Asian Creative Transformations

In 2010 the projects Development of the Creative Industries in China, and CI and the Development Agenda concluded, and Asian Creative Transformations became the new project vehicle with some changes in team personnel. ACT is led by Michael Keane and Jo Tacchi. The ACT project is based around the three key words: ‘Asian’, ‘creative’ and ‘transformations’.

ACT addresses several disciplinary approaches and interests, reflecting the interests of CCI researchers, not only within ACT but more broadly. ACT has three layers of engagement which are crucial in understanding cultural, social and political transformation in Asia.

Policy and institutions: this layer illustrates the role of national, regional and local governments, as well as international and inter-governmental agencies, in applying the ideas of creativity and innovation to economic and social development agendas.

Creative spaces, enterprise and enabling technologies: This layer is concerned with the delivery and communication mechanisms from and between government and business to people and communities, and vice versa.

Everyday use and applications: At the level of everyday applications, there are disparities not only in access and engagement with different infrastructures, technologies and devices but also in ideas and practices of use.

Progress in 2010
In April 2010 the Creative Industries in China project sponsored a highly successful research forum in Brisbane called Building the Creative Environment. As well as speakers from CCI/QUT (Keane, O’Connor, Gu, Hearn) and Sydney: Dan Hill (Arup), speakers came from PR China: Zhang Xiaoming, Lhamo Yeshi, Hui Ming (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences), Fan Zhou, Qi Yongfeng (Communication University of China); Qiu Dailun, Peter Han (Foshan Creative Industries Park); Zeng Fanying (Beijing Academy of Science and Technology); from Shanghai: Marina Guo (Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences); from Qingdao: Ma Da (Creative 100); from Taiwan: Chen Yi-wen, Wang Mei-ya, (NCCU); from Hong Kong: Desmond Hui (Chinese University of Hong Kong) and from Japan: Mitsuhiro Takemura and David Wright (Sapporo City University). Speakers also presented in a concurrent high level forum on ‘Creative Business in Asia’ in the Creative 3 event held at Southbank.

Jo Tacchi was an invited presenter at the National Consultation on Community Radio Policy in India on 13-15 December 2010, at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), New Delhi. This Consultation was supported by the Indian Government’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and UNESCO.

Pilot study funding was awarded from Intel Corporation for a comparative study in India, US and Australia of ‘Technologies of Attachment’. This pilot explores the intimate nature of mobile and other communication technologies, and their links to emotional states and relationships. It is likely to lead to one or two large research projects in collaboration with Intel’s User Experience Group. Tacchi and Intel collaborator Dr Kathi Kitner presented a co-authored paper on ‘Technological Justice’ at the Association of Internet Researchers 2010 conference in Gothenburg, Sweden in October, drawing on data from this pilot study.

Research collaborations were explored in India with the Mudra Institute of Communication (MICA) and further developed with the Sarojini Naidu School of Arts & Communication at the University of Hyderabad. Research collaborations were deepened with Communication University of China (CUC), the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), and the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS). The CCI was a partner in the 5th Creative China Harmonious World Conference hosted by CUC in Beijing on 19-20 October 2009. Michael Keane, John Hartley, and Terry Flew were keynote speakers at this event. Hartley and Keane were also keynote speakers at a Global Cities Conference at Beijing Academy of Sciences and Technology in September. Keane presented at the Creativity in a Global Perspective Conference in Shanghai, organised by the Copenhagen Business School and Fudan University.

Plans for 2011
Further competitive grants are in preparation, including larger projects growing out of the Technologies of Attachment pilot, mentioned above. In addition we are having negotiations re a study of human capital in creative enterprises between Australia and China (targeted for Linkage). In India, we are looking at developing research collaborations around digital and mobile communication with Mudra Institute of Communication (MICA), and community media with the Sarojini School of Arts and Communication. We are developing a data base of international contacts and collaborations in Asia for the second stage. We plan to publish a second book in the series International Perspectives on the Creative Economy with the Chinese Academy of Social Science (the first was edited by Zhang Xiaoming and Michael Keane in 2009). We are also planning a book from the April forum Building the Creative Environment, some of this will appear in the CASS book project as well). We are consolidating our engagement with Shanghai and with the Shanghai Theatre Academy, as well as CUC in Beijing.

Impact
Lucy Montgomery’s book China's Creative Industries: Copyright, Social Network Markets and the Business of Culture in a Digital Age was published by Edward Elgar Press. Keane translated a book into English by senior policy advisor in China Li Wuwei called Creativity is Changing China (forthcoming with Bloomsbury Academic); CCI investigators Hartley and Keane featured in Chinese media. Hartley was the subject of an article in The People’s Daily following the CUC conference 8-9 October; Keane conducted a one hour interview on China Radio International on Beijing’s creative industries on July 10 and in panel discussion on China’s Internet on The Scoop (Fairfax) on February 10th.

New Knowledge Generated
In 2010 we saw a crossover into the new project area (ACT). New knowledge from this project will be identified in the next report. The Development of the Creative Industries in China project has made substantial contributions to knowledge, identifying the focus on China’s creative clusters and the impact that this is having on Taiwan and Hong Kong (as seen in the April forum Building the Creative Environment). Work within and continuing out of the Creative Industries and the Development Agenda project is having direct impact on the evaluation processes and practices employed across the UN through the development of the Resource Pack for research, monitoring and evaluation for communication for development in the UN.