The Creative Tropical City project seeks to explore the idea of Darwin, located in Australia’s tropical-savannah north, as a ‘creative city’. ‘Creative Industries’ (CI) is a term that has gained popularity over the last decade and encompasses a whole swathe of intellectual property-driven activities, including architecture, arts, crafts, design, fashion, film, music, performing arts, publishing, software, radio and television.
There is a growing recognition that creative industries generate new kinds of economic development, attract a certain type of migrant, and encourage greater entrepreneurial exchange between commercial, government and research-centred institutions. The theory is that CIs create a ‘buzz’ of creativity around them which attracts investment and other economic and demographic benefits.
The project has been designed to understand Darwin’s existing creative industries and to provide policy makers with information for future policy decisions. Its specific aims are to:
- Determine the nature, extent and change over time of the creative industries in Darwin
- Examine the applicability of national and international creative industry policy frameworks to Darwin
- Identify opportunities for growth and transformation of the creative industries in Darwin
The research involves interrogation of ABS and ABN data; analysis of interviews and focus groups held in Darwin with key informants in policy, city development and creative practitioners; and mapping of visual information gathered from practitioners using GIS (geographic information systems).
Chief Investigators: Assoc Prof Tess Lea (Charles Darwin University), Dr Susan Luckman (University of South Australia), Assoc Prof Chris Gibson (University of Wollongong)
Funding: Australia Research Council Linkage Project scheme
Industry Partners: Darwin City Council, Northern Territory Tourist Commission, Northern Territory Government: Dept of the Chief Minister, Dept of Natural Resources, Environment and The Arts (Arts and Museums division)
The Creative Tropical City project had its genesis in a Charles Darwin University symposium held in Alice Springs in June 2004. The symposium, ‘The Creative Tropical City’ was convened by one of the project’s original chief investigators, Professor Ian Buchanan. Information about the symposium can be accessed at:
www.cdu.edu.au/cdss0406/presentations.html
www.cdu.edu.au/cdss0609/about.html
