Flexibility in cultural production

Karimnia, Elahe

Flexibility in cultural production

Karimnia, Elahe

Authors

Dr Eli Karimnia [email protected]
Senior Lecturer in Critical Urban Practice

Contributors

Cecily Chua
Editor

Labeja Kodua Okullu
Editor

Marta Michalowska
Editor

Abstract

Flexibility, in the context of contemporary creative industries, has become a glamorised phenomenon, a buzzword used to illustrate an
ideal working condition for cultural producers. The growth in, the use of flexibility as a concept in urban discourse must be discussed in relation to the birth of creative industry and creative class in cities.1 Since the late 1990s, and particularly within the last decade, neoliberal policymakers have started to highlight their openness and willingness to accommodate creative industries, through various strategies and at different scales, as a means to instigate economic growth and increase competitiveness.
The types of cultural production that are considered part of the creative industries illustrate a polarised debate. Modern (neoliberal) capitalism has co-opted the idea of creativity, so that almost any desk-based job could be reframed as creative. This system expects workers to be flexible and to adapt to hostile and precarious working environments by promoting profit-driven individualism. Practices which might not fit into this sector-based, market-driven definition of the creative class, such as craftspeople, performers and industrial makers, often find adequate, affordable workspace difficult to obtain.

Publication Date	Mar 1, 2023
Deposit Date	Mar 8, 2023
Publicly Available Date	Apr 2, 2023
Edition	TM Edition
Book Title	Urban Backstages
ISBN	978-1-3999-4017-7
Keywords	Cultural Infrastructure, Creative city, Creative workspace
Public URL	https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10525063
Publisher URL	https://theatrum-mundi.org/shop/urban-backstages/