Creative Industries and the Creative City Dr Justin

  • Slides: 28
Download presentation
Creative Industries and the Creative City Dr. Justin O’Connor Manchester Institute of Popular Culture,

Creative Industries and the Creative City Dr. Justin O’Connor Manchester Institute of Popular Culture, Manchester Metropolitan University

What is culture? l l l ‘A whole way of life’ A certain level

What is culture? l l l ‘A whole way of life’ A certain level of knowledge and understanding Particular products with aesthetic or symbolic meaning

Definition l l l ‘Cultural industries’: products turned into commodities generating value. Economic value

Definition l l l ‘Cultural industries’: products turned into commodities generating value. Economic value derives from their cultural value Question: is how one can be turned into the other?

Culture as Commodity Production Mass reproduction and distribution – combination of technology, business, and

Culture as Commodity Production Mass reproduction and distribution – combination of technology, business, and culture. l l l Books, performing arts, visual arts Newspapers, journals, prints, photography, printed music Recorded Music, Film, Radio; TV (Video, photocopies, printing) Digitalisation and new communication technologies (A new convergence? ) New technologies and new business models constantly transform the existing field.

From Kulturkritic to political economy Adorno – Culture Industry: culture as mass production for

From Kulturkritic to political economy Adorno – Culture Industry: culture as mass production for mass society. Political economists: Cultural Industries l Different conditions of production and consumption: commodity and flow; public and private. l Need for innovation and authenticity; l Artists and intermediaries; l Risky business – dealing with unpredictability ‘rationalising the irrational’.

Cultural industries as new economy l l Fordism to Post - fordism – mass

Cultural industries as new economy l l Fordism to Post - fordism – mass production to flexible specialisation; National space to global/ local spaces New economy – innovation, creativity, flexibility, reflexivity, responsiveness CI’s not longer a remnant of the old but a template for the new

Why are they growing? l l l Education; leisure; disposable income New technologies of

Why are they growing? l l l Education; leisure; disposable income New technologies of creation, distribution and consumption Increased consumption of cultural goods as part of lifestyle Increased cultural component of material goods Increased cultural component of service products Information and communication now meshed with symbolic

On ‘production’ side l l l ‘Expressive revolution’ (Bernice Martin) pointed to fundamental value

On ‘production’ side l l l ‘Expressive revolution’ (Bernice Martin) pointed to fundamental value shifts – from collective to individuality; from restraint to self-expression; from duty to self-realisation. Creativity - part of process of the reflexive construction of identity. Innovation, continual transformation, personal choice, creativity –these cultural values which in the 1970 s and 80 s ran close to the transformation of cultural consumption and, increasingly, cultural production.

Policy Driven l l 1980 s and 1990 s: this driven at the level

Policy Driven l l 1980 s and 1990 s: this driven at the level of national and regional policy (UNESCO), usually as a cultural policy. Increasingly linked to urban economic development: role of the Greater London Council (GLC).

GLC l l l l Retrieve negative definition – give it more democratic aspect;

GLC l l l l Retrieve negative definition – give it more democratic aspect; (cf. Italy) Vast majority of cultural goods produced outside the market Beyond commerce vs. art – cultural studies questions and powerful impact of ‘popular culture’ e. g. music This widespread set of activities could not be left to the market – needed to be part of cultural policy. Stressed value-chain – not amenable to understanding using the model of individualised art production. Sector made up of small and large businesses – power lay with large businesses at distribution end. Intervention on behalf of the creative producers. Alternative economic strategy for culture Also: Local economic dimension – created jobs and wider catalytic effects.

Post GLC Policy l Since GLC agenda driven at a policy level – first

Post GLC Policy l Since GLC agenda driven at a policy level – first in metropolitan councils then by New Labour. l Persistence of place in CIs – LA, London, New York, Paris, Milan (Capital/ global cities) – the cultural competence of cities l Opened out possibilities for de-industrialising cities – where innovation, entrepreneurialism, and local vision seemed key. l CIs seemed to offer: l l l Employment Contribution to Image Contribution to sense of vibrancy and cultural richness Contribution to creativity Complement to subsidised art and culture Contribution to social inclusion

How they link to cities l l Cities as nodes in global network Creativity,

How they link to cities l l Cities as nodes in global network Creativity, innovation, competitiveness - CIs - articulation of large and small companies; Clusters, networks, projects – ideas, information, support, trust

‘commodified cultural production’ (Scott) characterised by high levels of human input: l clusters of

‘commodified cultural production’ (Scott) characterised by high levels of human input: l clusters of small companies operating on a project basis; l dense transactional flows of information, goods and services; l benefits from economies of scale in skills sourcing and know-how; l complex divisions of labour (driven especially by new ICT developments) tying people to places

Scott ‘Clusters like these are replete…with agglomeration economies (i. e. increasing return effects), and

Scott ‘Clusters like these are replete…with agglomeration economies (i. e. increasing return effects), and agglomeration economies in turn give rise to…potent competitive advantages. ’

Creative Urban Ecology ‘those meanings that adhere to the urban landscape’ and which are

Creative Urban Ecology ‘those meanings that adhere to the urban landscape’ and which are used as factors in the production of cultural commodities; meanings re-assimilated into the ‘urban landscape of the producing centre’, acting as ‘a source of inputs to new rounds of cultural production and commercialisation’, and ‘a further enrichment of the urban landscape’

Scott Cultural production and consumption transform the landscape of the city through its ‘shopping

Scott Cultural production and consumption transform the landscape of the city through its ‘shopping malls, restaurants and cafés, clubs, theatres, galleries, boutiques’. This ‘revitalisation of the symbolic content’ of cities draws in city governments, who link these transformations with ‘ambitious public efforts of urban rehabilitation in the attempt to enhance local prestige, increase property values and attract new investments and jobs’.

Key Idea: Embeddedness l l l Tacit knowledge Traditions Institutions ‘Atmosphere’ Local identity Urbanity

Key Idea: Embeddedness l l l Tacit knowledge Traditions Institutions ‘Atmosphere’ Local identity Urbanity

The Independents They thrive on easy access to local, tacit know-how – a style,

The Independents They thrive on easy access to local, tacit know-how – a style, a look, a sound – which is not accessible globally. Thus the cultural industries based on local know-how and skills show cities can negotiate a new accommodation with the global market, in which cultural producers sell into much larger markets but rely on a distinctive and defensible local base. (Leadbeater and Oakley, 1999: 14)

Creative City, Narratives of regeneration l Scott links specific support for CIs with a

Creative City, Narratives of regeneration l Scott links specific support for CIs with a wider management of the urban ecology - the symbolic infrastructure of the city. This general conclusion of policy makers. l Takes us to mobilisation of local urban identity - ‘creative cities’ – a narrative, usually by the city development agencies of local identity as a cultural resource.

Culture and Regeneration l l l Regeneration mostly viewed as physical regeneration Big regeneration

Culture and Regeneration l l l Regeneration mostly viewed as physical regeneration Big regeneration projects are about culture and consumption Cultural consumption generates business, enhances property markets, and has strong image effects. Limits to this – sustainability; local impact; and wider benefits to the city. Content frequently ‘art’, of ‘international quality’ Used instrumentally with little feeling for the actual content.

Cultural Industries and Regeneration l l CIs are about sustainable production; involve engagement with

Cultural Industries and Regeneration l l CIs are about sustainable production; involve engagement with ‘culture’ across a much broader spectrum. Need to complement ‘consumption-led- regeneration. Issues for the support of CIs – business support infrastructure; training and education; marketing and information; finance etc. Increasing urgency of question of Urban Space

Issue 1: CIs and Space l Space for creative production – diversity of provision

Issue 1: CIs and Space l Space for creative production – diversity of provision not just high end users l Not just about rent but about ‘atmosphere’ and identity – creative clusters l Private spaces with a public function – spaces of innovation and experiment (Compost Cities!).

Issue 1 l l CIs need space and place Should be as much an

Issue 1 l l CIs need space and place Should be as much an issue of ‘public goods’ as space for subsidised art. Urban ecology increasingly threatened by property-led regeneration Creative cities being short changed by short term profit

Issue 2 l l l ‘Benign narrative’ of culture and economics Creative Milieus mobilised

Issue 2 l l l ‘Benign narrative’ of culture and economics Creative Milieus mobilised as Economic policy. Creativity and culture about conflict, ‘unpopular culture’, the ‘dark side’: does not always sit well with policy makers.

Hall: Cities and Civilisation These creative cities were ‘societies troubled about themselves’; they were

Hall: Cities and Civilisation These creative cities were ‘societies troubled about themselves’; they were in a state of tension, of ‘transition forward to new and unexplored modes of organisation… societies in the throes of a transformation in social relationships, in values and in views about the world’; creative cities and creative milieux ‘are places of great social and intellectual turbulence: not comfortable places at all’.

Issue 3 Urbanity and modernity: l l ‘creativity’ linked to the (urban) public sphere

Issue 3 Urbanity and modernity: l l ‘creativity’ linked to the (urban) public sphere and to transformations of lifestyle and social structure. ‘Creative Milieus’ involve (cultural) political questions.

Issue 4 Florida’s ‘Creative Class’ l l l Is it a class in any

Issue 4 Florida’s ‘Creative Class’ l l l Is it a class in any meaningful sense? Is it simply about new forms of consumption and gentrification? Does it benefit a new elite at the expense of the urban population as a whole?

Issue 5 l l l Instrumentalisation of Culture Homogenisation and Globalisation Erosion of local

Issue 5 l l l Instrumentalisation of Culture Homogenisation and Globalisation Erosion of local production Collapse of culture into economic policy Cities are divisions of labour and an imaginative work