Journal article in Journal of Cultural Economy

PATHWAYS TO CREATIVITY
Self-learning and customising in/for the creative economy
Journal of Cultural Economy
Volume 4, Issue 2, 2011, Pages 189 - 203

Focusing on the 'talent pathways' outlined in the 2008 Department of Culture, Media and Sport Creative Britain report, this article explores how different forms of creative agency are positioned to make a 'contribution' to the creative economy. Drawing on Paul du Gay's concept of personhood, case studies on digital gaming explore the formation of two forms of personhood - creative consumers and creative workers. Specifically, these forms of creative agency are analysed in terms of their connections on the 'talent pathway', and the transitions that see creativity and talent as inherent in all individuals and in need of channelling and directing. The creative-consumer case study unpacks the digital games industry strategy of enrolling fan-creators within their commercial operations. This case study reveals the increasing importance of co-production for the creative economy, and the extent to which diverse cultural practices are facilitated and positioned. Higher education Games Design courses will then provide the case study for examining how the creative-consumer can be positioned to make a productive contribution to the creative economy as a worker. Within this context, the formation of fans/students into a creative worker or industry-ready worker is evident. Through tracing different forms of creative agency and how they are connected to make a contribution to the creative economy, this article explores the governance of creative agency and economic subjects.

Paper at Creative Enterprise

Creative Enterprise Conference
Curriculum development in enterprise and innovation for creative and media education
18th May 2010

Paper: ‘Enterprise, employability and identity: Researching Artswork Media’

Session at ADM-HEA Annual Forum

ADM-HEA Annual Forum: Shaping Things to Come
Tuesday 17th May 2011; RIBA, London

Creative work and higher education: Industry, identity, passion, and precarity
Dr Daniel Ashton, Bath Spa University

This session considers the importance of ‘identity’ for exploring the ways in which students relate to themselves as future media and creative industries workers. Noting a range of government policy reports (e.g. Creative Britain, 2009) that identify higher education as a key site in the formation and development of labour for the ‘creative economy’, this session explores the possibilities of how higher education students can relate to themselves as creative workers in-the-making.

The session will introduce emerging research on identity and work, and pedagogic practices that extend concepts of ‘employability’ and ‘industry learning’ to locate ethical concerns around working practices as relevant for students. The discussion will seek to explore the following question: how are students able to articulate their passions and career aspirations alongside a recognition and responsiveness to the unethical and amoral aspects of work in the creative and media industries?