Renewing the Republic by Michael D. Higgins

Author:Michael D. Higgins [Michael D. Higgins]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781909718715
Publisher: Liberties Press
Published: 2014-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

11.

Culture, Creativity, Community and the Creative Industries

The debate currently under way as to the relationship between creativity, culture and the economy, and the consequences such relationships may have for citizenship, is of fundamental importance. It is a debate that raises core issues as to democracy itself, the participation of citizens, the quality of life, and the nature of human activity in general and work in particular.

In recent times, the discourse has reflected the fact that so many economies are in recession. What were previously policy discussions about the arts, about cultural policy, have changed into fascinating projections as to the economic value of what are now called the creative industries.

Within this definition of creative industries lie the traditional practices of the arts, but in the transition from arts, through culture, to creative industries, not only has the net of what is included been extended, but there is a tendency to discuss what was previously a cultural matter, or even a citizenship matter, as something that can be appropriately considered by existing economic measures. It is as if within the cultural space, a terra nova of the creative industries has suddenly been discovered. This raises of course the issue as to whether we are seeking to build a strong cultural space, enabling creativity to emerge within it, for citizens in general and for people of all ages, or are we alternatively colonising a previously relatively free space of human activity for the economic benefit of the few rather than the many.

There is of course an alternative view, one that suggests that we must seek to straddle both these options. A recent article by Heather McClean describes such an exercise in the city of Toronto. In her account of the debates for the mayoralty of Toronto in 2010, she presents a fascinating account of the presentations of three of the four front-running mayoral candidates: Rocco Rossi, George Smitherman and Joe Pantalone. All three offered proposals which she described as ‘neo-liberal urban policies celebrating the mythical ideal of an artistic and inclusive, yet competitive and business-friendly ‘creative city’:

The creative city script is a ‘third way’ policy model for urban politicians followed closely by the outgoing Toronto Mayor David Miller and left-leaning city council: it glosses over competitive market-friendly policies with a sophisticated, urbane and progressive veneer – neo-liberalism with a hip and urban face.

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