SEMINAR: After New Labour

CCI is delighted to invite you to a seminar with Kate Oakley, writer, academic and policy analyst on

After New Labour: Examining the development of policy towards the creative industries in the UK

Abstract
This talk examines the development of policy towards the creative industries in the UK in the period 1997–2009. It argues that this should be seen in the light of New Labour’s understanding of the knowledge economy, an understanding that influenced its development of education and social policy, as well as economic policy. My argument is that New Labour’s account of the knowledge economy was a deterministic one, which took its cue from what it believed to be long-term social and economic trends. This allowed it to produce an essentially benign account of knowledge-based economic development, which allowed for a variety of policy aspirations to be contained within ‘creative industries,’ :
• the creative industries were capable of producing ‘good work’, which offered opportunities for highly skilled labour
• because of their links to popular culture, they could offer inclusion through work, for women, ethnic minorities and the working class
• the attachment of creative industries to specific places, was taken to mean that the UK may be able to address its long-term problems of regional imbalance
• the importance of networks in creative industries was that not only were they a way of organising the labour market; but their reliance on social capital, trust, and ethical norms, meant they could produce citizens, as well as workers.

I will examine these aspirations, both in terms of the politics of New Labour, and their legacy and ask which, if any, of them will inform the development of creative industries policy in future.

Bio
Kate Oakley is a writer, academic and policy analyst. She is a Visiting Professor at the Department of Cultural Policy and Management, City University in London, where she is Course Director of the MA in Cultural Leadership. She is also a Visiting Professor at the University of the Arts in London.

She was the co-editor, together with Lisa Andersen, of Making Meaning, Making Money, New Directions for the Arts in the Creative Age.’ Other recent publications include: the Art of Innovation, a study of the changing work practices of arts graduates, From Bohemia to Britart – Art Students over 50 years, and, Art Works, a review of the literature on cultural and creative labour markets, published by Creativity, Culture and Education, 2009.

Her research interests include the politics of cultural policy, work in the cultural industries, and regional development. Current project include: a three-year study of volunteering in the heritage sector; an examination of apprenticeships and work placements in cultural labour markets, and an evaluation of the social and economic impacts of the Royal Opera House’s Production Park.