Cultural policy, creative clusters and the complexity of higher education: notes from the case of Enjmin in Angoulême, France

Abstract

This paper looks at the interplay between 'creative industries' and 'cultural policy' in France. We analyse how university stakeholder communities in the field of elite vocational training schools for 'applied arts' such as Bande dessinée (comics and animation) and videogaming negotiate the over simplistically reified relationship between public policies in the arts and the creative sector. The analysis relates the 'case-studies' of the ENJMIN (a national videogames school in Angoulême) to the long-standing French technocratic traditions of creating elite graduate schools in all fields of public policy, and, increasingly, in the creative sector. The study assesses the tension between the speed of response of policy in a rapidly changing economic environment and the creation of institutions that are supportive and respective and can deliver in a sustainable and substantial way. The paper explores how French policy manages the conflict between complex HE institutions involving loosely coupled communities with varying degrees of mutual commitment and self-identification and the creative industries as a complex, politically charged, and often emotionally laden field.

Educação superior e profissionalização de trabalhadores criativos: estado da arte

“…Formuladores de políticas culturais veem com bons olhos os benefícios potenciais da interação entre a educação superior e a economia criativa, a despeito de possíveis tensões, como a contradição entre as mudanças constantes na base tecnológica dos setores criativos e a estrutura usualmente mais rígida e 'por disciplina' nas universidades (BENNEWORTH;DAUNCEY, 2016).…”

“…A despeito de seu potencial para incentivar a inovação e a criatividade em setores emergentes, ainda não há muita clareza de como as universidades contribuem para o avanço das indústrias criativas; estas instituições são muitas vezes criticadas pelo tratamento instrumental que dão à economia criativa, reproduzindo valores dominantes/tradicionais assim como o seu ritmo capitalista e de fast innovation (BENNEWORTH;DAUNCEY, 2016;MORETON, 2018).…”

“…termo Economia Criativa ganha projeção em 2001 no livro de John Howkins, que faz referência à relação entre criatividade e economia. Para o autor, "a criatividade não é uma coisa nova e nem a economia o é, mas novas são a natureza e a extensão da relação entre elas e a forma como combinam para criar extraordinário valor e riqueza" (HOWKINS, 2001, p.22) O desenvolvimento econômico só recentemente se tornou uma preocupação para a política cultural, e o setor criativo tem grande contribuição para isto (BENNEWORTH;DAUNCEY, 2016).…”

Introduction

“…In recent years, the French state has increasingly come to realise the potential of the videogames sector as a creative industry in which France can be a world-leader, promoting French culture abroad, and using the creative strength of French technology companies and graphic arts expertise to bolster Gallic competitiveness in the globalised market for cultural products. Fostering what is perceived as essentially France's 'comparative advantage' in this sector has involved deft redefinitions of policy in culture, industry and technology in order to maximise the support provided by the state to this creative industry, not least by accelerating the acceptance of videogames as 'culture' rather than derided adolescent pastimes, but also by facilitating the convergence of industry, technology, creativity in the graphic arts, and education (Dauncey, 2012;Benneworth and Dauncey, 2016).…”

“…Similarly, but from the perspective of the hierarchy of arts in French culture and academia, research into videogames and their intrinsic claim to proper status as cultural artefacts worthy of scientific attention has benefitted greatly from battles won by bande dessinée since the 1960s and 1970s: in videogames, the graphic arts combine with technology, culture and language in a way which may actually facilitate their study by French researchers (Dauncey and Benneworth, 2016).…”