Hui Ting Chen

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Contemplating the Engagement of Cultural Forms and

Economic Progress: Bliss or Misery? Since financial turmoil struck the world in the late 2007, various kinds of industries have undergone a great deal of depression without any hopes of resuscitation in the near future. Cultural Creative Industry (CCI) is such an industry, unexpectedly, survived in this hard situation and still made a prosperous progress. Many people believe that exploiting the market of CCI is a wise decision to overcome economic crisis. But other people are wondering whether it is suitable for CCI to represent other industry in economic development. However, no one could tell whether it is a bliss or misery.

Definition of Cultural Creative Industry According to the definition given by UNESCO, Cultural Creative Industries are those based on tangible or intangible cultures, going through conceptual formulation, production and manufacturing processes and at the end present themselves as commercial products or services in the market. They usually have patent or copy right protections (UNESCO, 2000)i.To be more elaborate, fields such as printing, publishing, carving, design, architecture, visual and performing arts, music instrumentation, movie production, cultural recreations, etc, are included in CCI. Comparing to those traditional industries, CCI features knowledge-economy, globalization, network (Castells 2000)ii, and are less dependent on capital investment or land use. This characteristic makes CCI feasible to resist the impact of global economic crisis.

The Development of Cultural Creative Industry in Mainland China In China, because of the large population, industries are supposed to grow and develop prosperously. CCI benefits from this. According to the recent investigations, on the average, the sales amount of CCI increases up to 20% annually, ranking second among all the industries in China.

Referring to the news, websites and published articles, we can easily get a brief idea about

i Ming-Ju, Hsu., Chiu-pai, Ho. A Study of Cultural & Creative Industry Courses (CCIC) Data Warehouse and Associated Talent Cultivation Programs Offered by Colleges and Universities in Taiwan[J]. International Journal of Technology and Engineering Education, 2006, 3(1): 5-17.

ii Castells, Manuel. Materials for an Exploratory Theory of the Network Society[J]. British Journal of Sociology, 2000, 51(1): 5-24.

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Hui Ting Chen

Global Initiatives Symposium in Taiwan 2009

Hui Ting Chen

how Chinese governments’ attitudes towards CCI. It is obvious that governments view CCI as an industry and tend to make it commercialized. Doubts are aroused, because one of the original goals of developing CCI is to preserve the culture. People are afraid that once commercialized, the culture essence would not be preserved as it was before. This situation is common at developing stage. I will take “798 Art District” as an example to elaborate the point.

A case in China, the development of “798 Art District” 798 Art District (in the following paragraphs, I will use “798” instead) locates in the northern part of Beijing, China. Interestingly, the place of 798 is not a new-constructed area. Instead, it is established on the site of an old “Bauhaus-style” electric factory. This factory was constructed by Russia in early 1950s and was designed by an architect from East Germany. With a total area of 60 square meters, the plant features a simple, plain design. Huge castings, lathes, water pipes, chimneys and bright, clean clearstories are easily seen. Undoubtedly, this electric factory was the most fashionable construction at that time.

This factory has undergone many tremendous changes in China, such as the early industrialization period and Reform. We can easily found characters, pictures and signs remain on the wall. Until 2001, this electric factory quit functioning, and was taken over by Beijing Sevenstar Science & Technology Co., LTD. To get efficiency, Sevenstar lent the empty space to the artists. Considering the unique architecture, historical phenomenon, cheap rent, convenient transportation and easily accessed location, many artists rented a small room in this old “Bauhaus-style” plant and used this room as a place for living, daily work and exhibition. They believed that working within this phenomenon, their thought and creativity would be inspired.

Supported by Beijing Government, in the year of 2006, 798 Art District opened. Until now, there are about 200 art organizations and 300 artists run a business or work in 798. On the premise of history conservation, they didn’t destroy the constructions, instead, they redecorated and redesigned them by using environmental-friendly materials and equipments, and this brought a new concept of living style to the people. 798 is a successful CCI case. It soon became an indispensable place for tourist. According to the news, the total number of visitors is up to 1.5 million person-times (Qi, 2009-02-13) and the gross earnings of 798 is up to 30 millions dollars in 2008. In generally, 798 is a place for artists to pursue their dreams, for consumers to purchase art, and also, for people to appreciate hundreds of thousands of artworks. However, this is not the only feature that 798 attracts visitors. The ideal intersection of art and culture, and the unique phenomenon contribute to 798’s reputation the most.

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Bliss or Misery? Contemplating the Engagement of Cultural Forms and Economic Progress

Conflict between Cultural Conservation and Economic Progress 798 Art District is a case of Cultural Creative Industry. It shows an alternative industrious structure without the requirement of vast land and heavy machines and is even less polluted and low energy consuming. Undergoing the threats of global economic depression, the product of 798 still increases in a steady rate. In 2004, Beijing was judged by “Fortune” as one of the most developable cities in the world. The reason is, certainly, because of 798.

However, the morning sun never lasts a day. Sevenstar Company decided to raise the rent. While making this decision, the manager deliberated not only the cost for 798’s further development (for example, upholster the indoor or outdoor exhibition area) but also the increasing value of this district. But, the rent was raised too high for those artists to afford. Some artists left 798 to find a cheaper place and after that, famous brands rented the space and opened art stores there. 798 was more and more like a business. Artists were sad, and cultural workers were sad, to accept the truth that art had gone away.

Risks and Opportunities 798 has made a miracle, changing an old factory into a modern art district. But now 798 encounters a dramatic shift, that is, the manager raised rent to the artists and also planned to use the remaining funds to redecorated 798. Some of the artists decided to move out and the others got dissatisfaction about the plan. I will make a brief discussion about this in the following paragraphs.

Here is a summary about negative effects: First, 798 might lose the fundamental support from artists and encounter difficulties with art supply. Second, 798 would become commercialized and the cultural diversity might decrease eventually. Third, 798 might lose its attraction to the public because of inappropriate management.

Reasons for the above conclusion are given below. First, the leaving of artists lessens the quantity and variety of art supply. Besides, because it is more likely to share ideas while artists are gathered and more creativity might at that time be inspired, the loss of interactions between artists might block the creativity source. As far as sustainability is concerned, a city’s “Wealth” plays a significant role during its development. A general concept of “Wealth” refers to the sum of a city’s assets, cultural information assets, agricultural assets, population, natural resources, financial assets, etciii. If a city is rich in “Wealth”, it will be able to

iii Robert Costanza, Ralph d’Arge, Rudolf de Groot, etc. The value of the world’s ecosystem services and natural capital[J]. Nature, 1997, (387).

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Global Initiatives Symposium in Taiwan 2009

Hui Ting Chen

maintain functioning while encounters emergency, such as, economic recession. Applying this concept to 798 Art District, the loss of artists would result in the loss of a city’s “Wealth”. Therefore, the decision of raising the rent would lower 798’s sustainability level.

Second, artists would try to earn more money in order to pay the higher rent. Inevitably, they might begin to figure out visitors’ taste and demand and then redesign their artwork. Doing so, some of the unpopular art styles would disappear in 798 and this would perhaps decrease the cultural diversity. Also, marketing skills and business model might enter. 798 would soon become a commercial area. All of them violate the original intention of constructing 798. As a result, the decision of raising the rent would direct cultural 798 to commercial 798.

Finally, we know that the extra amount of rent will be used to rebuild/redecorate the old construction or for administrative cost. It sounds good to some degree. However, some artists point out that the ways of rebuilding 798 usually disobey the idea of art. In fact, most new constructions are built on commercial purposes and managers believe that doing so would make 798 even more appealing. The point is that the managers have no idea about art; neither do they know the necessity of preserving primal constructions and special phenomenon. Consequently, inappropriate management would destroy 798’s antiquated image.

Here is another summary about the opportunities: First, a rat race would by any means occur between artists or store keepers, which might improve the quality of art. Second, 798 now is a well-known art district in the world. With its world-wide popularity, commercialization would do well to 798’s further development.

Reasons for the above conclusion are also given below. First, in order to stay in such a perfect workplace, artists would manage to achieve a higher income. At the meanwhile, competition might emerge among artists. They then try their best to make an outstanding work to appeal customers and also improve the quality of artwork. This could provoke a “virtuous cycle” in 798 and lead 798 to become a high-level art district.

Second, in this society, people now couldn’t survive without a colorful spiritual life. In China, 798 is a good choice for public, because it is convenient to get there, and for investors is also alike. Taking advantage of this, it is the best time for 798 to be commercialized and grasp the chance to develop.

Best Way for the Future of 798 Art District In China, establishing an art district is very common in many big cities in recent years.

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Bliss or Misery? Contemplating the Engagement of Cultural Forms and Economic Progress

Problems emerged in 798 were easily seen in other art districts. The biggest problem is that most of the managers (including governments) consider GDP as the only value of an industry. They make their efforts to pursue a higher GDP without end. Although GDP is such an appealing index, when facing a cultural creative industry, we can’t emphasize GDP so much. Instead, from the angle of intangible assets, 798’s potential to enrich local cultural capacity seems more important.

However, there is no right or wrong to regard CCI as an industry to pursue economic growth. I do admit that commercialization is inevitable during progress, but over-commercialization should be avoided in cultural creative industry. My point is that, cultural creativity is the core value of CCI, so nothing could weigh more than it. We should find a balance between cultural and economic parts.

Besides, I suggest 798 be managed by a company experienced in cultural affairs. The crucial point is that the goal of managing a business is totally different form managing an art district. For example, though companies probably own experience of brand marketing, they might be unfamiliar with cultural brand marketing. Therefore, reorganizing a management group is essential.

Additionally, there is a survey indicates that if a place could sufficiently offer special experience and phenomenon, it is enough to attract people to come, no matter how much marketing strategies have been doneiv. A research also found that the main characteristics that made 798 so attractive are cultural phenomenon, art value and construction style (ranking by decreasing order). Thereby, I strongly agree that 798 develops in accordance with its features rather than short-term profit pursuit, and then 798 would keep its sustainability.

Finally, I believe that art creation should be done while stress is limit. Florida (2002)v

indicates that people’s creativity could only be completely inspired while living in a place with affordable houses, convenient transportation system, equality and limited stress. The manager of 798 might notice that and then act as an organizer, cooperate with artists and other workers, reconsider the dos and don’ts, and eventually make 798 a hopeful art district.

iv Yi-Qun, Ning., Shan, Jin. Take 798Art District as a case for Beijing’s Cultural Tourism: From an Aspect of Market Formation.[J]. Tourism Tribune, 2008, 23(3)。

v Florida, R. The Rise of the Creative Class[M]. United States: Basic books. 2002.

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Global Initiatives Symposium in Taiwan 2009

Hui Ting Chen