Recently visited the Italian city of Ravenna. A mellow midsize city, qualifying for the title of Cultural Capital Europe 2019. The invitation therefor was to contribute some insights on how creative city development was handled in the Netherlands, especially in the Eindhoven region, and the role of education within that process. It became quite clear from the start that there was somekind of spiritual belief in the power of the arts to solve all economic problems of the city. Which of course art can not and will not do.
However, as Ravenna is also the place where the famous Middle Age poet Dante Alighieri died in exile, it made me think on the role of the creative industries in the current socio-economic context. Dante's masterpiece La Divina Commedia tells us the story of Dante's own search for heavenly peace. Starting of course in Hell, through Purgatory and finally, by making the right choices, ending up in Heaven. He's looking for his muse Beatrice and accompagnied by his guide Virgil (which in Dutch sounds real classic, but in English immediately reminds of Virgil Tracy, pilot of International Rescue, commander of Thunderbird 2).
In fact you could state that Hell is the current global set of economic and ecological crises, in which mankind has manouvered itself. And if Heaven is a sound and sustainable society, Purgatory can only be the creative and innovation economy, that we are now entering. In that new economy, we will be confronted with many possibilities and questions. If we make the right choices, we could have a chance in reaching that desired global world in which we are able to balance individual wants and collective needs. Those choices might still have to do with the Seven Deadly Sins: Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony and Lust.
Maybe the Creative Industries could take on the role of Virgil, guiding corporate and political leaders into a new paradigm.