Description:
Creative industries in China provides a fresh account of China's emerging commercial cultural sector. The author shows how developments in Chinese art, design and media industries are reflected in policy, in market activity, and grassroots participation.
Never has the attraction of being a media producer, an artist, or a designer in China been so enticing. National and regional governments offer financial incentives; consumption of cultural goods and services have increased; creative workers from Europe, North America and Asia are moving to Chinese cities; culture is increasingly positioned as a pillar industry.
But what does this mean for our understanding of Chinese society? Can culture be industrialised following the low-cost model of China's manufacturing economy. Is the national government really committed to social liberalisation?
This engaging book is a valuable resource for students and scholars interested in social change in China. It draws on leading Chinese scholarship together with insights from global media studies, economic geography and cultural studies.
Review Quotes: "It is unusual for a modern scholar to truly capture a field; there are so many running in the same direction. But Keane is the man who noticed, shaped and now writes with huge authority on the creative industries in China. This is an important and scholarly addition to the project."
Stephanie Donald, University of New South Wales
"In this pioneering book, Michael Keane provides a broad introduction to the Chinese discourse of media, arts and design industries. Using substantial fieldwork observation, Keane offers unique insights into the development of concepts of innovation and their relationship with intellectual property, culture, commerce and politics in China."
Anthony Fung, Chinese University of Hong Kong
"Michael Keane pioneered the study of creative industries in China. This book opens up access to fundamental but hitherto unexplored areas of a young industry whose rise was closely entwined with international lobbying, a burgeoning design culture, and fluctuating policy directives. Nobody can unravel those multi-faceted debates and discourses more deftly than Keane. This is a must read for anybody interested in the future of innovation in China."
Jing Wang, New Media Action Lab, MIT