Creativity as Commodity

(This short piece originally ran in China Daily's 60th Anniversary of the PRC issue)

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2009-09/30/content_8756551.htm


A lot has been made of China’s commitment to the so-called creative industries in recent years. In Shanghai alone there have been so many new creative parks, zones, hubs, lifestyle malls etc. popping up that it’s hard to keep track anymore. But what is the real commitment to creativity in China? And actually, how should we go about measuring it?
One way to look at it is through the young creatives themselves, who will be leading the way forward in the years to come – they are the ones who have made the decision to pursue art, writing, design, fashion and film making over time honored, left brain professions like engineering, law and finance. It’s not the easy choice. It’s much harder to tell your parents in China that you want to be a designer than in America, where you might become the next Andy Warhol. There, your parents will have seen an artistic spark in you early on and either encouraged it, or at least accepted it finally, knowing that you can still have a fine career in design due to the creative industries. But that idea is just now taking hold in China.
Real creativity needs encouragement and nurturing from family, society, and institutions. The emergence of creative industries like marketing, fashion and event planning offers serious careers to young Chinese kids with an artistic degree. With all the pressure in China to make money first, it’s hard for these kids coming out of school to view their work as a higher calling yet, one that is above the rat race. Unless they are pursuing a classical career, no kid who wants to make music will be taken seriously. They’ll be told to ‘get a real job’. For now, a real job will be coming from the creative industries. But watch out, things are changing quickly and the next Andy Warhol will probably come from the Chinese post-90’s generation.