Beyond Networks and Relations: Towards Rethinking Creative Cluster Theory

The concept of “creative clusters” is a difficult one, complicated not least by the complexity of its constituent components — the concept of “creativity” and the idea of “clusters”. The debates surrounding the explanatory value and the promise and potential of creative clusters are particularly significant in the face of the sometimes hypnotic hold of cluster creation on policy makers. Yet, scholars have observed that the heightened popularity of the cluster concept may mask its weak conceptual and empirical basis (Martin and Sunley 2003; Simmie 2004). In this chapter, I will examine the nature of creative clusters, and particularly, “cultural creative clusters” — i.e. clusters in which creative activity take place in the cultural field. This analysis is undertaken through detailed study of a specific visual arts cluster in Singapore and seeks to contribute to the development of a more nuanced theoretical position about the nature of creative clusters.

The terms “creative cluster” and “cultural cluster” have oftentimes been used interchangeably in the literature. If some distinction is to be made, it is that studies stemming from Europe (with the exception of UK) commonly use the term ‘ cultural clusters’ while those from US and Australia appear to favour the term “creative clusters”. Often, this is a reflection of the lack of conceptual clarity around the ideas of “cultural industries” and “creative industries” themselves. These differences are not merely semantic and are not inconsequential. The nature of clustering does differ depending on the specific activities under consideration, and cultural clusters focused on performing and visual arts, for example, may have quite different dynamics at work from clusters focused on television and film work, or fashion and design, just to use a few examples. All may be termed “creative clusters” but the nature of activity is not all the same, and the specific dynamics deserve careful scrutiny and analysis. Certainly, they differ from business and industrial clusters as elaborated by Michael Porter (1998, 2000) and Alfred Marshall (see Markusen 1996) respectively. Yet, in much of the literature, creative clusters are often treated as a subset of business clusters, and subjected to the same economic analysis and policy responses as other industries. I have used the term “cultural creative cluster” to draw attention to my focus on creative work in the cultural, and specifically, arts, sector.