Phoenix City 2021

Phoenix City 2021 is a moving-image work which combines documentary and speculative fiction to observe Coventry through the process of UK City of Culture. The film traces Coventry’s relationship to the image of the phoenix - stemming from Donald Gibson’s and Basil Spence’s use of the mythical bird as symbol to represent their respective town-planning and cathedral proposals for Coventry realised in the 1950’s – and the hypothesis that UK City of Culture was imagined to be the city’s next phoenix moment. The work features an original soundtrack by Abul Mogard, with the collaboration of Jaguar Land Rover Band (now Brass Band of Central Midlands) and Royal Leamington Spa Bach Choir. Phoenix City 2021 was commissioned by Coventry Biennial for exhibition at the Herbert Art Gallery during UK City of Culture 2021. Themes: Arts-led regeneration; UK City of Culture; mega-cultural events; placemaking; grassroots cultural production; electronic music. Synopsis: In 2017 Coventry was announced to follow Hull as the next UK City of Culture. The announcement prompted the green light on a number of city centre developments in Coventry, including a new train station, swimming pool and a revamped shopping precinct, with plans for a Very Light Rail system advancing in the background. Phoenix City 2021 examines the UK City of Culture award’s ‘city arisen from the ashes’ narrative in a journey through architectural models, gleaming student accommodation high-rises and an all-night dance club housed in a disused bingo hall. Technical details: Title: Phoenix City 2021 Duration: 24 mins Date of production: 2021 Format: HD video 1920 x 1080, 6-channel audio. Also available with stereo or 5.0 soundtrack. Project background Research and development took place through a Coventry Biennial artist residency at Coventry University’s School of Media and Performing Arts throughout 2018 to 2020, supported through an Arts Council England Developing Your Creative Practice grant. The Phoenix City Convergence was the first public outcome of the research phase of Phoenix City 2021. The Convergence took place as a symposium and screening programme of artists’ moving-image work hosted by Coventry Biennial 2019 / Coventry University (25/26 October 2019). The symposium - designed as a forum to solicit critical discussion around the ideologies and realities of UK City of Culture, and its significance specifically for Coventry - featured interventions including presentations by Cara Courage, Joy White, Emily Hopkins, and Adrian Dowling, and a panel discussion chaired by Mike Stubbs. The full programme of artists’ moving-image works featured in the Phoenix City Convergence: One Square Mile (2017), Chris Paul Daniels & Sam Meech The 1960’s for Me (2014), Choi Sai-Ho Cultural Quarter (2003), Mike Stubbs Het Museum Van de Straat (2013), Matthijs de Bruijne Polly II (2006), Anja Kirschner Shadowland (2015), John Skoog Production context Phoenix City 2021 was produced in a special collaboration with Abul Mogard, and with local co-creators in Coventry musicians, visual artists, CGI animators and model fabricators. Other outcomes of the project included the commissioning of A Fanfare for Coventry (UK City of Culture), composed by Iain Rayner and performed live by Jaguar Land Rover Band to inaugurate Coventry Biennial HYPER-POSSIBLE at the Herbert Gallery, in October 2021. Production was carried out during the global Covid-19 pandemic beginning in 2020.