Emergent Economies of Art and Technology in Shenzhen

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Activity date	14 Aug 2018
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Shenzhen is among the fastest growing cities in China that emerged as a centre of global manufacturing, which spearheaded its economy. In attempt to raise its reputation away from a knock-offs and copying culture, there is a desire to shift to a design and innovation-led economy to raise the quality of production by placing stronger regulations on intellectual property. However, the relaxed regulations and early experimentations with market economies in the urban villages that allowed for China’s unique Shanzhai culture to emerge, reflect the possibilities for social and economic experimentation. This paper aims to link a range empirical research and discourse from cultural policy, urban geography, cultural studies, sociology, art, design and information studies to open up to new understandings of the economies of art and technology that also present opportunities to reconfigure the cultural economy. Through theoretical analysis and examples, this paper seeks to provide a broader understanding of the complexities of the accelerated developments in Shenzhen and to approach an artistic practice that engages within these economies.

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Links The 12th Association for Cultural Studies "Crossroads in Cultural Studies" conference will be held in Shanghai, from August 12th to 15th 2018. It is the first time for it to come to Mainland China. Hosted by Shanghai University, Crossroads 2018 will bring scholars together in the beautiful summertime to engage with the past, present and future of cultural studies scholarship. The Crossroads in Cultural Studies Conference has played an important role in the creation of a global discussion of Cultural Studies. It has become a major international conference where scholars from all five continents gather regularly to exchange research, views, and insights. Organized by the Association for Cultural Studies (ACS), the Crossroads conference is held every other year in different parts of the world. Previous conferences have taken place in Sydney (Australia), Birmingham (United Kingdom), Urbana-Champaign (USA), Istanbul (Turkey), Kingston (Jamaica), Hong Kong (China), Paris (France), and Tampere (Finland).