there is beauty in manchester

des res

there is beauty in the city - the conversation - #22

a reply from Igor Calvo

It is true that Athletic of Bilbao is capable to turn a whole city and its county into just one being for carrying shoulder-high the team towards victory (for instance, as it happened last Thursday in Old Trafford which for a moment or so, looked like San Mames); however, it’s just football. Although, it is also true that the pride and the feeling of belonging to the city is virtually unanimous and makes the citizen of Bilbao to, sometimes, verge on chauvinism.

Even though, I’d dare to say the feeling of pride and belonging it is also shared for the citizens of that “geographical entity” known as Gran Bilbao: one of the biggest metropolitan areas of Spain, comprises of more than 20 independent town councils but committed to work together for their development.

But then, a real problem could emerge: the one that could make the big, leading city, to monopolize the most part of the human, economical or cultural resources; as, for example, we can check if we make a brief comparison to the cultural agendas of Bilbao and the rest of the town halls of the Gran Bilbao.

Unity, yes of course; diversity and balance, of course too.

there is beauty in manchester - absent texts #5

absent texts #5

there is beauty in manchester - absent texts #3, #4

absent texts #3, #4

there is beauty in manchester - absent texts #2

absent texts #2

kamila szuba - warsaw

madness of letters. accidental installation my desk, next to my computer

there is beauty in new inhabitation - manchester

natural squatting in manchester's northern quarter

there is beauty in manchester - absent texts #1

absent texts

brutus carniollus - Český Krumlov, Czech Republic

Submitted by Brutus Carniollus...

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Český Krumlov is famous for its Old Town, with 300 protected medieval buildings, and its castle complex, the second largest in the Czech Republic.

Surrounded by rolling hills and the Vltava River, Český Krumlov's cobblestone streets wind past centuries old townhomes, inns, shops, and cafes. Located in the southwest part of the Czech Republic, this picturesque city is home to about 14,000 residents.

Český Krumlov is a cultural center with a dozen museums and galleries, a medieval castle complex with beautiful gardens, historic and modern theaters, including the Castle Baroque theater built in the 1600's, and the revolving auditorium, built in the 20th Century, and hundreds of cultural events each year.

The Old Town has several noteworthy museums and galleries. The Regional Museum houses a permanent collection of about 34,000 objects including Bohemian antiques and archeological finds from the region as well as a detailed model of Český Krumlov at the turn of the 19th century.

The Museum of Architecture and Craft, located on the first floor of the historic house, Dlouhá 92, in the centre of Český Krumlov, displays the architectural details of the burgher houses of Český Krumlov from the Middle Ages to today. The museum exhibits timber ceilings, portals, doors and windows, framing and facades, as well as colourful interior decorations.

http://www.krumlov.com/

http://brut.bukve.net

there is beauty in the city - the conversation - #21

#21 - in reply to Igor Calvo

The idea of a single city, with a unifying force and a community committed to collectively working towards its success could be seen as a model for finding a way through the post-industrial regeneration of a city. Igor, you suggest that Bilbao has that unity.

Stoke-on-Trent a conglomeration of 6 towns spread over 8 miles originally came together as a federation and became a city 100 years ago. Yet it has never quite managed to achieve that idea of "unity".

The city is still, in effect, a group of 6 individual towns, working for their own ends, sitting uneasily under the umbrella of Stoke-on-Trent. There is a resistance to commit to a unified city centre - a parochial protectiveness of one's hometown. Until these ties and boundaries are loosened and broken, this city might never achieve the potential that a collective spirit might realise.

there is beauty in the city - the conversation - #20

no. 20 in the ongoing conversation between Igor and Glen

Igor...

Even though history tends to personalize in individual figures both the successes and failures of a country, a city…sometimes it’s the community the one who takes the credit for achieving something good.

In the modern history of Bilbao, we find a really good example of how the collective spirit and the feelings of belonging and loyalty to a club by a whole city, have managed to maintain among the most important professional football teams a club comprise solely, since its creation more than one hundred years ago, by basque players: the Athletic of Bilbao.

Itzi and Imanol, along with 40,000 people at San Mames and hundreds of miles more at their homes or in the streets, stuck to their radios or TVs; they all are, concerning the Athletic of Bilbao, just one figure, just one spirit who keeps on making the impossible happen. 

Alberto López Benítez - Dubrovnik

Thanks to Alberto for sending in these images from his European travels with the promise of more to come. These show Dubrovnik.

"As I promised you, I send you a picture of the magnet traveling through the streets ofDubrovnik. I have three pictures of this city and another picture more in Athens. I would have liked to do more photos, but we were always in a hurry!
We were also in Olympia, Santorini, Mykonos, Venice... and I regret not having taken more pictures with the magnet...!"

there is beauty in the city - the conversation - #19

In response to Igor...

The growth of a city is often inextricably linked to the efforts and presence of one or two notable figures. Post-industrial cities can often be dominated by the ghosts of the same figures.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josiah_Wedgwood

there is beauty in the city - the conversation - #18

a quick reply from igor brings into question our cities' heroes...


Plaques, monuments, statues, street names ... the cities are full of signs and landmarks that celebrate, commemorate or highlight people and events that are assumed to have played an important role in the development of today’s city.
But those urban marks go back to past times and tell us stories which, as history itself, should be revisited and reinterpreted every now and then, as the official history not always tell us the truth.

Rafael Sánchez Mazas was a founding member and leader of the *Falange and Minister during the Franco regime. Today, there is no reason why such a significant character of the Franco dictatorship should give name to a walk in Bilbao.

*A fascist political movement and party

there is beauty in the city - the conversation - #17

in reply to igor...

urban markings create memorials to human presence and events. cities are, in some part, a product of these presences and occurences which combine to create narratives that make each city unique.

 pc john taylor was pushed from a building while attempting to apprehend a burglar.