About project Creative city of Bandung
- Micha
- Jul 1, 2018
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 2, 2018
Project Creative city of Bandung was a research project aiming to map creative individuals, organisations and collaborations in the city of Bandung, Indonesia. Creative potential of people who are covering "niche" markets is a source of inspiration and new future trends. During my week visit in Bandung I was interviewing different organisation from various sectors from business until non-government. I have spent intensive days full of information, new insights and great energy from their creative and fresh approach.
I’ve decided to step into the unknown water and search for the answers about creativity. In my mind, there were so many questions and it was about the time to take an action. Maybe you’ve heard from articles or motivational speeches that each of us is creative. I believe in that, but not everyone has the confidence to share this creative energy. In search to find this creative potential, I’ve decided to take a look at creative cities, which are hubs and nutrient ground for creative individuals or communities.
From my previous research experience and my master thesis, I as dealing with the topic of place branding. Therefore, I’ve determined to track creativity from the urban perspective and Bandung was the first place. The creative city is defined as a place that promotes and identifies creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development. [1] Within creative city, the creative industries play an important role in city development. Creative industries are defined as “those activities which have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent and which have a potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property.[2]”
My journey has started with the well-known city of Bandung in Indonesia, located in central Java. Bandung itself has a large creative community closely connected together. Furthermore, the concept of creative industries is applied in local policy. I came through research papers about Bandung and its development and implementation of the creative industries to know more. But reading is reading and personal experience is something completely different. I had packed my things, sent several emails and travelled to Bandung to discover. Luckily, due to openness of Indonesians and their willingness to share, I’d got several contacts and my research expedition could have started. It was an intensive week (from 6 till 13 January 2018) full of interviews, unexpected situations, creative individuals, creative spirit and bunch of inspiration for my future journey.
I was talking with several people involved in creative changes in the city. It was an opportunity to understand deeply about the context of the city and people living in. I’ve wanted to find out why the creative industries are boosting in this area, why people group together and what has influenced flourishing energy inside of this city. It was essential for my work. On the next pages, I will shortly introduce visited organisations, their projects and visions about their future.
The intention behind this research was also a better understanding of Indonesian mindset and creativity in the context of Bandung. Inspirational stories can positively encourage people to step out, get insights or just learn more about Indonesia. From my personal point of view, it was a journey for expanding my knowledge through many discoveries, I get a fresh look at topics out of my circle and fall in love with the inspiring city of Bandung. I would like to encourage you, dear reader, to talk with people who positively impact your surrounding in order to open the mind to creative flow and new ideas afterwards.
Sources:
[1] https://en.unesco.org/creative-cities/home
[2] DCMS published the Creative Industries Mapping Document
Image sources:
[1] https://www.deviantart.com/b0jes/art/bandung-emerging-creative-city-99111894
[2] Photo by Liliana Kekalih.
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