Springer The Industrialization of Creativity and Its Limits: Values, Politics and Lifestyles of Contemporary Cultural Economies (Science, Technology and Innovation Studies)

Creativity loosely refers to activities in the visual arts, music, design, film and performance that are primarily intended to produce forms of affect and social meaning. Yet, over the last few decades, creativity has also been explicitly mobilized by governments around the world as a ‘resource’ for achieving economic growth. The creative economy discourse emphasizes individuality, innovation, self-fulfillment, career advancement and the idea of leading exciting lives as remedies to social alienation. This book critically assesses that discourse, and explores how political shifts and new theoretical frameworks are affecting the creative economy in various parts of the world at a time when creative industries are becoming increasingly ‘industrialized.’ Further, it highlights how work inequalities, oligopolistic strategies, competitive logics and unsustainable models are inherent weaknesses of the industrial model of creativity. The interdisciplinary contributions presented here address the operationalization of creative practices in a variety of geographical contexts, ranging from the UK, France and Russia, to Greece, Argentina and Italy, and examine issues concerning art biennials, museums, DIY cultures, technologies, creative writing, copyright laws, ideological formations, craft production and creative co-ops.     From the Back Cover Creativity loosely refers to activities in the visual arts, music, design, film and performance that are primarily intended to produce forms of affect and social meaning. Yet, over the last few decades, creativity has also been explicitly mobilized by governments around the world as a ‘resource’ for achieving economic growth. The creative economy discourse emphasizes individuality, innovation, self-fulfillment, career advancement and the idea of leading exciting lives as remedies to social alienation. This book critically assesses that discourse, and explores how political shifts and new theoretical frameworks are affecting the creative economy in various parts of the world at a time when creative industries are becoming increasingly ‘industrialized.’ Further, it highlights how work inequalities, oligopolistic strategies, competitive logics and unsustainable models are inherent weaknesses of the industrial model of creativity. The interdisciplinary contributions presented here address the operationalization of creative practices in a variety of geographical contexts, ranging from the UK, France and Russia, to Greece, Argentina and Italy, and examine issues concerning art biennials, museums, DIY cultures, technologies, creative writing, copyright laws, ideological formations, craft production and creative co-ops.     About the Author Ilya Kiriya is Professor and Chair of the School of Media, Faculty of Communication, Media and Design at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow, Russia). He holds a PhD in information and communication science from Grenoble Stendhal University (France) and second PhD in journalism from the Moscow State University. His research interests are in the political economy of media and communication, concentration, capital and industrial strategies of big media companies and conglomerates in field of media and public sphere structures in post-soviet countries.  Panos Kompatsiaris is Assistant Professor of Art and Media at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow, Russia). He holds a PhD in art theory from the University of Edinburgh, and has published on art and cultural politics in various journals and edited volumes, including a monograph titled 'The Politics of Contemporary Art Biennials' (Routledge, 2017). He is a co-editor of a special journal issue on art and value with the Journal of Cultural Economy. Yiannis Mylonas is Assistant Professor at the Media Department of the National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow, Russia). He hold