These days, one sees the Chinese word wenchuang (文創) being used in the names of many cultural initiatives around the city. The word is a combination of the words for “cultural” and “creative,” as in the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park.
CULTURAL CREATIVE
If these ideas are commercialized, packaged and marketed, the result is a “cultural creative product.” If the sale of these products becomes a profitable exercise, it is called a “cultural creative industry.”
These products take the established culture and introduce new concepts, using traditional approaches to inspire a spark of creativity.
According to news reports, the monthly rent for stalls in Taipei’s Songshan Cultural and Creative Park costs as much as NT$3,500 per square meter. Artists that are just starting out cannot afford the overhead. The only people who can afford to pay rent like that are established businesses and commercial enterprises. Artists have told me that the recent controversy over the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park has very little to do with them.
When I give lectures, I often repeat the idea that “trees start out as saplings; creativity comes from small ideas. Do not forget that any idea starts from a single concept, a creative spark, or a dream.”
Many artists starting out in Taiwan are students not long out of university; some are young people chasing their dreams. Compared to the established enterprises within the so-called cultural creative industry, these artists do not enjoy much support from the government or business.
INITIATIVES
At the moment, the Ministry of Culture does run the My First Art Show (藝術新秀) initiative twice a year and provides guidance and assistance to emerging artists, and the National Culture and Arts Foundation offers annual subsidies for many artists.
While these initiatives are to be applauded and encouraged, the government and business should not ignore the hard work and effort emerging artists put in, nor should they instigate a war under the auspices of promoting culture and creativity.
Lin Tzu-yao is director of the Taiwan Association for SwordSoul Creation.
Translated by Paul Cooper
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