What is a 'Creative Culture'?
"A creative culture is one in which people are able to be effectively creative." - Source.
This often means that a creative culture is, in fact, a particular country, county, or region which has an impressionable and strong reputation for their place within the creative industry, whether they have a creative expertise or merely a large number of placements for work. These types of areas in particular are perceived to be almost always metropolitan areas or capital cities (such as New York, Japan or London) but in some cases creative cultures can expand and flourish within lesser known areas such as small towns or cities (such as Sunderland, Newcastle or even Hartlepool). One key element to a creative culture is the potential resources within the area it has established.
How does a 'Creative Culture' develop?
As with any development there are several elements which often play a part in it's initial set up and, for creative cultures, one of the most common lies behind there already being an established industry in the area - allowing other professionals within the creative industry to flock to it. On lesser occasions, creative cultures may begin to establish themselves where the expenses for things such as living costs (rent and overhead) are fairly cheap, giving them an opportunity to base themselves somewhere and work fairly well without having to scrape by, This, of course, also has its setbacks.
Established Industries -
In a specific location the likes of a developing and pre-existing industry can allow creative cultures to thrive and grow, making it a base point for many creatives to seek out within their career. Although this often results in success, moving to a particular creative culture doesn't always ensure this factor - it merely breeds potential. For example, London in particular is a creative culture that holds a wide variety of commercial industries, perfect for a graphic designer. These commercial industries can be anything from pop-up shops to national companies and even global corporations. With all of these based in London, it becomes understandable as to why it is considered a creative culture, and it is more than evident that it hosts plenty of client based opportunities. It also means that there is already an existing creative industry within that specific location, allowing you to mix with other creatives that bare the same profession as you - this gives plenty of opportunity for new contacts, collaborative work ad even inspiration and influences.
Established industries also have other appealing factors for creative cultures other than their massive creative bases. In the case of London, one of the cities main features is its composite transport connections which allows access to every corner of the city. Well established cities that host creative industries are also often plentiful in the likes of creative resources (such as printing or publishing companies) making it easier for creatives to output their work effectively.
Moving to or closer to a creative culture network such as London can be an effective choice within your career, however, it is important to be mindful that both accommodation, living facilities and studio spaces come at an eye watering price tag which is often too high for many new creatives. This is often due to the large, competitive demand of the pre-exising creatives who have already made their bases within this creative culture and it is these types of setbacks that may cause a creative culture to uproot and shift.
Undeveloped or newly developed areas -
On the other end of the spectrum, creative cultures may also branch out and establish themselves within more lesser known or undeveloped areas. Undeveloped, of course, referring to a lack of creative competitors - meaning it has plenty of potential employment and client opportunities and will often be cheaper than areas which are more developed. Examples of undeveloped areas fall onto the likes of Sunderland, Newcastle or perhaps Hartlepool. Newcastle in particular is a strong example of the potential undeveloped areas hold for creative cultures as it is a city which already holds secure corporations which have the potential to become creative clients for those in the area and it is also known that renting or buying a space in Newcastle, whether for living or studio purposes, poses much cheaper than trying to make space for yourself down in the likes of London.
Despite having smaller portions of it viewed as individual creative cultures, it could be perceived that as a whole the UK is, in fact, one large creative culture in itself as it is home to the second largest creative industry in the world.
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