Creativity has become a popular buzzword in contemporary cultural policy, yet the term remains poorly understood. In this collection, cultural policy specialists together with experts on psychology, creative enterprise and arts education, consider how ‘creativity’ is defined in a variety of settings, from ‘creative management’ to ‘creative labour’.
The starting point of the book is to move beyond the notion that creativity is simply a product of extraordinary individuals and extraordinary thinking. In reality creativity draws together apparently contradictory thinking styles, processes and purposes which extend well beyond the mythical figure of the solitary genius.
This broad definition of creativity encompasses the contributions of managers, entrepreneurs and intermediaries to the creative process as well as the creativity of consumers and schoolchildren. In turn this implies a broad definition of cultural policy, taking in intellectual property law, education policy and corporate governance as well as policies towards the arts and creative industries.
This collection of articles offers new ways of thinking about creativity and about cultural policy. It will be of interest not only to students and practitioners of cultural policy but to anyone who is curious about the value and purpose of ‘creativity’ in contemporary culture.
This book was originally published as a special issue of International Journal of Cultural Policy.
Introduction Chris Bilton, University of Warwick, UK
1. The study of creativity: from genius to cognitive science Robert Weisberg, Temple University, USA
2. Manageable creativity Chris Bilton, University of Warwick, UK
3. ‘The most creative organization in the world’? The BBC, ‘creativity’ and managerial style Philip Schlesinger, University of Glasgow, UK
4. The English model of creativity: cultural politics of an idea Jonothan Neelands and Boyun Choe, University of Warwick, UK
5. Craft labour and creative industries Mark Banks, Open University, UK
6. Creative labour, cultural work and individualisation Jim McGuigan, Loughborough University, UK
7. The rise of ‘user creativity’ – Web 2.0 and a new challenge for copyright law and cultural policy Nobuko Kawashima, Doshisha University, Japan
8. The rise of the Trojan horses in the creative industries Erich Poettschacher, Shapeshifters Information Management GmbH, Austria
9. Social creativity: re-qualifying the creative economy Nick Wilson, King’s College London, UK
Biography
Dr Chris Bilton is Director of the Centre for Cultural Policy Studies at University of Warwick and course director of the Centre’s MA in Creative and Media Enterprises
