In the last decade the Creative Industries strategy has brought with it a new wave of “specialisms”, specialist organisations, consultants and policy-makers. In that time politicians, the media and creative industry leaders have refurnished the prevailing bureau-speak with terms such as “creative nation”, “creativity-led regeneration” and “creative economy” to name but a few. But is our ‘creative’ paradigm too narrow?
UK Minister for Culture, Media and Sport, Tessa Jowell recently observed: “In 1997 there were less than 200 mentions of the “creative industries” in newspapers. By last year there were almost 1,500…The global market value of the creative industries increased from $831 billion in 2000 to $1.3 trillion in 2005; more than 7% of global GDP.”
The creative industries have been designated “leader-industries” and the champions of regeneration as a result of the declining UK primary and manufacturing industries. In the last 50 years industrial Britain has undergone a huge shift; from being a major producer of both manufactured and raw materials to a producer of intellectual property and its associated products – the Creative Industries, or CI’s, now forming the very backbone of British business and prosperity.
American academic Richard Florida, and author of The Rise of the Creative Class, famously claimed cultural and creative diversity was the lifeblood of a region. “Cities don’t need shopping malls…to be economically successful, they need eccentric and creative people,” And many governments have responded to he said.
In 1997, Prime Minister Tony Blair founded the Creative Industries Task Force (CITF) in Britain to aid policy development. The definition of CI’s adopted by the Task Force was as follows: “Those industries that have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent and which have a potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property.” This definition encompasses industries as diverse as advertising, craft, film, architecture, visual art, design, fashion, the media, music, the performing arts, publishing, software and computer games as well as science and technology.
As a further response to these ‘rise’ of creative industry, the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) was set up in 1998 to support innovation in these sectors. Extensive support from the National Lottery Foundation (NLF) has made it one of the most potent catalysts for innovation in the UK, putting, in the words of Jowell, “culture right at the heart of change.”
The Regeneration Movement has been an integral part of the UK’s Creativity and Innovation Strategy. The regeneration agenda has focused squarely on the task of rescuing regional and metropolitan areas from social and economic downward spirals. The success of the culturally enhanced cities of Newcastle and Liverpool and cultural landmarks such as; Tate Modern in London, The Lowry in Salford and BALTIC in Gateshead – have often been cited. Projects such as these have been used to enhance Britain’s capacity to (as one insider put it) “change horses elegantly”.
Tate Modern has delivered an estimated economic benefit of around £100 million, created 3,000 new jobs, of which 467 are directly related to the gallery; and a 23 per cent increase in local hotels and catering businesses over four years. Similar figures have been quoted for The Eden project in Cornwall and The Lowry.
Some detractors have criticised ‘the creative industry sell’ stating (unfashionably) that all the festivals in the world cannot put “Humpty together again”. Whilst others warn that there is still an urgent need to regenerate industry on many levels – not just the “creative” ones. In a nation where many specialist and arcane skills (developed over centuries) are lost on a daily basis, they may be some relevance in these assesments.
It is indeed difficult to predict outcomes and to compete in an increasingly complex global market. But it’s fair to say there is still value in championing the ability to create, not just be creative. The skills related to sustainable agriculture, animal husbandry and forestry as well as traditional crafts and apprenticeship-based professions are no less creative or important than the arts. Not everyone has the desire, skill or determination to be an artist. Some people are incredibly creative engineers, chefs, teachers or boilermakers. Perhaps these “Lost World” skills need to be viewed anew through Florida’s prism?
Possibly it’s really about the capacity to see the creative and innovative potential of all fields of human endeavour, and to support innovation across the board.
