CULTURAL POLICY NOTES - EXAM
yyyyy = text highlights yyyyy = concepts + their explanation yyyyy = reference to article
Bell, D. & Oakley, K. (2015) Cultural Policy. Chapter 1: Introduction to cultural policy:
- Is an introduction to cultural policy and the book itself
- Mentions shift in cultural policy from seeing culture as “part of a standard economic growth model
… to one that seeks to position cultural activities within a variety of economic development
models” - “the rationales that which drive cultural policy vary according to time, place, and
political context” (p.4+5)
- So: the focus is now on culture as a driver of economic growth
- Discusses UNESCO’s Creative Economy Report - “attempts to move away from this ‘creative
industries’ model, towards a more pluralistic view of economic development” - acknowledges the
growth of commercial popular culture across the world + recognizes that there are different kinds
of business models that may be more appropriate for creative activities which represent other
sources of value for people beyond the economic (p.5+6)
- “Cultural policy is a form of public policy … and it is subject to the same political changes,
financial challenges, and global tensions as any other form of public policy (arguably more than
some).”
- They explain their use of scales in the book to organize and think through cultural policy: the
urban - the national - the international
Bell, D. & Oakley, K. (2015) Cultural Policy. Chapter 2: The culture of cultural policy. Pages
16 – 45
DEFINING CULTURE
- Important when analyzing CP: ‘what culture falls within the remit of public policy + why’ (is NOT
about the debate of what culture is) - so this chapter aims to analyze how the ‘culture’ of CP is
determined
- What ‘culture’ CP should cover has shifted from a focus on ‘high arts’ to a broader range of
cultural practices (= shift to a more anthropological sense of culture being a ‘way of life’)
- “What we understand by the culture of cultural policy is, as Storey (2006: 2) puts it, ‘the texts and
practices whose principal function is to signify, to produce or to be the occasion for the production
of meaning’”
- State/religious patronage has a long history, but state involvement (+ surrounding discussions) is
relatively new (since WWII)
- A core debate in the field: the degree to which popular culture is the remit of cultural policy
(culture as art, or culture as a way of life)
- Conclusion: while CP is mostly concerned with artistic forms of culture, it increasingly feels the
need to articulate these with a broader set of activities (partly as a way of achieving wider, not
only cultural, goals) - this broadening of CP’s scope means getting involved with other policy
actors (not just culture)
- But still: culture/CP is becoming more democratic
- Another debate: to what degree should CP encourage citizens to take part in cultural activities?
Or should it just observe + support consumer preferences? (then: who decides what culture is
good/bad and should be supported/promoted?)
HIGH, LOW, AND EVERYTHING INBETWEEN
- ^ Follow up: ‘high’ culture usually receives most support (= “culture chosen and defined by cultural
elites, for an audience with the requisite cultural capital” p.20+21)
- However: while the growth of commercial media industries has outstripped that of any other
cultural form in the past century, CP concerned itself primarily with a defensive role, supporting
non-market high culture against encroachment from the mass market
- It’s difficult to define ‘popular culture’ - especially to make distinctions between popular and high
culture (ex. Shakespeare now and then - hindsight!). But still: excuse of high vs commercial
culture is used to argue against public support for popular cultural activities
- Then who gets to decide? - watch out for cultural elites!
THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES DEBATE
- Conclusions of chapter: culture doesn’t need to be defended from the market, but might need to
be supported within the market + idea that distinction between subsidized ‘high’ culture and
commercial popular culture was a hard-and-fast one was weakened + idea of critical engagement
with market - role of state as countering + occasionally subverting market forces was lost
THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES
- Definition creative industries: industries that 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.
-
