It would seem wise to create a link - no matter how tenuous - to show how the artist and the artisan are important to civilisation.And more importantly why seeking to house them in an architectural programme which seeks to facilitate cultural diplomacy is appropriate.
I need to build a debate or argument for my particular stance of addressing the issue of the creative industries, and its effect on culture and society by choosing to focus on the artist and the artisan and environments where they can work and live.Why even is there a need for artists?
Art is not only important in terms of its civilising influence [whether you want to split hairs about high and low art].
It would seem to be that the artist and the artisan are important to culture[s] as they serve as cataloguing agents. By their various artistic outputs they record important moments in history and a society's philosophy and ideals as they develop,vary,differ, change.
The artefacts that they leave behind whether it is aborigine pottery or the intricate weavings of lace all carry cultural codes/symbolism and values which express and identify the unique character of that culture at the point of production/fabrication. These tangible constructs can be viewed as a form of cultural diplomacy as they can be bought/viewed/used/traded/exported [as has been done] to "the other" creating a dialogue of cultural discussion.
It is these symbols and codes in the tangible artefacts which are useful in conjuring images of "the other". These contribute to the understanding of the foreign or the unfamiliar.
Memories of "Dutch lace" or the pottery of the Aberoigines all carry with them implicit understandings of that culture and it's particular way of life. http://www.claeysantique.com/lace/uk/archives/2004/12/dutch_lace_1.html [link on Dutch lace].
Similarly the Creative Industries also transmit these social codes of life and behaviour but in an implicit and pervasive manner but the medium is through digital media. A primary medium of cross-cultural diplomacy, are the Creative Industries. Officials are now looking to tap into the true potential of this agent.
It would be good to harness this latent power of the digital medium and the creative output of the artists working in the creative industry in an architecture which responded to the way that digital production and transmission is revolutionising the very notion of art and artist.
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