Branding the Ouseburn Valley as a cultural and creative district (Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom): analysis of its filmography

Abstract

This research studies the Cultural and Creative District of the Ouseburn Valley (Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, United Kingdom) by identifying its most relevant spaces through an analysis of the filmography associated with it. The main actors of the district are determined in order to further consider them when managing the brand images of other cultural and creative districts; which is important since these spaces are key for urban revitalization (Rosselló & Wright, 2010; UNESCO, 2016).

In this regard, a content analysis of a selection of 24 audiovisuals produced between 1939 and 2019 linked to the Ouseburn Valley -recovered thanks to the film archive of the Ouseburn Trust and the North-East Film Archive- is performed. This is done by applying the Grounded Theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) (Saunders, Thornhill & Lewis, 2009). Thusly, an understanding of the evolution of the district is achieved which establishes and identifies the values linked to it and how these have been changing throughout history. Likewise, the most important actors in the Ouseburn Valley are spotted. These are those that the collective imaginary associates to this district thanks to audiovisuals as the analysed, and whose identification is of relevance for the management of the brand-district of the Ouseburn Valley.