Creative economy
The creative economy is one of the youngest and fastest-growing sectors, with unique challenges that often go unnoticed by public and private investors.
There is now growing recognition of the economic importance of the arts sector as it helps in the creation of jobs, economic growth, tourism, exports, and overall societal development.
Challenges
Economic sustainability, market access, and the preservation of traditional art forms in a rapidly changing society.
Challenges in the selection of artists for financial assistance in organising cultural events.
Lack of transparency in the selection process creates inequality in representation.
There is no systematic or rotational mechanism in place to provide this assistance, and the selection process is often random or based on subjective criteria.
So, talented artists, particularly those based outside the city, are unable to gain from sponsored platforms.
Additionally, unlike in other countries, there are no serious efforts by private or public institutions to promote contemporary artists as brands.
Artists and artisans with creative ideas require a market, market research, business facilitation, and a platform.
Crime in the art world includes art theft, copyright infringement, forgery, fraud, and illicit trafficking.
Addressing these crimes requires increased security measures, international cooperation, public awareness, and advanced technology for authentication and tracking.
Artworks depicting or exploring criminal activities, as well as criminal activities within the art industry, pose significant challenges.
There is no institutional infrastructure, expertise and technology to verify the original artwork.
The gap is leading to injustice towards genuine artists.
These offences affect cultural heritage and cause financial harm and erode public trust.
Exploitation of Indian artists, unaccounted money preserved through artworks.
The dissemination of disinformation about cultural history through various media only compound the issue.
Solutions
Solutions include increased security measures, international cooperation, public awareness, and advanced technology for authentication.
Regular audits of acquired artworks can enhance trust and preserve a collection’s integrity.
An institutional record of incoming and outgoing artworks with a verified identification mark is required.
Having a collaborative model promoting the cultural economy is an effective solution.
To promote economic growth, a solution can be to encourage India’s soft power by having a capacity-building centre; this should help create an ecosystem of innovative technology-based start-ups in the arts and crafts sector.
Providing guidance, technical support, infrastructure, access to investors, and networking opportunities.
The needs of artists must be bridged through training, professional development, market access, and participation in larger communities and networks.
A facilitation centre would help foster knowledge sharing, economic empowerment, and sustainable livelihood solutions for artists and artisans.
Data analytics should be used to foster creative ecosystems that contribute to a sustainable world.
The government along with private players can empower artists, help bridge industry gaps, and contribute to the overall development of the creative economy by providing support, resources, and opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship.
Additionally, existing institutions should address the various needs of artists.
A facilitation mechanism should operate by focusing on fostering knowledge sharing, networking, and economic empowerment for individual artists and creative entrepreneurs by offering business training, incubating innovative projects, and connecting them with global marketing platforms, tools, and practices.
The centre should also be a platform to provide sustainable livelihood solutions for artists and artisans through participatory models, leveraging the latest ICT tools to enhance their participation in the business ecosystem.
Putting forward policy recommendations to foster creative ecosystems that contribute to a sustainable world.
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