Flexibility in cultural production

Karimnia, Elahe

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.

Citation

Karimnia, E. (2023). Flexibility in cultural production. In C. Chua, L. Kodua Okullu, & M. Michalowska (Eds.), Urban Backstages. (TM Edition). London: Theatrum Mundi

• 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/