The Creative Industries: Ten Years After

The Creative Industries: Ten Years After
A one day symposium

Wednesday 27 February 2008
Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes.
Central Meeting Room 1

Organisers
Mark Banks, Department of Sociology/CRESC, The Open University
Justin O'Connor, Cultural and Media Industries Research Centre, University of Leeds.

In 1998 the recently created UK Department of Culture, Media and Sport added some popular glamour to New Labour’s modernising agenda by placing the newly named ‘creative industries’ – media, design and arts based enterprises - at the heart of the nation’s economic future. Very quickly the notion of ‘creative industries’ became a glittering ‘jewel in the crown’ of New Labour’s vision. The antecedents of 'creative industries', the so-called 'cultural industries' of the 1970s and 80s were carefully steered from view, as the use of the term 'creative industries' signalled a desire to harness cultural production to the new economic agenda.

What has happened in the decade since 1997? On the one hand the creative industries can be seen to have gone from strength to strength. The DCMS has re-launched its creative industry strategy with renewed vigour. The Creative Economy Programme sets out an ambitious strategy which once again places the creative industries at the heart of the UK’s economic future. The ‘UK model’ has been internationally exported, across Europe, and into territories as diverse as Australia, China and South Korea, shaping and being shaped by pre-existing policy frameworks, contributing to the rapid globalization of creative industry debate. Yet there are some hard questions to be asked and key issues to be addressed – this symposium attempts to address these issues and in doing so take forward an agenda for critical debate on the creative industries.

A series of invited key speakers will address the following themes:

• the historical formation and context of 'creative' industries;
• creative industry policy and the legacy of ‘New Labour’;
• creative industries and local and regional development;
• creative industries in comparative international contexts;
• the changing politics of creativity and creative industry work ;
• the future policy agenda for creative industries.

Speakers include: Justin O’Connor, David Hesmondhalgh (Leeds), Andy Pratt (LSE), Kate Oakley (City), Chris Bilton (Warwick), Mark Banks, Jason Toynbee (Open).

Attendance is free for Open University and CRESC students and staff, with a nominal charge of £15 for external attendees (coffee and lunch provided). Please contact Karen Ho k.d.ho@open.ac.uk by February 15th if you wish to register for this event.