Creative Economy

I have recently come across this excellent article on art and business in Arts Professional which explains why artists need to look at new models of making money so that it’s not all raked into the coffers of a few.

For the last 6 months, I’ve been reading, little by little, John Howkins The Creative Economy (Penguin 2007), which I’m enjoying at a leisurely pace – it’s not a read-in-one-go blockbuster (that’s my excuse), although it is a well structured, interesting yet easy book.

I was very amused by the interview with Bob Geldof, as expounder of a creative person who gets down to business. Howkins says that ‘turning an idea into a business, an operation, requires both the original idea (‘something from nothing’) and the hard work to make it happen.’ What’s funny about this is Geldof’s response, that everything boils down to two questions: ‘Why?’ and ‘Why not?’

Sounds like the story of my life, though I warn you that this is good advice in many spheres, but it can also make you fat (so keep the balance and always ask both questions).

#Books #CreativeEconomy