Foresight
Deeper Collaboration
Partnerships shift to become more dynamic, long-term, democratised, multi-party collaborations.…
Read moreTitle: Creative Economy
Author: Future Agenda | https://www.futureagenda.org
Permalink:
https://www.futureagenda.org/foresights/creative-economy/
The creative economy helps to build inclusive and sustainable cultures. What’s more, it generates wealth. To build scale it requires a workforce comfortable with collaboration, critical thinking and the ability to take a risk.
Publishing, film, television, music production, broadcasting, architecture, advertising, visual and performing arts are all part of the creative economy. Together many now see these industries not only as a vital part of the new knowledge economy but also as capable of revitalising depressed areas and building cultural heritage. While many other sectors are suffering, creative individuals are blending culture and technology to generate jobs and build organisations based on generating social value and inclusion. The creative industry is increasingly profitable; in the UK the industry generates £8.8 million an hour. It is also increasingly influential, attracting tourists, enhancing the overall cultural life of citizens and acting as a focus for social cohesion, irrespective of age, geography and religious belief.
The creative economy has an abundance of renewable resources, using knowledge, experience and imagination to generate value and create goods and services that can often be developed, bought and sold, and even delivered online. Those who work creatively generally fare much better in cities where they can easily meet and collaborate with likeminded individuals: Hollywood, Mumbai and Lagos for the film industry, Seoul for electronics and digital media, New York and London for the performing arts. Artists of all kinds however are often poorly paid, so, despite their importance to economic growth and the vitality of neighbourhoods, rising rents and high living costs often means those in the industry do not have the funds to live in the very cities they enhance. Affordability is therefore key; hence the ongoing need for continued government or philanthropic support.
Artistic centres often act as magnets to attract other professionals, who want to be involved in and enjoy the creative arts as a form of relaxation. The Museo Soumaya, now the most visited museum in Mexico, acted as a catalyst to the transformation of Plaza Carso from a rundown industrial wasteland into one of the most sought-after areas of Mexico City. Sometimes the effects of an artistic community can last for generations, take Paris’s left bank for example which still attracts thousands keen to catch a whiff of the bohemian counterculture belonging to Collette, Henri Matisse and Jean Paul Sartre. Some cities try to recreate this, subsidised rents in Dublin’s Temple Bar have been used to attract musicians and film-makers and other core creatives. Even Singapore, not yet widely known for its cultural endeavours, has classified an area of the city-state as a creative zone.
Read more8.8 Million
Generated by UK creative economy every an hour
698 billion
Value of creative industries to US economy
From
The World In 2025