The Region as performance space : a distinctive take on the creative industries

The emergence of creative industries as a productive sector marks a significant transformation in economic life in contemporary Western societies. On the one hand, the opportunities such a development affords in providing career pathways and lucrative opportunities for creative workers in areas like computer games and film might seem like cause for celebration, also enabling humanities disciplines to rebadge themselves in order to attract students within the competitive higher education market. On the other hand, the ways in which creativity is alienated to the capitalist market as an economic commodity does raise particular concerns, particularly in the context of regional communities lacking the scale, resources and critical mass to be successful in this market. This is a speculative (and indeed playful) paper that canvasses ways in which the regions might respond to the emerging economy of the creative industries. It draws on the concept of fields of resonance to suggest how the region might be configured as a creative performance space, open to the world, and ecologically attuned, thereby offering a distinctive response to this emerging cultural and economic force. This article has been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication.