December 16, 2014

Public Lecture by Professor Lily Kong on the occasion of the launch of her new book, Arts, Culture and the Making of Global Cities: Creating New Urban Landscapes in Asia

Time: 4:30-6pm, registration from 4-4:30pm

Venue: The Pod, L16, National Library, 100 Victoria Street #14-01, Singapore 188064

Speaker: Prof Lily Kong, Geography Dept, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, NUS

Chair: Prof Chua Beng Huat, Sociology Dept, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, NUS

Welcome Remarks by: Mr Khoo Teng Chye, Centre for Liveable Cities

Presentation abstract: While global cities have mostly been characterized as sites of intensive and extensive economic activity, the quest for global city status also increasingly rests on the creative production and consumption of culture and the arts. Arts, Culture and the Making of Global Cities examines the cultural ambitions and projects in five major cities in Asia: Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei, and Singapore.  The book provides a thorough comparison of their urban imaging strategies and attempts to harness arts and culture, as well as more organically evolved arts activities and spaces, and analyses the relative successes and failures. Offering rich ethnographic detail drawn from extensive fieldwork, the authors challenge city strategies and existing urban theories about cultural and creative clusters and reveal the many complexities in the art of city-making. The talk will draw on select case studies examined in the book.

RSVP to: nexus@nus.edu.sg with your full name, title, email address, and affiliation.

Programme

4-4:30pm: Registration and refreshments

4:30-4:35: Welcome Remarks by Mr Khoo Teng Chye, Executive Director, Centre for Liveable Cities

4:35-5:30: Presentation by Prof Lily Kong, chaired by Prof Chua Beng Huat

5:30-6: Q and A