The creative economy is not a commodity, separate from collective knowledge and experience

Investing in culture and creativity has been one of the solutions that different countries have come up with to enhance their development, based on the so-called creative economy. Disputes over different perceptions of society and a particular consecrated origin in documents from Australia (Creative Nation: Commonwealth Cultural Policy, 1994) and the United Kingdom (Creative Industries Mapping Documents, 1998) contribute to little discussion of the concept – and extremely ill-treatment – about it. . It is not uncommon to see managers in governments, companies, and the third sector resort to expression in the simplest way possible, usually when they need to update their speeches.

In Brazil, the topic was historically included in the context of promoting understanding of culture by public authorities and discussions of STI legal frameworks, starting in the first decade of the 21st century. Far from looking at it from a public perspective only politics, not to mention cultural policies, I think this is somewhat of the way to approximate the creative economy and regional development.

In Espírito Santo, the issue occupied a strategic part of the political and economic agenda, with the aim of achieving sustainable development in the regions. The willingness of the Department of State for Culture (Secult) to welcome different perspectives on the topic and a set of studies directed towards sustainable regional development (DRS), directed by the Jones dos Santos Nevis Institute (IJSN), favors a debate.

The implementation of the ES + Criativo program, as of the end of 2018, coordinated by the Creative Economy Department of Secult with a department of 15 public and private bodies and institutions in Espírito Santo, is the concrete policy of the creative economy of the government. State, and its first actions refer to generating synergies between stimulation, financing, data production, habitat structuring (physical and virtual), and offering qualification opportunities for the sector.

In an article entitled “Creative Economy and Innovation: Contributing Perspectives to Regional Development Policy in ES”, recently published in the book “Sustainable Regional Development: Reconsidering Concepts for Building New Alternatives” (Editora CRV, 2020, with the e-book available on the website From the publisher), we point out, from discussions of the inter-institutional core of studies and research in deconstruction, creative economy and sustainability (Poiein), the possibilities that place the creative economy in the perspective of economic development and technologies “in an effective service to society, promoting sustainability, cultural diversity, inclusion and social well-being.”

It is, among other contemplations, a counterpoint to an understanding that regards creativity as a commodity, separate from collective human knowledge and experiences and capable of, in and of itself, the germination of a particular sector of the economy.

The recent approval of Law No. 11246 of 2021, called the Capexaba Culture Incentive Act (Licc), as well as demonstrating the power of the cultural and creative sectors in Espírito Santo, is an opportunity to advance this broader understanding of the topic. It is now up to public authorities to leverage their regulations to promote an ecosystem for creatives who desire – and / or need – to live from their talents, without losing sight of culture as an important vector for sustainable development throughout the Espirito Santo Region.