The Creativity Hoax: Precarious Work and the Gig Economy

(Hardback)

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Description

More and more young people aspire to work in creative fields. Policy makers and educators encourage them to take courses related to their youthful (sub) cultural enthusiasms: film, media, graphic design, music production. Young aspirants hear of the economic importance of art and culture, yet most who graduate in creative courses will not make a living in these areas. Particularly disadvantaged are those from minority and working class backgrounds who lack the resources - social, cultural and economic - to withstand the precarious conditions of the creative career. 'The Creativity Hoax' is based on life history interviews with creative trainees and aspirants, who wrestle with the prospect and reality of poverty and unfulfilled ambition. This book presents a sobering and salutary account of the perils of creative aspirations and demonstrates how, under commercial pressures, the meaning of creativity has become synonymous with flexibility and entrepreneurial individualism. Creative workers are expected to be labile, agile and mobile: excited by serendipitous opportunity, ready to reinvent themselves and barter their creative skills in the market place - freed from the ballast of family/community ties and fixed ambitions.

Reviews

'This is a wonderful and important book in the best tradition of cultural studies. It explores what "autobiographies of uncertainty" feel like in contemporary capitalism. Morgan and Nelligan's notions of "just-in-time workers", "labile labour" and "promiscuous aspiration" look set to become key points of reference for future analyses.'
--Rosalind Gill, Professor of Cultural and Social Analysis, City, University of London, UK

Author Bio

George Morgan is an Associate Professor at the Institute for Culture and Society at Western Sydney University. Pariece Nelligan is an eLearning Advisor at Swinburne University of Technology.