the École Nationale D’Administration in France. He has worked in the public film finance sector and was a consultant to State and Federal management teams. Prior to joining the Foreign Office, Andreas held senior roles in the energy sector with Siemens south-west Europe.

The event was moderated by Adrian Ellis the Director of AEA Consulting and Chair of the Global Cultural Districts Network, a network of over fifty cultural districts committed to improving the quality of urban life through knowledge-sharing in the arts and culture and creative industries. Adrian is a board member of New York's Poets House, and a past board member of the Getty Leadership Institute, and the National Museums and Galleries of Wales.