Creative Tropical City: Mapping Darwin’s Creative Industries An ARC Linkage Project Chief Investigators: Ass. Prof Tess Lea (CDU), Dr Susan Luckman (UniSA), and Dr Chris Gibson (Univ. of Wollongong) Industry Partners: Darwin City Council, Chief Minister’s Office, and Northern Territory Tourism Commission

Dominance of major metropolitan centres (source: Gibson et al 2002)

Scope of Project Summary - This project has a threefold aim: 1.First, to determine the nature, extent and change over time of the creative industries in Darwin; 2.Second, to interrogate the applicability of national and international creative industry policy frameworks to Darwin; and, 3.Third, to identify opportunities for growth and transformation of the creative industries in Darwin

The Project 1.Determine the extent, nature and change over time of Darwin’s creative industries i.Custom ABS data runs ii.ABN/business statistics iii.ethnographic fieldwork Key questions: How creative industries relate to each other and how these relationships have changed or grown over time Where they are located; how they compare in terms of employment numbers; levels of income earned by workers in each sector and the gender balance. The number of creative industry businesses, the spread of businesses by size, number of employed persons, and geographical location.

The Project 2. Interrogate conceptual frameworks for creative industry policies and their relevance and applicability to Darwin. Critical analysis of concepts and texts to inform our engagement with industry partners and creative industry stakeholders An analysis of creative industry policy - ascertain the range and diversity of models developed in comparative places both in Australia and internationally Identify those concepts and directions most appropriate for Darwin with its unique socio-economic and demographic character

The Project 3. Identify opportunities for creative industries in Darwin. Identify ‘soft infrastructure’ for creative industries development Identify what viability looks like from the grassroots Interview workers in the creative industries to identify possibilities and options for their future Ascertain the limitations and barriers currently encountered by creative industries in Darwin Determine the contribution made by creative industries in Darwin to the region’s economic growth, employment and community development Inform dialogue with industry partners and the creative industry community, substantiating the conceptual review outlined above

Public Policy as a Creative Catalyst: Limits of existing creative industries approaches for Darwin “My first intention is to clarify the basic conditions for such a cultural policy [such as existent CI approaches]: a degree of economic well-being and of political strength and autonomy which have ensured that the main examples have been drawn from the developed world – western Europe, Canada, Australia. In this sense, and ironically, the ‘local’ as produced in cultural policy risks becoming an effect of already existing power.” Georgina Born 2002, “Afterword: Music Policy, Aesthetic and Social Difference”, in Rock and Popular Music, Tony Bennett et. al. eds., Routledge, London and New York, p. 267.

Charles Landry Great Cities need: Critical mass Identity & distinctiveness Innovative capacity Diversity Accessibility Security Linkage & synergy Competitiveness Organisational capacity & leadership 1. Creative Cities

Richard Florida 2003, The Rise of the Creative Class, Pluto Press, North Melbourne  New emergent class – ‘creative class’  Creativity driving growth of global economy  Therefore cities and regions need to attract them to grow and boom  The ‘Creatives’ like café strips, diversity, a dynamic artistic and cultural environment, high-tech toys and mountain-biking Creative Cities

Specific Research Context for Darwin Darwin very different to previously analysed creative cities: remote, comparatively small, (post)colonial, population churn Mix of existing activities (tourism, visual arts, etc.) uniquely configured Creative economy supported by volunteer, unpaid and hobbyist labour, not just by ‘day jobs’ Policy outcomes not just in arts and cultural policy, but also in housing, tourism, urban planning, education, family policy etc. Darwin’s population churn Darwin as site of production by residents AND as service outlet for arts and cultural production

Conclusions The odds are stacked against non-metropolitan areas, but these odds can be negotiated Inter-regional networks: new markets, access to gatekeepers Targeted government support: Benefits greater than immediate employment/attendances/sales

Conclusions Intentions behind, and benefits from, creative economic development are diverse Possibilities of a genuinely ‘post-colonial’ creative economy in the NT But on-going socio-economic and geographical problems to confront… Contact: