The area or professional arena where you would like to introduce change
The area I have chosen to create my change in are the Creative Industries in general, though I think as I go through this project it will be narrowed down to only a few of them. I am particularly interested in film, visual arts, fashion, literature/poetry (for now).
The Creative Industries are an important part of the world’s economy and have become more so each year that passes. However, big companies continue to gatekeep access to creatives choosing projects that in most cases benefit only a commercial objective, ignoring other talented creatives wishing to share their visions and stories with the world. Industries like Film, Art, Editorial and Fashion are limited to just a few visions selected by the companies who run the Creative Industries.
There are a number of journal papers dedicated to researching the importance of the Creative Industries in the economy of the different countries. For example, Jo Foord in his paper Strategies for creative industries: an international review states that: “The proliferation of designated creative places in recent years is testi- mony to policy practitioners’ (and politicians’) belief that almost regardless of local conditions they too can mobilize creativity to transform their economies
and communities. “ In the paper it is also mentioned that “creative firms and employment are growing faster than those in any other sector. Measured in terms of employment change and gross domestic product (GDP)/gross value added (GVA) growth rates, creative industries were presented as important both in absolute terms and as a rising proportion of national and regional economies. Creative employment was identified as most significant at city level, indicating not only the high concentration of creative enterprise in cities but also the competitive importance of particu- lar creative cities (cities with higher than national levels of creative employment).”
It is interesting to see this definition of the Creative Industries mentioned by John Montgomery (2007) in his paper Creative industry business incubators and managed workspaces: A review of best practice: “Since 1998, the creative industries have been recognized in UK government official data as ‘those industries which have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent and which have a potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property’ (DCMS, 1998).” Notice particularly the word exploitation which has been a trend within the Creative Industries and more so in recent years, where creatives are immensley underpaid even when working for a big company. In many cases a creative has to have more than one job or projects at the same time just to be able to pay bills.
However, the Creative Industries not only contribute to the world’s economy but also in a more cultural level they influence the minds of people, create trends and communicates messages (possitive or negative), they are extemeley powerful and used negatively they han do a lot of harm.
In my personal experience the Creative Industries have helped me form many opinions, they have shaped my style, in ways even my personality. They have made me aware of different issues and made me feel some kind
of way toward this issues. They have helped me learn about so many different things from history, to feminism, to arquitecture or even religion. And generally there is some kind of emotion attached to this learning, which is one hundred percent done consciously by whoever is doing the creative product.
This is the reason why I have chosen this particular area for my project. I believe that if we put more effort to put out there meaninful creative projects and stories of creatives that are interested in making some change the audiences can be influenced in a way that creates some possitive change in the world.
What kind of change is possible or desirable?
What I’m looking to change is a process within the creation of projects. I want to facilitate the process of getting financial funding for creative projects.
The Stakeholders
For this project there would be dual stakeholders The Creatives and The Investors. So, I am looking to partner creatives with meaningful projects with investors interested in getting involved in a creative endeavor. Helping the creatives avoid the tedious bureaucracy when applying for funding through the government or other organizations. And for the investors I would help them avoid the searching process of looking for a project or person they are interested in.
Would they welcome/oppose it?
Through both a survey and personal interviews I have been able to talk to a few creatives from different disciplines (film, writers, artists, designers) and the response to the idea has been very positive, they believe it would benefit them greatly, help keep them motivated as the process of getting funding can be very unmotivating and hopeless. For the investors I do need to do a little more research but from the ones I have talked to, who have been successful people working in finance, law and real estate that have previously funded creative projects and have an interest in doing so in the future. They have told me as well that this project could help them save time while looking for projects or people to help out, and that they would be very interested in trying it out.
The Project
I imagine it now as a sort of dating app where on one side creatives will upload their portfolios and ongoing projects and the investors will also upload their portfolios and their interests and maybe the level of involvement that they would like to have in a project. A personalized pairing will be made between creative and investor depending on the project and their particular interests resulting in hopefully a productive partnership for both stakeholders.
Why is this change desirable?
Through this change creatives will be able to focus more on actually creating and working with investors that are interested in their projects and what they have to say. They will be able to create without compromises and changes, it will create projects that are more pure and true, that hopefully will inspire to make the world better.
The Process
Throughout the past months when I have been analyzing and trying to bring this project from an idea in my head to the real world I have been talking to a lot of people. My tutors and professors at the CSM but also my colleagues in the MA trying to get their input, listen to the way this idea makes them feel, and the original idea has slowly evolved into something new.
During the break I travelled with some family on an amazing trip through Italy, visiting many museums, galleries and walking around different cities. Interestingly enough learning about these artists from the Renaissance and understanding the way they made their “creative projects” made me start thinking in the funding part of it all. Many groundbreaking artists didn’t have money throughout their lives and only became famous towards the end of their lives or after they died. Others where employed by rich and powerful families obligated to do what this families demanded of them. In this case, it was so interesting to see how they put in little elements as act of rebelliousness so even though they weren’t doing particularly what they wanted their creations still had some hidden twist that represented the artists.
This made me think that the exploitation of creativity is definitely not a new thing. But isn’t it time it stopped? Specially since we have all this history as evidence that this is something that happens. Shouldn’t we change this?
Throughout the process of researching this process I read a lot about talent management, because I think that this project might have some elements of talent management that will be necessary. I found out some interesting things through these texts particularly that within the traditional business of talent management there is a point in which the artists and creatives become dehumanized they are no longer viewed as people with talents, and skills and feelings but their viewed as a kind of product that will give you money.
Final Comments
After the Dragon’s Den and doing more research and talking to other people I am now seriously questioning if this is the right path of action for my project. I hadn’t previously understood the implications of working with funding and the finance aspect of it all. Seeing it more clearly now I need to think about this a bit more and maybe redirect my project again. Unfortunately, the rest of the investigation had already been made but I believe this is all part of the process and learning and creating this project, especially since I am way out of my comfort and knowledge zone with this project.
I will of course take into account everything researched and learned throughout the last month and consider it for the evolution of my project. I’m sure it will help me give it structure and make it even more solid in the end.
Bibliography
Books and Articles
DeFillippi, Robert, and Patrik Wikström. International Perspectives on Business Innovation and Disruption in the Creative Industries: Film, Video and Photography. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2014.
Foord, Jo. “Strategies for Creative Industries: An International Review.” Creative Industries Journal, vol. 1, no. 2, 2009, pp. 91–113. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1386/cij.1.2.91_1.
Hearn, Greg, et al. Creative Work Beyond the Creative Industries: Innovation, Employment and Education. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2014.
Henry, Colette. Entrepreneurship in the Creative Industries: An International Perspective. 1st ed., Edward Elgar Publishing, 2008.
Macdonald, Thea. Archives and Exhibitions in Fashion Businesses. Van Haren Publishing, 2019.
Montgomery, John. “Creative Industry Business Incubators and Managed Workspaces: A Review of Best Practice.” Planning Practice and Research, vol. 22, no. 4, 2007, pp. 601–17. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1080/02697450701770126.
Morrow, Guy. Artist Management: Agility in the Creative and Cultural Industries (Discovering the Creative Industries). 1st ed., Routledge, 2018.
Raviola, Elena, and Peter Zackariasson. Arts and Business: Building a Common Ground for Understanding Society (Routledge Research in the Creative and Cultural Industries). 1st ed., Routledge, 2018.
Hill, Linda. Becoming a Manager: How New Managers Master the Challenges of Leadership. 1st ed., Harvard Business Review Press, 2019.
Siegler, Bonnie. Dear Client: This Book Will Teach You How to Get What You Want from Creative People. Artisan, 2018.
Brown, B. Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. VERMILION, 2018.
Dries, Nicky. “The Psychology of Talent Management: A Review and Research Agenda.” Human Resource Management Review, vol. 23, no. 4, 2013, pp. 272– 85. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2013.05.001.
Cappelli, Peter. (2008). Talent management for the twenty-first century. Harvard business review. 86. 74-81, 133.
Guin, K. Ursula Le, and Martín Schifino. CONTAR ES ESCUCHAR: Sobre La Escritura,La Lectura,La Imaginación (Spanish Edition). 1st ed., Círculo de Tiza, 2017.
Podcasts
Cowan, Katy. “The Creative Boom”. Apple Podcasts.
Tovey, Russell and Diament, Robert. “talk Art”. Apple Podcasts.
Gannon, Emma. “Ctrl Alt Delete”. Apple Podcasts.