Creative Economy: A Feasible Development Option

1Concept and context of the creative economy1.1.11 Cultural and creative commonsThere are a multiplicity of applications of theCommons theory, and despite the lack of agreement on adefinition, the concept has been increasingly used on valuesthat relate to culture. A cultural commons is found when agroup of people share an identity, as in the case of language,customs and styles as well as rites and traditions. It is locatedin time and space, either physical or virtual, and shared bya socially cohesive community. 23 As a system of intellectualresources available in a geographical or virtual area, a culturalcommons is the evolution of the more traditional culturaldistrict or cluster. Whether an image of a city, a local languageor an artistic movement, a cultural commons is recognizedin living cultures as the oral and intangible heritage ofhumanity. Living cultures are constantly changing. However,those who work against the local culture, particularly in pursuitof financial enrichment, can pose a challenge to the conceptof cultural commons, and in certain cases become aneconomic and a socio-political threat to the status quo. Suchis the case in some African rural areas that are remote fromthe centre of political and economic power and thus cut offfrom the main market opportunities. 24 This suggests a needto further explore the relationship between cultural commonsand cultural districts on both the theoretical and practicallevels.In the digital world, the concept of creative commonscontinues to gain ground with the growing importance ofmobile phones, emails, blogs and highly collaborative Webapplications. Social networks and communities of usersinteract on virtual platforms, opening up new frontiers ininformation sharing, property rights and other fields relatedto the globalization of virtual networks and processes. Fromthe economic and legal point of view, the debate over regulatingthese new value creation channels, points to a need torevisit issues related to the distribution of rights and responsibilities.It is likely to require a shift of focus from a traditionalproperty rights approach to a long-term perspective inwhich benefits are generated by collective action and by creativitysharing. 25 This issue is further examined in chapter 6.The recent trend towards “creativity in collaboration”rests on the notion that creativity is essentially a socialprocess, not only involving individuals, but also a specificsocio-cultural domain of knowledge and a field. As perCsikszentmihalyi’s systems model of creativity, the domain isa constituent factor in creativity, 26 although it is importantto keep in mind that domains change. Thus, collaborationwith others seems to be the rule in creative process, sinceevery creative idea builds on previous ideas of others. In thiscontext, it could be argued that important developments inthe arts are possible because of intensive cooperation or cocreation,as is the case in theatre, film, ballet, jazz improvisationand new media. 27 In chapter 6, issues related to creativecollaboration is further elaborated.1.1.12 Experience economyThe term “the experience economy” appeared in 1999in the title of a book by B. Joseph Pine II and James H.Gilmore. 28 A similar idea was explored in another 1999book entitled The Dream Society, by Rolf Jensen from theCopenhagen Institute for Futures Studies in Denmark. Theconcept builds on the idea that in the near future, peoplewould be willing to allocate high percentages of their salariesin order to have amazing life experiences. Their desire foremotional experiences would be linked to the consumptionof creative products and services that should be highlyspecified and differentiated, as compared to a simple commoditybusiness. Having gotten its start in the Scandinaviancountries, the concept is gradually being more widely assimilated,as evidenced by the growing sense that creativebusinesses must orchestrate memorable events for theircustomers. The enriching experience would in turn be associatedwith a customized lifestyle, status and the use of certainbrands. This approach recognizes the difference between thepleasure and experience of going to an opera hall for aperformance versus listening to an opera CD at home. Itappreciates and capitalizes on the fact that when people go toa restaurant, they go not just for the food, but for the multifacetedexperience of enjoying an evening in a charming atmosphere,with good wine, company, conversation, music, etc.From the economic perspective, the experience economycould be seen as a natural progression in the value-added23 Several research papers were debated at the first international workshop on cultural commons, organized by the Silvia Santagata Research Centre in collaborationwith the University of Turin, Italy, in January 2010.24 Bocchino and Murpheree (2010).25 Carbone and Trimarchi (2010).26 Csikszentmihalyi (1999).27 Oostwoud Wijdenes (2009).28 Pine and Gilmore (1999).18 CREATIVE ECONOMY REPORT 2010