The political possibilities of art and fashion based social enterprise

Abstract

Social enterprise is a growing force in the Australian economy, with great potential for local job-creation and stimulating new entrepreneurship across the service, manufacturing and retail industries. However, the sector also has a ‘dark side’ – whereby its social welfare agendas are sidelined in favour of profit-driven motives, the outsourcing of government services and perpetuation of inequalities between those that manage and those that benefit from the enterprises. In this light, it is perhaps not surprising that social enterprise literature has emerged predominantly from the field of business management, resulting in an over-representation of perspectives that privilege the economic, and technocratic, aspects of social entrepreneurship. This is particularly problematic in the context of the arts, which often challenge, transform and exceed conventional understandings of social value. This paper explores the potential role of art- and fashion-based social enterprises in contributing to sustainable community development while also activating positions of critique and political engagement from inside the mechanisms of contemporary capitalism.

Notes

1. This is evident in the Australian Federal Government’s policies on social procurement in 2010 and the Victorian Government’s announcement of a dedicated Social Enterprise Development and Investment Fund in 2011 (DPCD 2010; DEEWR 2011).

2. The creative industries model brings together economic activity with the radical, creative disruption that characterizes artistic practices (O’Connor, with Cunningham, and Jaaniste 2011). While there is much uncertainty and ambiguity about exactly what constitutes the creative industries, there is no doubt that they involve the production, distribution and sale of artistic and creative work across fields of design, media and visual art production (UNCTAD 2008). They represent an evolutionary development of the ‘culture industry’ of the 1960s as theorized by Theodor Adorno and the Frankfurt school and defined by the rise of mass media and the homogenization of popular visual culture (Adorno 1991).

3. Comparing the emergence of social enterprise across seven regions and countries worldwide, Janelle A Kerlin writes, ‘The general theme underlying the emergence of social enterprise in all of the seven regions and countries is weak state social programs or funding, due to either the retreat or poor function of the state. The United States, Western and East-Central Europe, as well as South America all experienced, to differing degrees, a withdrawal of state support in the 1980s and/or 1990s’. In ‘A comparative Analysis of the Global Emergence of Social Enterprise’, Voluntas, No. 21 (2010), 162–179, 167.

4. The Australian Bureau of Statistics Migration Review in 2007 noted this surge in Sudanese migration, reporting, ‘Between 1996–97 and 2005–2006, the country of birth composition of humanitarian migrants changed as a response to changing international circumstances. Over the past few years, people born in Sudan and Iraq have had the highest number of Humanitarian Program migrants. In 2003–2004, 38% of all humanitarian migrants (or around 4,500 people) were born in Sudan. In 2005–2006, over one-fifth (22%) of humanitarian migrants (3,700 people) were from Sudan with a further 11% coming from Iraq’. (ABS, 2007)

5. The group states: ‘The Pacific Women's Weaving circle is a dynamic space where Pacific Island women come together every fortnight to share traditional craft skills in a fun and relaxed environment. The Weaving Circle is dedicated to sharing cultural knowledge, continuing ancient handicrafts and building strong relationships, beginning with local Pacific Island women’ (PWWC Website, 2011).