Culture is Not an Industry

Culture is Not an Industry delves into the heart of human identity through the lens of art and culture. Twenty-five years ago, the British government redefined these elements as 'creative industries', focusing on their economic value to position the UK as the creative hub within a globalised landscape.

Today, art and culture grapple with exhausted workers, scarcity of funding, and a diminished vision, often controlled by accountancy firms, creativity gurus, and Ted Talkers. Amidst geopolitical upheavals, culture has become politicized, its radical energies confined to industrial production metrics. This book highlights the consequences of reducing an essential component of democratic citizenship and human rights to mere industry.

Culture is Not an Industry advocates for a renewed social contract between art, culture, and society, promoting a radical agenda toward a more equitable future. With a bold and uncompromising stance, the book puts forth a compelling vision for transformative change.

'Imaginative culture—art, stories, decoration, styles—is how we anticipate the future and navigate into it; our antennae. Treating culture as an industry under neoliberalism's crude rules is as nonsensical as applying the same to healthcare. Justin O'Connor's brilliant book proposes a holistic, ecological vision of culture as vital for a functioning society.' – Brian Eno

'Culture is Not an Industry radically reimagines the case for culture and cultural policy in the twenty-first century. Rejecting culture's depoliticisation and the delusions of "creative industries", O'Connor suggests a dynamic approach, positioning culture as fundamental to citizenship, democracy, and a new economic model.' – Mark Banks, Professor of Cultural Economy, University of Glasgow

'A passionate and well-argued "corrective" seeking to rebalance cultural priorities from economic to broader social purposes. The central thesis demands reclaiming art, granting it its rightful place and recognition in every society aspiring to live well and fear-free. I'll buy that...' – Josephine Burns, Co-Founder of BOP Consulting