Imaginary Success?—The Contentious Ascendance of Creativity

Abstract

This paper posits that a set of “creative industries” centred around cultural practice have played a key role within a dominant “economic imaginary” in recent years. The success and stability of this role is considered, and a coherent position regarding the nature of creativity is outlined. Examination of the “evidence” gathering projects used to bulwark this position, however, reveals how the data which emerge from such projects may no longer appropriately serve to support the position the creative industries have come to occupy within the dominant imaginary. It is argued that this imaginary persists in providing a coherent framework for understanding and for action, however, regardless of the contradictions it contains. A tangible example of this “imaginary success” is briefly considered within the UK context, via an examination of developments around the staging of the European Capital of Culture programme in Liverpool, England in 2008. In this case, it is also argued that apparent contradictions are successfully concealed by dominant positions regarding culture and creativity. In conclusion, some explanations for this state of affairs are considered, and it is argued that the increased attention being paid to cultural creativity may render the continued concealment of these contradictions untenable.

Acknowledgements

This research was carried out as part of an AHRC/ESRC Impact Fellowship in Cultural Policy and Regeneration. See: http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/FundedResearch/Pages/Impact FellowshipinCulturalPolicyandRegeneration.aspx.

Notes

1. “Cultural” in the sense relating to expressive, arts-related activity (cf. Campbell, 2011b, p. 20).

2. These were: advertising; architecture; arts and antiques; crafts; design; designer fashion; video, film and photography; music; the visual and performing arts; publishing; software, computer games and electronic publishing; radio and tv.

3. Historically, data regarding the “software, computer games & electronic publishing” segment of the creative industries grouping was gathered using Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes relating to the “reproduction from master copies of software and data on discs and tapes”, “development, production, supply and documentation of ready-made (non-customised) software”, and “analysis, design and programming of systems ready to use” (HMSO, 2002). Refinement from later SIC codes shows that the majority of employment relating to this segment of the creative industries falls under the heading “information technology consultancy activities” (ONS, 2009). The predominance of this activity is reflected by a DCMS commissioned report which shows that activity in this segment does not generally reflect companies whose main activities are bound up in expressive value or arts-related cultural forms, but rather that “some of the biggest players in the industry are Cap Gemini, Computacenter, Electronic Data Systems, Dimension Data, Misys, Logica CMG, Atos Origin, Capita Business Services, Siemens Business Services and IT solutions, Microsoft UK” (Frontier Economics, 2007, p.9). As a counterpoint, similar “example firms” named in the same report relating to other segments of the creative industries include Stella McCartney, Working Title Films, The Royal National Theatre and the BBC, whose remit is much more clearly related to the kind of expressive, cultural activity noted in the text.

4. The 2009 DCMS guidelines for outline proposals from bidding cities suggest a ten-page document, one page of which should focus on “economic objectives”, including an answer to the question, “What is the current strength of the creative economy/sector in your area and how will the UK City of Culture help boost this?” (DCMS, 2009, p. 7).

5. A recent London Development Agency report states that, “when its surrounding regions are included London can be seen to provide nearly 60% of UK creative employment” (2008, p. 30).

6. 1997 is used as the origin point for these figures as the year in which the “New Labour” party came to power, and, thus, the point at which the creative industries concept came to prominence within UK policy. It should also be noted that the 2010 data set this figure is derived from contains the following disclaimer: “Total [figures for creative industries GVA] excludes Crafts and Design as GVA figures are not available for these sectors”.