Culture, Creativity and Economy

Collaborative Practices, Value Creation and Spaces of Creativity

Brian J. Hracs, Taylor Brydges, Tina Haisch, Atle Hauge, Johan Jansson, Jenny Sjoholm, Brian J. Hracs, Taylor Brydges, Tina Haisch, Atle Hauge, Johan Jansson, Jenny Sjoholm

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781032053271
• eBook ISBN: 9781000457599
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Physical Sciences
• Subtopic: Geography
• Index: Geography

This book nuances our understanding of the contemporary creative economy by engaging with a set of three key tensions which emerged over the course of eight European Colloquiums on Culture, Creativity and Economy (CCE): 1) the tension between individual and collaborative creative practices, 2) the tension between tradition and innovation, and 3) the tension between isolated and interconnected spaces of creativity.

Rather than focusing on specific processes, such as production, industries or locations, the tensions acknowledge and engage with the messy and restless nature of the creative economy. Individual chapters offer insights into poorly understood practices, locations and contexts such as co-working spaces in Berlin and rural Spain, creative businesses in Leicester and the role and importance of cultural intermediaries in creative economies within Africa. Others examine the nature of trans-local cultural flows, the evolving "field" of fashion, and the implications of social media and crowdfunding platforms.

This book will be of interest to students, scholars and professionals researching the creative economy, as well as specific cultural and creative industries, across the humanities and social sciences.

1 Introduction

Exploring tensions in the creative economy

Brian J. Hracs, Taylor Brydges, Tina Haisch, Atle Hauge, Johan Jansson and Jenny Sjöholm

DOI: 10.4324/9781003197065-1

The myriad links between culture, creativity and the economy are key elements of modern life and central topics of intellectual discussion (Caves, 2002; Hesmondhalgh, 2002; Power and Scott, 2004). Over the past two decades, policy makers and academics around the world have become deeply interested in a range of interconnections between cultural and economic processes: including culturally-driven economic development in the form of ‘creative’ cities and cultural quarters (Kloosterman, 2013; Mould and Comunian, 2014; d’Ovidio, 2016), the dynamics of creative labour (Hesmondhalgh and Baker, 2010; Bain and McLean, 2013; Pasquinelli and Sjöholm, 2015; Reimer, 2016; McRobbie, Strutt and Bandinelli, 2019), the evolution of specific cultural and creative industries such as art, music, fashion and craft (Power and Scott, 2004; Hesmondhalgh, 2002; Leyshon, 2014; Crewe, 2017; Jakob and Thomas, 2017), competition and value creation within markets (Hracs, Jakob and Hauge, 2013; Bürkner and Lange, 2017; Ibert et al., 2019) and the role of space and specificity across different locations, scales, industries and time periods (Cooke and Lazzaretti, 2007; Edensor et al., 2009 Gibson, 2011; Luckman, 2012; Flew, 2013; Gill, Pratt and Virani, 2019; Schmidt, 2019). Yet, the restless dynamism of the contemporary creative economy requires ongoing empirical study, theorisation and critical reflection (Hawkins, 2016; Banks, 2018; Mould, 2018; Oakley and Ward, 2018).

This edited volume aims to contribute to and nuance existing studies, debates and knowledge. However, rather than focusing on a specific process such as production, industry, location or scale from a disciplinary perceptive this book applies a different approach. We seek to acknowledge and engage with the messy and often contradictory nature of the cultural and creative economy. For example, creative labour is said to be both precarious and rewarding (McRobbie, 2015; Brydges and Hracs, 2019a). Furthermore, while cultural and creative industries are said to cluster in global hotspots, a growing literature also highlights the presence and uniqueness of cultural and creative activities in peripheral and rural settings and across the Global South (Comunian et al., 2021). At the same time, digital transitions and the forces of globalisation and competition continue to create, destroy and restructure the markets and conditions under which cultural creation, production, promotion, intermediation, dissemination and consumption are undertaken and experienced (Hracs, 2015).

Based on these observations, we have chosen to organise this book around a set of three key tensions; 1) the tension between individual and collaborative creative practices, 2) the tension between tradition and innovation, and 3) the tension between isolated and interconnected spaces of creativity. These tensions are at the heart of the connection where culture and creativity meet the contemporary economy and where restless dynamism unfolds. The tensions provide frustration and friction, as well as energy and inspiration. Simultaneously, these tensions are ingenious and vicious. As such, they are similar to the process Schumpeter famously coined “creative destruction” (Schumpeter, 1959 [1934]). The chapters in this book deal with processes, observations and phenomena that can be located in one or more fields of these tensions.

Collaborative practices: the story of the CCE network

The foundations of this book were laid at the European Colloquium on Culture, Creativity and Economy (CCE). Since the first meeting of creative economy researchers in Uppsala (2012) and through subsequent annual events in Berlin, Amsterdam, Florence, Seville, London, Stockholm and Basel, CCE has become a network of over 100 scholars from 19 countries who work in a range of disciplines including geography, sociology, economics and cultural studies. This book presents a range of chapters from community members who have been working collaboratively—by sharing, extending and co-producing ideas, research and publications—to develop a deeper understanding of the contemporary creative economy for nearly a decade.

The goals of the CCE meetings were manifold: firstly, we aimed to bring together a small number of scholars, between 20 and 35, from different disciplines, universities and levels of experience to develop new approaches to the creative economy. Secondly, our goal was to build networks which encouraged knowledge sharing and collaboration. Thirdly, we wanted the events to be informal, open and supportive atmospheres where trust could be built and where people could feel safe to share ideas and work in progress rather than, as is usual at conferences, finished products (see also Pratt, 2010). The events featured a range of ‘blocks’ including themed panels, small discussion groups, one-on-one peer feedback sessions and informal walking tours. Together, these elements produced positive environments and experiences in line with Dorling’s (2019) call for a “new rigour” based on kindness. Fourthly, we strived for diversity and inclusiveness. While the majority of our participants came from across Europe they were not necessarily ‘European’, and we recruited widely and were also able to invite and include scholars from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, North America and South America. Furthermore, we aimed for and achieved equal representation of men and women in the network, and a balance of scholars at different career stages coming from a range of disciplines at each event. Finally, we aimed to merge the community of practice and the community of science. To marry theoretical debates with the ‘real’ world—and to try and “dismantle the ivory tower” (Klein et al., 2011)—we invited to our meetings, artists, curators and other practitioners working in the cultural and creative industries.

Three key tensions within the creative economy

Over the course of our eight CCE meetings, while there were some processes, concepts or challenges that would be introduced as themed panel topics once or twice, others seemed to re-emerge year after year in a variety of sessions and interactions. By examining and re-examining some of these ideas—such as coworking spaces or curation—from different perspectives, over time our collective understanding deepened and became more nuanced. This iterative process also exposed and encouraged community engagement with a number of the previously mentioned tensions, which not only spurred lively debates during the events but also many other academic works. For this book, we invited network members to submit chapters which address one or more of the three key tensions outlined below.

The tension between individual and collaborative creative practices

In exploring the variety of ways in which work in cultural and creative fields is organised, performed and experienced, we find a diverse range of individual and collaborative practices. While existing literature points to creative teams, project ecologies and networks of actors, including intermediaries, involved with creative production (Becker, 1982; Grabher, 2002), creative endeavours are also associated with lone geniuses, including artists, and creative entrepreneurs following ‘do it yourself’ (DIY) models (Sjöholm and Pasquinelli, 2014; Hracs, 2015). Here, we are interested in how entrepreneurs working in precarious, individualised and under-resourced areas of the economy make space for their work and how they collaborate with other creatives and intermediaries to cope with precarity. Indeed, in a marketplace typically characterised by competition, insecurity, alienation, self-realisation, emotional and affective labour, self-exploitation and uncertainty, creative workers develop strategies and practices based on their individual characteristics, motivations and circumstances (Hesmondhalgh and Baker, 2010; Brydges and Hracs, 2019a; Banks, 2020). Analysing such practices and the role-specific spaces play helps us understand how knowledge creation and creativity are affected by relations between individuals, communities and organisations.

Several chapters in this book consider the practices and spatial dynamics associated with coworking and the myriad ways in which traditional and emerging cultural intermediaries, from gatekeepers to curators, can enable, support or constrain creativity and creative businesses in these spaces. In Chapter 5, for example, Merkel and Suwala look at technology parks and coworking spaces in Berlin to investigate how interactive atmospheres and communities can be fostered and how such environments contribute to the emergence of new ideas and different forms of working together. Complementing these finding, in Chapter 8 Capdevila focusses on how coworking spaces and practices found in urban centres, such as Barcelona, can be translated for and transported to rural settings.

With respect to the vital, yet often hidden, role played by cultural intermediaries, Comunian et al. (Chapter 9) demonstrate that many intermediaries continue to perform traditional roles such as ‘connecting producers and consumers’ and ‘taste-making’. However, in the wake of global competition, advances in digital technologies and shifting policy agendas they also highlight how the range of intermediary actors and functions in Africa have expanded to include providing space, finance, training and business advice which are central to enabling and sustaining creative endeavours. In Chapter 10 Jansson and Gavanas focus on the specific intermediary function of curation to help understand the evolution of electronic dance music in Stockholm. By comparing two contrasting eras, they analyse the role that intermediary pioneers, spaces and processes of resistance play in sorting, filtering and contextualising new (sub)cultural expressions. Finally, by looking at the role that crowdfunding and digital spaces can play in producing symbolic value, Rykkja and Hauge (Chapter 4) identify and explore collective dimensions within cultural and creative industries such as fashion while emphasising the growing centrality of the consumer.

The tension between tradition and innovation

Innovation is central to the competitiveness of cultural, goods, services and experiences (Pine and Gilmore, 2011). Indeed, innovation is constantly disrupting the value chains and processes of design, production, promotion, distribution, intermediation and consumption. Despite what appears to be an era of rapid and unprecedented growth and change, many within cultural and creative industries such as music, fashion and art cling to and celebrate roots steeped in local traditions, craft and heritage. For some industries and actors, a competitive edge lies in the decision not to change with the times, but instead to rely on storied reputations of quality that are deeply imbued in products and place and are difficult to replicate or upend. Thus, some producers, operating at global and local scales, generate value and distinction by invoking traditional values, techniques and spatial entanglements that cannot be scaled up, digitised or replicated (Jansson and Waxell, 2011; Crewe, 2013). This is where we see a tension between the speed of scalable production, often spurred by automation, and the deliberate slowness of traditional craftsmanship and the production of truly unique pieces.

Several chapters in this book e...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of figures
• List of tables
• List of contributors
• Acknowledgments
• 1 Introduction: exploring tensions in the creative economy
• 2 The field of fashion in the digital age: insights from global and ‘not-so-global’ fashion centres
• 3 Creative splintering and structural change in Leicester, UK
• 4 Crowdfunding and co-creation of value: the case of the fashion brand Linjer
• 5 Intermediaries, work and creativity in creative and innovative sectors: the case of Berlin
• 6 Technology as a source for creativity: insights from the Swiss fashion industry
• 7 Assessing values of cultural heritage and museums: a holistic framework
• 8 Spatial processes of translation and how coworking diffused from urban to rural environments: the case of Cowocat in Catalonia, Spain
• 9 Cultural intermediaries revisited: lessons from Cape Town, Lagos and Nairobi
• 10 Curated by pioneers, spaces and resistance: the development of electronic dance music in Stockholm
• Index