‘SURGE TO MERGE’: Creative Industries & Cultural Regeneration

Thursday 17 March 2005, 6 – 7pm, Plymouth Arts Centre, UK

organised by Joasia Krysa, Geoff Cox (University of Plymouth) and Roslyn Porter (ICCI, UoP) in partnership with Plymouth Arts Centre

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SEMINAR

Speakers: Marta Herrero (Sociology of Culture, University of Plymouth), Kayla Parker (Sundog Media), Paul Kelly (Plymouth City Council), Chaired by Roslyn Porter (Innovation Centre for Creative Industries, University of Plymouth).

An increasing trend towards the new cultural economy establishing links between cultural and corporate sectors has been fashionably described under the term ‘creative industries’. Part of a wider political attempt to consolidate the UK’s position in the 90’s as the European financial services centre, this ‘surge to merge culture with the economy’ (Simon Ford & Anthony Davies, Art Monthly 2/98) positions culture at the centre of the marketing mix. In this context, the recent governmental focus on ‘creative industries’ became a re-branding exercise: ‘to boost the generation of wealth and employment in the creative industries and to increase creative activity and excellence in the UK'. In this way sections of the art world were transformed into thriving enterprise zones in which corporate and creative networks could interact, overlap and form alliances in ‘culture clubs’ dedicated to the networking of ‘culturepreneurs’ and the business community. How do creative practitioners respond to this recent shift; what are the challenges they face and what are the emerging opportunities for resistance? Does the role of ‘cultural brokers’ or ‘culturepreneurs’ sit comfortably with diverse creative practice?

This seminar aims to focus these themes in relation the local dynamics of cultural regeneration and the ‘Creative Plymouth’ initiative. It asks: what exactly is being regenerated in this scenario and what role cultural production, enterprise and digital technology have in this debate? Where does creativity sit within a model that seems to be determined by economic imperatives?

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BOOK LAUNCH

Economising Culture: On The digital Culture Industry (edited by Geoff Cox, Joasia Krysa, Anya Lewin; New York: Autonomedia, 2004) is the first book in the DATA browser series that aims to provide a critical response to current ideas and practices in digital art and technology. The book is launched to coincide with the seminar.

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The seminar is presented in conjunction with a two-day conference RIP MIX BURN: Cultural Industries Redefined, organised by BSc MediaLab Arts students (University of Plymouth), Plymouth Arts Centre, 17-18 March 2005.

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