Fresh Art: Maintaining the Sustainable Creative Advantage of Repeatable Arts Events Hilary du Cros

Introduction Why it is important to care about the creative side of repeatable arts events What is sustainable creative advantage and why do repeatable arts events need it A case study from Hong Kong where SCA has been applied Analysis and conclusions

Creative Side of Arts Events Let’s quickly run through some arts speak: Creatives; who are they? Creativity and why it’s important Arts ecologies, creative capital and events Why is all this important to running successful arts events?

Creatives Professionals such as artists, designers, inventors, communications or IT types – the foundation of Florida’s (2002) Creative Class

Creativity Having the right conditions for supporting the creative process is what creatives need to produce Fresh Art Most dictionaries tend to define “creativity” as a noun that describes the ability to go beyond traditional ideas and devise meaningful new ones as well as forms, methods, interpretations and so on with emphasis on originality and imagination

Arts ecologies and events Basically, a network of linkages and interdependent relationships between creatives and their key stakeholders that occurs in similar way to that of natural ecologies Can be locally based or global – events such as the Edinburgh Fringe Festival are supported by both Its health is important for building creative capital that enables arts events to happen on any scale and be repeated

Sustainable Creative Advantage Not the same as Sustainable Competitive Advantage A tool for assessing the success of particular events and suggest ways to build creative capital to ensure their success is sustainable over many years Key aspects are: Glocal orientation and support; branding/image, market orientation and position, conceptual uniqueness, event experience, implementation and management

Glocal Orientation Arts Events Arts Ecologies (local) and Event Participants Arts Ecologies (non-local), Tourism Marketing/City Benchmarking Glocal Orientation

Market orientation Where the key market for the event sits in relation to the commerce/creativ ity axis and open/closed axis (for public/tourists versus creative industry participants only)

Conceptual uniqueness A remarkable element that assists in marketing the event, so that it not only stands out from other events but fits with its orientation and attracts the right partners, sponsors, participants or attendees. It also needs to be attractive to the kind of artists, performers and other creatives that will appeal to the key market

Case Study: Art Basel Hong Kong An art fair with a market orientation towards selling to collectors and art museums (commercial), showcase works of particular artists to tourists/general public (open) and also educate collectors and network with curators and other industry professionals (closed) Started as ART HK and sold to Art Basel in 2012 The Basel brand and the growing reputation of Hong Kong as an art sales hub has ensured that galleries, critics and curators have joined the event in greater numbers for the moment

More educational talks and information for new Asian collectors

Innovative event experiences

Works by past famous artists

Contemporary household names

Emerging Asian artists

Key actions required to maintain SCA The event experience of participants from each market orientation differs and requires more research by organisers More research needed into impact of the event’s sale on satisfying all stakeholders for the event’s orientation Continued effort to increase and maintain relations with regional and global arts ecologies that support the event would assist this new version to maintain its SCA

Conclusion Academically, the application of SCA can provide insights into power, authority and inclusiveness, glocality and its relationship to the health of arts/cultural ecologies SCA application can be used as tool by organisers to understand where problems may lie in a way that works better for repeatable arts events than purely looking at them from a commercial point of view given their symbiotic relationship with arts ecologies

References du Cros, H. and Jolliffe, L. 2014 The Arts and Events. Routledge (Taylor and Francis), Abingdon, London. A LONGER DISCUSSION OF SCA WITH THREE CASE STUDIES TO DEMONSTRATE ITS APPLICATION CAN BE FOUND IN THE ABOVE Florida, R. (2002) The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life, US: Basic Books.