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arch Recording of ‘Re-launch of “Makings: A Journal Researching the Creative Industries” now available

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arch Recording of Eugen Pfister’s ‘Why History in Digital Games Matters / Historical Authenticity as a Language for Ideological Myths’ now available

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arch Recording of Linda Spurdle’s Discovery, Creativity and Play now available

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arch Recording of Ellie Tomsett’s talk ‘Dr. Ellie Tomsett ( Birmingham City University) What’s the alternative – moving UK live comedy online during the pandemic’ now available

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arch Recording of Rosie White’s presentation ‘Making Fun of Feminism: As the Worm Turned’ now available

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arch Short Takes on Alternativity – BCMCR New Thinking #1 2020/21

We are pleased to announce the online publication of BCMCR New Thinking #1 for 2020/21, “Short Takes on Alternativity”, a ‘zine-style publication developed by researchers within BCMCR. “Alternativity” is our research theme for this academic year co-ordinated by Asya Draganova and Charlotte Stevens within the Birmingham Centre for Media and Media and Cultural Research (BCMCR).

As part of this ongoing project, in December 2020 we invited short written pieces that engage with the interpretation and application of the concept of alternativity in relation to a variety of media and cultural fields, experiences, research and creative practices. Involving perspectives from academics, current and former students, and media practitioners, this initiative develops and articulates the richness, breadth and critical potential of the concept of alternativity in relation to resistance, innovation, and transformation.

This edition of the BCMCR New Thinking pamphlet series presents a diverse range of topics presented through the critical yet flexible lens of alternativity. These short texts act as provocations for further exploration, capturing the work and ideas that emerge from the project.

You can download a PDF version of this pamphlet here. For more information please email Asya.Draganova@bcu.ac.uk or Charlotte.Stevens@bcu.ac.uk. For more details about the “Alternativity” BCMCR theme, to read related blog posts, to find out how to get involved, please follow this link.

Further opportunities to publish work addressing the “Alternativity” theme will be publicised on the site.

Pamphlet design work by Reuben Mount, MA Media and Cultural Studies 2020/2021.

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arch Recording of the 24 March book launch for ‘The Canterbury Sound in Popular Music’ now available

 

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arch New publication: Craft Entrepreneurship

This book edited by Karen Patel and Annette Naudin, brings together a range of perspectives on craft entrepreneurship across different contexts, partly to celebrate craft makers but also to highlight the unique challenges they face (Luckman, 2018). Craft entrepreneurs work at the intersection between highly professional practices on the one hand, and amateur work that shifts between hobbyists and the possibility of selling work. Hierarchical divisions between amateur and professional are blurred, creating a complex marketplace for those seeking to earn a living from their craft practice. Adopting entrepreneurial approaches tends to come secondary to the love of making and a passion for the craft artefact, causing an uneasiness with notions of entrepreneurship and business acumen.

Although the craft sector is not usually associated with entrepreneurship because of the relatively low income it generates, it seems reasonable to explore the entrepreneurial practices of craft makers, given that compared to other cultural industries a high proportion of makers are sole traders. Craft workers have become the subject of interest for scholars exploring the relationship between creative economy and cultural work (Luckman 2015; Luckman and Thomas, 2018). Previous work on the craft economy indicates that contemporary craft entrepreneurs are highly resourceful, making the most of digital technologies by embracing platforms such as Etsy and social media sites such as Instagram to build brand awareness and reputation. However, as Susan Luckman and Nicola Thomas argue, “the ease of establishing online shopfronts hides the complex work required to start and run a small business, especially one in an increasingly globally competitive space with isolated producers and narrow profit margins” (2018, p.119). Indeed as Luckman and others have shown, sustaining a craft enterprise is not easy. While some policy interventions encourage craft businesses, there are complex issues at stake in balancing aesthetic considerations with economic needs.

It is interesting that craft entrepreneurship is an area that is  under-researched, given the range and longevity of craft practice all around the world and the increasing centrality of craft in creative industries policy and discourse. This may be because craft is an area which is now dominated by women, and is a skilled form of cultural production which has been carried out by women in a variety of settings for centuries. Women’s work has always been devalued and craft is a prime example of this. It remains that the type of craft produced by women craft entrepreneurs, particularly in textiles, is commonly perceived as ‘amateur’, even in the ‘post-Etsy’ age which demands a level of professionalism and expertise.  It is perhaps not surprising, then, that this is the first collection to address an area of cultural entrepreneurship that happens to be dominated by women. As we have discussed, there is much more to be done to explore craft entrepreneurship in a variety of contexts, so we hope the chapters in this book inspire further work.

The book is available from Rowan & Littlefield

A book launch and discussion will take place on 9th June 2021 at 4pm as part of the BCMCR Creative Industries Cluster research seminars