A great pile of books to read
The recent string of hot days is something we have luckily managed to avoid for longer than we probably deserve. But three days in a row of 37 to 39 degrees (originally three days in a row of 39 was threatened) kept me locked inside with the blinds down and curtains drawn. It made me exceptionally happy that I have a great pile of books to read.
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| The Powerhouse Museum – like reading, visits to cultural institutions seem to be the domain of mainly women. |
Ironically in previous centuries women writers used to adopt male pseudonyms, so they could be published, but now with the popularity of chicklit, roles are reversed. I’m sure there are male writers out there changing their name so they can cash in on this reading bonanza.
‘Recently, after a few years of absence I rediscovered my local library. In the process I also discovered a whole new world of literature, the genre called, probably disparagingly, ‘chicklit’. I have to say I am in love. There seems to be a whole universe of women writers writing for a whole audience of women readers.’
I won’t start naming names, because otherwise I’d have to list 40 authors – and probably provide a brief summary and reading notes for each one, which I could do if I had to. It’s a bit like other originally idiosyncratic genres, like speculative fiction and crime fiction, that took on lives of their own and became part of a different mainstream. The line between genres is a very fluid one indeed.
Can men read?
When I worked at the Powerhouse Museum, it was very clear that the bulk of the audience for the Museum were women, often older women. You could be forgiven for suspecting that most men don’t visit museums (or any cultural venues) and certainly don’t read – maybe can’t read. I don’t want to get into one of those hair-tearing discussions that begin ‘not all men…’ If you have to start with that, it doesn’t really matter what you finish with.
I seem to have largely swapped drinking and staying up late for early mornings (and even earlier evenings), numerous cups of tea and stacks of chicklit. It’s a dangerous business, reading chicklit. The risk of an unstable stack of novels toppling and causing serious harm is high.
Hell, though, when the going gets tough, the tough get reading. Lately I seem to be averaging a new book every 2-3 days, with the emphasis more at the two end. It’s like Christmas presents that I don’t even have to unwrap. I seem to have read almost 40 of them in the last six months. I’m sure I can’t keep this up.
As you’d expect, amongst them there are lots of American writers, but as befits people who love reading, they are generally more free-thinking (and educated) than you might expect. The most interesting I’ve found have been the American writers descended from the huge Indian diaspora, because their stories are all about finding romance while navigating the dynamics of extended families at the same time. One writer harked back to previous generations who had relocated from India to Africa before going to America, in that ritual of relocation in search of a peaceful home. I also managed to stumble across Irish writers and one New Zealand author, which gave me a familiar tug of recognition.
Making me a better person
Emulating my parents, my main ambition in life is not to be a dickhead – there’s enough of them already. I am convinced that reading chicklit is furthering that goal and making me a better person. I’ve had a long history of involvement with culture generally, but a particular fascination with literature.
During my years working in the Australian Government I managed at various times the Prime Ministers Literary Awards, the Film Section of the Arts and Culture Divisions (where I realised just how important Australian writers are for Australian film) and the Indigenous Languages and Culture Programs. As a result of working in the Indigenous culture and languages area, I became increasingly fascinated by the burgeoning field of Indigenous writers, in both English and Indigenous languages.
Before that, as Arts Officer for the Australian Council of Trade Unions, I was responsible for the Henry Lawson Short Story Competition, a long-running union cultural event, part of a grand tradition. More Australians have used a thumbnail dipped in tar to express their thoughts than we’d care to acknowledge.
Nothing succeeds like an idea whose time has come. I’d be thinking about writing this article about the unexpected pleasures of chicklit for a few weeks, and the day after I started to really get into my outline, Leesa Ronald, a local writer from Orange – a real chicklittist herself – wrote a tremendous article in the Canberra Times praising the whole rom-com tradition. It’s as if all at once we have become aligned with the whole post-pandemic, middle-Trump Zeitgeist, where everyone wants to focus on connection and the wealth of friendship, not division and hatred and obscene financial wealth.
Doing the honourable thing
In the summer heat, events keep underlining how important literature is. The latest scandal with the Adelaide Writers Festival demonstrates this. It has left no-one looking honourable except the now-resigned Director, Louise Adler, and the flood of Australian and international writers who voted with their feet and abandoned the whole sorry disaster.
Adelaide cannot afford to lose something so iconic that lifts it from merely another also-ran city after the larger cities of Sydney and Melbourne, which will always dominate national and international consciousness.
Here’s to writing, popular culture, chicklit and long, slow reads as the climate heats up outside.
‘I seem to have largely swapped drinking and staying up late for early mornings (and even earlier evenings), numerous cups of tea and stacks of chicklit.’
As you’d expect, amongst them there are lots of American writers, but as befits people who love reading, they are generally more free-thinking (and educated) than you might expect. The most interesting I’ve found have been the American writers descended from the huge Indian diaspora, because their stories are all about finding romance while navigating the dynamics of extended families at the same time. One writer harked back to previous generations who had relocated from India to Africa before going to America, in that ritual of relocation in search of a peaceful home. I also managed to stumble across Irish writers and one New Zealand author, which gave me a familiar tug of recognition.
Making me a better person
Emulating my parents, my main ambition in life is not to be a dickhead – there’s enough of them already. I am convinced that reading chicklit is furthering that goal and making me a better person. I’ve had a long history of involvement with culture generally, but a particular fascination with literature.
During my years working in the Australian Government I managed at various times the Prime Ministers Literary Awards, the Film Section of the Arts and Culture Divisions (where I realised just how important Australian writers are for Australian film) and the Indigenous Languages and Culture Programs. As a result of working in the Indigenous culture and languages area, I became increasingly fascinated by the burgeoning field of Indigenous writers, in both English and Indigenous languages.
Before that, as Arts Officer for the Australian Council of Trade Unions, I was responsible for the Henry Lawson Short Story Competition, a long-running union cultural event, part of a grand tradition. More Australians have used a thumbnail dipped in tar to express their thoughts than we’d care to acknowledge.
‘Emulating my parents, my main ambition in life is not to be a dickhead – there’s enough of them already. I am convinced that reading chicklit is furthering that goal and making me a better person.’
Nothing succeeds like an idea whose time has come. I’d be thinking about writing this article about the unexpected pleasures of chicklit for a few weeks, and the day after I started to really get into my outline, Leesa Ronald, a local writer from Orange – a real chicklittist herself – wrote a tremendous article in the Canberra Times praising the whole rom-com tradition. It’s as if all at once we have become aligned with the whole post-pandemic, middle-Trump Zeitgeist, where everyone wants to focus on connection and the wealth of friendship, not division and hatred and obscene financial wealth.
Doing the honourable thing
In the summer heat, events keep underlining how important literature is. The latest scandal with the Adelaide Writers Festival demonstrates this. It has left no-one looking honourable except the now-resigned Director, Louise Adler, and the flood of Australian and international writers who voted with their feet and abandoned the whole sorry disaster.
Adelaide cannot afford to lose something so iconic that lifts it from merely another also-ran city after the larger cities of Sydney and Melbourne, which will always dominate national and international consciousness.
Here’s to writing, popular culture, chicklit and long, slow reads as the climate heats up outside.
© Stephen Cassidy 2026
See also
Creativity at work – economic engine for our cities
‘It is becoming abundantly clear that in our contemporary world two critical things will help shape the way we make a living – and our economy overall. The first is the central role of cities in generating wealth. The second is the knowledge economy of the future and, more particularly, the creative industries that sit at its heart. In Sydney, Australia’s largest city, both of these come together in a scattering of evolving creative clusters – concentrations of creative individuals and small businesses, clumped together in geographic proximity. This development is part of a national and world-wide trend which has profound implications’, Creativity at work – economic engine for our cities.
The immense potential of creative industries for regional revival
‘Across Australia, local communities facing major economic and social challenges have become interested in the joint potential of regional arts and local creative industries to contribute to or often lead regional revival. This has paralleled the increasing importance of our major cities as economic hubs and centres of innovation’, The immense potential of creative industries for regional revival.
My nephew just got a job with Weta – the long road of the interconnected world
‘My nephew just got a job in Wellington New Zealand with Weta Digital, which makes the digital effects for Peter Jackson’s epics. Expertise, specialist skills and industry pockets can occur just about anywhere, as long as you have connectivity, talent and a framework of support that makes it possible. This is part of the new knowledge economy of the future, with its core of creative industries and its links to our cultural landscape. Increasingly the industries of the future are both clever and clean. At their heart are the developing creative industries which are based on the power of creativity and are a critical part of Australia’s future – innovative, in most cases centred on small business and closely linked to the profile of Australia as a clever country, both domestically and internationally. This is transforming the political landscape of Australia, challenging old political franchises and upping the stakes in the offerings department’, My nephew just got a job with Weta – the long road of the interconnected world.
Applied creativity
‘I have been dealing with the issue of creativity for as long as I can remember. Recently, I have had to deal with a new concept—innovation. All too often, creativity is confused with innovation. A number of writers about innovation have made the point that innovation and creativity are different. In their view, innovation involves taking a creative idea and commercialising it. If we look more broadly, we see that innovation may not necessarily involve only commercialising ideas. Instead the core feature is application—innovation is applied creativity. Even ideas that may seem very radical can slip into the wider culture in unexpected ways’, Applied creativity.
Creative industries – applied arts and sciences
‘The nineteenth century fascination with applied arts and sciences — the economic application of nature, arts and sciences — and the intersection of these diverse areas and their role in technological innovation are as relevant today for our creative industries. From the Garden Palace, home of Australia’s first international exhibition in 1879, to the Economic Gardens in Adelaide’s Botanic Gardens these collections and exhibitions lay the basis for modern Australian industry. The vast Garden Palace building in the Sydney Botanic Gardens was the Australian version of the great Victorian-era industrial expositions, where, in huge palaces of glass, steel and timber, industry, invention, science, the arts and nature all intersected and overlapped. Despite burning to the ground, it went on to become the inspiration for what eventually became the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences — the Powerhouse Museum’, Creative Industries.
See also
Walking with ghosts
‘Increasingly people I have known for a long time seem to be dying. In fact my generation is steadily starting to disappear. Who is replacing them? We shuffle along in a world that is unravelling – a world that for both good and bad – our generation gave birth to. We are teetering in a strange balance between building on the achievements of the past and desperately trying to dismantle them. In many countries, the current generation is poorer than the previous one, upending generations of dreams by working class parents and migrants for a better life for their children. In this time of upheaval – both welcome and unwelcome – creativity is needed like never before’, Walking with ghosts.
‘Increasingly people I have known for a long time seem to be dying. In fact my generation is steadily starting to disappear. Who is replacing them? We shuffle along in a world that is unravelling – a world that for both good and bad – our generation gave birth to. We are teetering in a strange balance between building on the achievements of the past and desperately trying to dismantle them. In many countries, the current generation is poorer than the previous one, upending generations of dreams by working class parents and migrants for a better life for their children. In this time of upheaval – both welcome and unwelcome – creativity is needed like never before’, Walking with ghosts.
A matter of life and death, or more important than that – discovering the beauty of ‘chicklit’
'I’ve always been a big reader. I still remember growing up reading avidly at night after lights out, using a torch under the bed clothes. I was pleased to hear it’s a practice that still continues, despite the overwhelming takeover by the digital universe. In a similar vein I was once driving along a busy city street and noticed a young high school student walking over at the crossing. As she walked, she was doing something with her hands. I thought she was texting with her smartphone, but realised that as she walked, she was knitting. Some interests and skills never die', A matter of life and death, or more important than that – discovering the beauty of ‘chicklit’.
The Asian Century was underway long before the British arrived
‘We are all used to being astounded as we see growing evidence of how widespread contact and trade was across the breadth of the ancient European world and with worlds far beyond. The Romans and the Vikings and many after them all roamed far and wide. This is the stuff of a hundred television documentaries that show just how interconnected the ancient world was. Connection, not isolation, has always been the norm. Seaways were bridges, not barriers – a way to bring people together, not divide them. Now important archaeological work confirms just how widespread that cross-cultural, international network was across the whole of Northern Australia, long before the British arrived’, The Asian Century was underway long before the British arrived.
The language of success – recognising a great unsung community movement
‘What is especially significant about the Prime Minister, in his Closing the Gap address, recognising the importance of Indigenous languages is that this is the first time a Liberal leader has expressed such views. It’s exciting because for progress to be made it is essential that there is a jointly agreed position. This moment arises from the tireless work over many decades of hundreds of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language revivalists – surely one of the great positive unsung community movements in Australian history. By their hard work they have managed to change the profile of Indigenous languages in Australia. Unfortunately the address reinforced the tendency of government to overlook the success stories that are already happening in local communities and look for big institutional solutions. I hope it doesn’t turn out to be a missed opportunity’, The language of success – recognising a great unsung community movement.
The Magna Carta – still a work in progress
‘You don’t have to be part of ‘Indigenous affairs’ in Australia to find yourself involved. You can’t even begin to think of being part of support for Australian arts and culture without encountering and interacting with Indigenous culture and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and individuals who make it and live it.’ The Magna Carta – still a work in progress.
Like a long-lost masterpiece
'I’ve always been a big reader. I still remember growing up reading avidly at night after lights out, using a torch under the bed clothes. I was pleased to hear it’s a practice that still continues, despite the overwhelming takeover by the digital universe. In a similar vein I was once driving along a busy city street and noticed a young high school student walking over at the crossing. As she walked, she was doing something with her hands. I thought she was texting with her smartphone, but realised that as she walked, she was knitting. Some interests and skills never die', A matter of life and death, or more important than that – discovering the beauty of ‘chicklit’.
The hidden universe of Australia's own languages
‘I’ve travelled around much of Australia, by foot, by plane, by train and by bus, but mostly by car. As I travelled across all those kilometres and many decades, I never realised that, without ever knowing, I would be silently crossing from one country into another, while underneath the surface of the landscape flashing past, languages were changing like the colour and shape of the grasses or the trees. The parallel universe of Indigenous languages is unfortunately an unexpected world little-known to most Australians.’ The hidden universe of Australia's own languages.
When one door closes, a window opens – moving on from another failed referendum
‘Looking forward from the failed referendum on The Voice to Parliament, everyone seems to be talking about how to find some positives after the result. It’s definitely time for a lot of thinking and rethinking. As I digest the result, I’m thinking about what it all means. There's quite a bit to say and it’s definitely time for thoughtful length rather than the slogans and catch phrases we’ve endured over the last few months. Despite the setback, lots of change is still happening. From my personal experience working alongside the community languages activists for some 15 years as they laboured to revive and maintain their First Nations languages there are many specific examples of positive changes. I can't see a failed referendum stopping their work. Their positive and practical spirit had a deep impact on me. These were people building an Australia for the future, drawing on the best parts of the past and overcoming the worst. They were some of the most impressive people I have ever met. I still remain close to many of them and I will remember them to my dying day’, When one door closes, a window opens – moving on from another failed referendum.
‘Looking forward from the failed referendum on The Voice to Parliament, everyone seems to be talking about how to find some positives after the result. It’s definitely time for a lot of thinking and rethinking. As I digest the result, I’m thinking about what it all means. There's quite a bit to say and it’s definitely time for thoughtful length rather than the slogans and catch phrases we’ve endured over the last few months. Despite the setback, lots of change is still happening. From my personal experience working alongside the community languages activists for some 15 years as they laboured to revive and maintain their First Nations languages there are many specific examples of positive changes. I can't see a failed referendum stopping their work. Their positive and practical spirit had a deep impact on me. These were people building an Australia for the future, drawing on the best parts of the past and overcoming the worst. They were some of the most impressive people I have ever met. I still remain close to many of them and I will remember them to my dying day’, When one door closes, a window opens – moving on from another failed referendum.
The Asian Century was underway long before the British arrived
‘We are all used to being astounded as we see growing evidence of how widespread contact and trade was across the breadth of the ancient European world and with worlds far beyond. The Romans and the Vikings and many after them all roamed far and wide. This is the stuff of a hundred television documentaries that show just how interconnected the ancient world was. Connection, not isolation, has always been the norm. Seaways were bridges, not barriers – a way to bring people together, not divide them. Now important archaeological work confirms just how widespread that cross-cultural, international network was across the whole of Northern Australia, long before the British arrived’, The Asian Century was underway long before the British arrived.
Saving the farm – recognising Indigenous languages part of salvaging community
‘The end of the year – after a bumper 24 months of disasters – is a time of closure. Many things have changed and many more will change – hopefully mainly for the better. In particular people who have made major contributions to Australia creativity and culture are moving on from their roles to take up new interests or interests they have been too busy to pursue. This is particularly the case in the arena of First Nations languages, where the recognition amongst Australians generally of the importance of languages and culture is part and parcel of salvaging community – for everyone’, Saving the farm – recognising Indigenous languages part of salvaging community.
‘The end of the year – after a bumper 24 months of disasters – is a time of closure. Many things have changed and many more will change – hopefully mainly for the better. In particular people who have made major contributions to Australia creativity and culture are moving on from their roles to take up new interests or interests they have been too busy to pursue. This is particularly the case in the arena of First Nations languages, where the recognition amongst Australians generally of the importance of languages and culture is part and parcel of salvaging community – for everyone’, Saving the farm – recognising Indigenous languages part of salvaging community.
Always was, always will be – a welcome long view in NAIDOC week
‘Being involved with Australian culture means being involved in one way or another with First Nations arts, culture and languages – it’s such a central and dynamic part of the cultural landscape. First Nations culture has significance for First Nations communities, but it also has powerful implications for Australian culture generally. NAIDOC Week is a central part of that cultural landscape’, Always was, always will be – a welcome long view in NAIDOC week.
‘Being involved with Australian culture means being involved in one way or another with First Nations arts, culture and languages – it’s such a central and dynamic part of the cultural landscape. First Nations culture has significance for First Nations communities, but it also has powerful implications for Australian culture generally. NAIDOC Week is a central part of that cultural landscape’, Always was, always will be – a welcome long view in NAIDOC week.
The language of success – recognising a great unsung community movement
The Magna Carta – still a work in progress
‘You don’t have to be part of ‘Indigenous affairs’ in Australia to find yourself involved. You can’t even begin to think of being part of support for Australian arts and culture without encountering and interacting with Indigenous culture and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and individuals who make it and live it.’ The Magna Carta – still a work in progress.
Like a long-lost masterpiece
‘Many decades ago when I was much younger and a student I used to march in National Aboriginal Day Observance Committee marches. They were shorthanded to NADOC marches, back in the days when Islanders hadn’t yet been included and there was no ‘I’ in the name. I realised a while back that I must have been marching under the new Aboriginal flag at its birth. I had a poster from those years which I used to cart around with me from city to city until one day when I was about to move yet again I decided to donate it to the National Library of Australia’, Like a long-lost masterpiece.
Where Australian culture comes from – many of the best bits come from migration
‘It’s easy to forget where the vibrant, sprawling, complex and diverse culture that represents and fuels modern Australia comes from. Starting with the incredibly rich mix of First Nations cultures and languages springing from every part of this country, topped up with migrants from all over the world, starting with England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and China (and some Italians and probably others, witness the Eureka Stockade), and then further enriched by all the subsequent layers of migration. We are (almost) all immigrants here, only just starting to genuinely come to grips with this country’, Where Australian culture comes from – many of the best bits come from migration.
Flight of the wild geese – Australia’s place in the world of global talent
‘As the global pandemic has unfolded, I have been struck by how out of touch a large number of Australians are with Australia’s place in the world. Before the pandemic many Australians had become used to travelling overseas regularly – and spending large amounts of money while there – but we seem to think that our interaction with the global world is all about discretionary leisure travel. In contrast, increasingly many Australians were travelling – and living – overseas because their jobs required it. Whether working for multinational companies that have branches in Australia or Australian companies trying to break into global markets, Australian talent often needs to be somewhere else than here to make the most of opportunities for Australia. Not only technology, but even more importantly, talent, will be crucial to the economy of the future’, Flight of the wild geese – Australia’s place in the world of global talent.
‘As the global pandemic has unfolded, I have been struck by how out of touch a large number of Australians are with Australia’s place in the world. Before the pandemic many Australians had become used to travelling overseas regularly – and spending large amounts of money while there – but we seem to think that our interaction with the global world is all about discretionary leisure travel. In contrast, increasingly many Australians were travelling – and living – overseas because their jobs required it. Whether working for multinational companies that have branches in Australia or Australian companies trying to break into global markets, Australian talent often needs to be somewhere else than here to make the most of opportunities for Australia. Not only technology, but even more importantly, talent, will be crucial to the economy of the future’, Flight of the wild geese – Australia’s place in the world of global talent.
Crossing boundaries – the unlimited landscape of creativity
‘When I was visiting Paris last year, there was one thing I wanted to do before I returned home – visit the renowned French bakery that had trained a Melbourne woman who had abandoned the high stakes of Formula One racing to become a top croissant maker. She had decided that being an engineer in the world of elite car racing was not for her, but rather that her future lay in the malleable universe of pastry. Crossing boundaries of many kinds and traversing the borders of differing countries and cultures, she built a radically different future to the one she first envisaged’, Crossing boundaries – the unlimited landscape of creativity.
‘When I was visiting Paris last year, there was one thing I wanted to do before I returned home – visit the renowned French bakery that had trained a Melbourne woman who had abandoned the high stakes of Formula One racing to become a top croissant maker. She had decided that being an engineer in the world of elite car racing was not for her, but rather that her future lay in the malleable universe of pastry. Crossing boundaries of many kinds and traversing the borders of differing countries and cultures, she built a radically different future to the one she first envisaged’, Crossing boundaries – the unlimited landscape of creativity.
Contemporary Indigenous fashion – where community culture and economics meet
‘The recent exhibition 'Piinpi', about contemporary Indigenous fashion, has a significance for Australian culture that is yet to be fully revealed. The themes covered by the exhibition are important because they demonstrate the intersection of the culture of First Nations communities with creative industries and the cultural economy. In attempting to address the major issue of Indigenous disadvantage, for example, it is critical to recognise that one of the most important economic resources possessed by First Nations communities is their culture. Through the intellectual property that translates it into a form that can generate income in a contemporary economy, that culture is pivotal to jobs and to income. It may not be mining but it mines a far richer seam – authentic and rich content that has already been recognised internationally for its high value, just like our iron and coal. At a time when First Nations communities are talking increasingly about gaining greater control over their economic life, this is highly relevant’, Contemporary Indigenous fashion – where community culture and economics meet.
Understanding the economy of the future - innovation and its place in the knowledge economy, creative economy, creative industries and cultural economy
‘When we start to think about the economy of the future – and the clean and clever jobs that make it up – we encounter a confusing array of ideas and terms. Innovation, the knowledge economy, the creative economy, creative industries and the cultural economy are all used, often interchangeably. Over the years my own thinking about them has changed and I thought it would be useful to try to clarify how they are all related’, Understanding the economy of the future – innovation and its place in the knowledge economy, creative economy, creative industries and cultural economy. Understanding the economy of the future - innovation and its place in the knowledge economy, creative economy, creative industries and cultural economy
Broader and deeper - the creativity and culture of everyday life
‘The Impact and Enterprise post-graduate course at the University of Canberra course is unique in Australia in placing creative industries and the creative and cultural economy in the broader landscape of the wider impacts of creativity and culture - both economic and social. It starts from the premise that what the broader social and economic roles of creativity and culture have in common is that a focus on the economic role of creativity and culture is similar to the focus on its community role – both spring from recognition that creativity and culture are integral to everyday life and the essential activities that make it up. In March 2021, as the course entered its third year, I gave a talk to the students about where it came from,’ Broader and deeper - the creativity and culture of everyday life.
‘The Impact and Enterprise post-graduate course at the University of Canberra course is unique in Australia in placing creative industries and the creative and cultural economy in the broader landscape of the wider impacts of creativity and culture - both economic and social. It starts from the premise that what the broader social and economic roles of creativity and culture have in common is that a focus on the economic role of creativity and culture is similar to the focus on its community role – both spring from recognition that creativity and culture are integral to everyday life and the essential activities that make it up. In March 2021, as the course entered its third year, I gave a talk to the students about where it came from,’ Broader and deeper - the creativity and culture of everyday life.
Music makes the world go round – the bright promise of our export future
‘After ABBA, in an unexpected break from its traditional way of building national wealth from natural resources, Sweden managed to discover a new source of income. It was not as you would expect coal or oil. Rather than oil what it had discovered was song royalties, part of a fundamental change in the nature of modern economies which transformed them from relying solely on natural resources, transport and manufacturing to make creative content a new form of resource mining. Examples like theirs point to potentially major opportunities for the Australian music industry to become a net exporter of music,’ Music makes the world go round – the bright promise of our export future.
‘After ABBA, in an unexpected break from its traditional way of building national wealth from natural resources, Sweden managed to discover a new source of income. It was not as you would expect coal or oil. Rather than oil what it had discovered was song royalties, part of a fundamental change in the nature of modern economies which transformed them from relying solely on natural resources, transport and manufacturing to make creative content a new form of resource mining. Examples like theirs point to potentially major opportunities for the Australian music industry to become a net exporter of music,’ Music makes the world go round – the bright promise of our export future.
Creativity at work – economic engine for our cities
‘It is becoming abundantly clear that in our contemporary world two critical things will help shape the way we make a living – and our economy overall. The first is the central role of cities in generating wealth. The second is the knowledge economy of the future and, more particularly, the creative industries that sit at its heart. In Sydney, Australia’s largest city, both of these come together in a scattering of evolving creative clusters – concentrations of creative individuals and small businesses, clumped together in geographic proximity. This development is part of a national and world-wide trend which has profound implications’, Creativity at work – economic engine for our cities.
‘Across Australia, local communities facing major economic and social challenges have become interested in the joint potential of regional arts and local creative industries to contribute to or often lead regional revival. This has paralleled the increasing importance of our major cities as economic hubs and centres of innovation’, The immense potential of creative industries for regional revival.
My nephew just got a job with Weta – the long road of the interconnected world
‘My nephew just got a job in Wellington New Zealand with Weta Digital, which makes the digital effects for Peter Jackson’s epics. Expertise, specialist skills and industry pockets can occur just about anywhere, as long as you have connectivity, talent and a framework of support that makes it possible. This is part of the new knowledge economy of the future, with its core of creative industries and its links to our cultural landscape. Increasingly the industries of the future are both clever and clean. At their heart are the developing creative industries which are based on the power of creativity and are a critical part of Australia’s future – innovative, in most cases centred on small business and closely linked to the profile of Australia as a clever country, both domestically and internationally. This is transforming the political landscape of Australia, challenging old political franchises and upping the stakes in the offerings department’, My nephew just got a job with Weta – the long road of the interconnected world.
Creative industries critical to vitality of Australian culture
‘The developing creative industries are a critical part of Australia’s future – clean, innovative, at their core based on small business and closely linked to the profile of Australia as a clever country, both domestically and internationally.’ Creative industries critical to vitality of Australian culture.
‘The developing creative industries are a critical part of Australia’s future – clean, innovative, at their core based on small business and closely linked to the profile of Australia as a clever country, both domestically and internationally.’ Creative industries critical to vitality of Australian culture.
Applied creativity
‘I have been dealing with the issue of creativity for as long as I can remember. Recently, I have had to deal with a new concept—innovation. All too often, creativity is confused with innovation. A number of writers about innovation have made the point that innovation and creativity are different. In their view, innovation involves taking a creative idea and commercialising it. If we look more broadly, we see that innovation may not necessarily involve only commercialising ideas. Instead the core feature is application—innovation is applied creativity. Even ideas that may seem very radical can slip into the wider culture in unexpected ways’, Applied creativity.
Creative industries – applied arts and sciences
‘The nineteenth century fascination with applied arts and sciences — the economic application of nature, arts and sciences — and the intersection of these diverse areas and their role in technological innovation are as relevant today for our creative industries. From the Garden Palace, home of Australia’s first international exhibition in 1879, to the Economic Gardens in Adelaide’s Botanic Gardens these collections and exhibitions lay the basis for modern Australian industry. The vast Garden Palace building in the Sydney Botanic Gardens was the Australian version of the great Victorian-era industrial expositions, where, in huge palaces of glass, steel and timber, industry, invention, science, the arts and nature all intersected and overlapped. Despite burning to the ground, it went on to become the inspiration for what eventually became the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences — the Powerhouse Museum’, Creative Industries.
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