Transcript Watching them watching us: Why is the world so interested in

Watching Them
Watching Us
Phil Wood
Watching Them
Watching Us
Why is the world so interested in
British ideas about creativity?
What can Britain learn from it?
Watching Them
Watching Us
United States
Norway
Russia
Conclusions for the UK
United States
Didn’t they invent the
Creative Economy?
United States
In 2002 America produced $626 billion worth of
creative products and services
Growth 1997-2002 exceeded growth in the US
economy as a whole by 46%
Employment grew at 27% more than US
economy as a whole
Copyright became America’s number one
export
or
CORE
COPYRIGHT
United States
REASONS FOR THE INTEREST
•Economic restructuring
•Global competition
•Local/regional consciousness
•Search for new ideas
•Richard Florida
United States
RISE OF THE CREATIVE CLASS
•Quasi-scientific/evidence-based
•League tables
•City competitiveness
•Linked tech/cultural industries/arts
United States
ISSUES
•Isolationalism isn’t working
•Policy stagnation
•Lack of federal leadership
•Separation of business and culture
•Urban sprawl
•FLIGHT of the Creative Class
Norway
KIRKENES
1600 miles
OSLO
Norway
REASONS FOR THE INTEREST
•At a national turning point
•Strong economy – uncertain course
•Isolation from mainstream
•Depopulation/deindustrialisation
•Tourism/image/branding
Percent change in
CI Employment at
municipal level
(figures in brackets the
number of Nordic
municipalities in this range)
Source: Dominic Power
Norway
ISSUES
•Local not national leadership
•Regeneration not arts-led
•In/out – North/South – new/old economy
Russia
MOSCOW
ARKHANGEL’SK
NORILSK
“hell on earth” (The Guardian)
Russia
REASONS FOR INTEREST
•Economic restructuring
•New economic spaces
•City/regional consciousness
•Vulnerability of Russian culture
•Survival of public cultural infrastructure
•Ability to visit the West
Russia
ISSUES
•Lack of internal market/community of taste
•Access to external markets
•Anti-globalisation tendency
•Lack of security
•No bohemian tradition
•Limited spatial awareness
Common
Factors
•Economic change
•Isolation/distance
•Perceived threat
•Local v global culture
•Demographic change
•Lack of national leadership
•How to move beyond cultural tourism?
Lessons for
the UK
•Acknowledge our achievement
•Policy-making one of our best exports
•A bridgehead for other exports
•From Creative Economy to
Creative Society?