Creative voices of the city : Articulating media, space and cultural identities by creative collectives in Southeast Asia
Habibi, Zaki LU
(2020)
In Lund Studies in Media and Communication
- Abstract
- This thesis investigates the lived cultures of the individuals within collectives who are part of creative cities in Southeast Asia. Such individuals and their creative collectives are all too often rendered silent and unnoticed within the official narratives of creative city branding. This monograph thesis examines the articulation of creative collectives in two cities: the creative city of Bandung in Indonesia and the creative, heritage city of George Town in Malaysia. The research draws upon the intersections between media and cultural studies, everyday life studies and urban cultures, to understand how the tactics of individuals within the creative collectives disrupt, or counteract, official narratives and the top-down strategies of... (More)
- This thesis investigates the lived cultures of the individuals within collectives who are part of creative cities in Southeast Asia. Such individuals and their creative collectives are all too often rendered silent and unnoticed within the official narratives of creative city branding. This monograph thesis examines the articulation of creative collectives in two cities: the creative city of Bandung in Indonesia and the creative, heritage city of George Town in Malaysia. The research draws upon the intersections between media and cultural studies, everyday life studies and urban cultures, to understand how the tactics of individuals within the creative collectives disrupt, or counteract, official narratives and the top-down strategies of Bandung and George Town as UNESCO cities. This thesis gives priority to the voices of the city dwellers from a bottom-up approach, enriching academic discussions on everyday life, culture and creative cities within the field of urban media and communication. Methodologically, this research combines ethnography and visual methodology, providing a situated and nuanced context for street-level analysis of Bandung and George Town, in particular analysing how spatial and visual contexts are significant aspects of urban creative collectives.
The analysis illuminates the creative politics of space and placemaking in local settings, highlighting how the collectives in this study form alternative spaces to live and work, developing an organic and dynamic interplay between the physical, social and digitally mediated spaces of creative cities. A key argument concerns the articulation of alternative voices through the form of ‘subtle resistance’ by creative collectives, signposting small, micro level tactics as a form of cultural resistance to creative city branding and top-down narratives of creative economies in Southeast Asia. Through an analysis of themes related to spatial practice in the city, cultural memory and cultural identity, the ethnographic and visual research offers a lens within which to understand and value everyday creative practices such as inventiveness and resourcefulness. The articulation of various identities, as urban dwellers, artists, craftspeople and creative collectives, offers a powerful alternative understanding of what it means to live and make do in the local streets, creative hubs and residential neighbourhoods of Southeast Asian creative cities. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Denna avhandling undersöker den levda kulturen hos individer i kreativa kollektiv i Sydostasiatiska städer inom UNESCOs-nätverk. Sådana individer och deras kreativa kollektiv blir allt för ofta förbisedda av de kreativa städerna och deras officiella varumärkesbyggande narrativ. Denna monografi undersöker det kontinuerliga konstituerandet inom kreativa kollektiv i två städer: kreativa städ Bandung i Indonesien och kreativa-kulturarvsstaden George Town i Malaysia. Undersökningen utgår från skärningspunkterna mellan medie- och kulturstudier, vardagslivsstudier och urbana kulturer, för att klarlägga hur individer i de kreativa kollektiven genom olika taktiker stör eller motverkar de två städernas officiella narrativ och hierarkiska strategier... (More)
- Denna avhandling undersöker den levda kulturen hos individer i kreativa kollektiv i Sydostasiatiska städer inom UNESCOs-nätverk. Sådana individer och deras kreativa kollektiv blir allt för ofta förbisedda av de kreativa städerna och deras officiella varumärkesbyggande narrativ. Denna monografi undersöker det kontinuerliga konstituerandet inom kreativa kollektiv i två städer: kreativa städ Bandung i Indonesien och kreativa-kulturarvsstaden George Town i Malaysia. Undersökningen utgår från skärningspunkterna mellan medie- och kulturstudier, vardagslivsstudier och urbana kulturer, för att klarlägga hur individer i de kreativa kollektiven genom olika taktiker stör eller motverkar de två städernas officiella narrativ och hierarkiska strategier gällande stadens identitet som ’kreativa städer’. Denna avhandling anlägger ett underifrånperspektiv och prioriterar stadsbornas röster, vilket berikar den akademiska diskussionen om vardagsliv, kultur och kreativa städer i urbana medier och kommunikation. Undersökningen kombinerar etnografiska och visuella metoder, och bygger därmed på en nyanserad och kontextualiserad analys av ’gatans kreativitet’ i Bandung och George Town. En särskild tonvikt läggs på det rumsliga och det visuella och dessa aspekters betydelse för de kreativa kollektiven.
Analysen betonar betydelsen av kreativitet som politik när det kommer till rum och lokalt platsskapande. Vad som särskilt framhålls är hur de studerade kollektiven formar alternativa rum för att leva och arbeta i de kreativa städerna; rum som skapas genom ett organiskt och dynamiskt samspel mellan fysiska, sociala och digitalt medierade rumsdimensioner. Avhandlingens centrala argument rör artikulationen av alternativa röster som en form av ’subtilt motstånd’ från kollektivens sida. Det kan i sig uppfattas som ett kulturellt, underifrån kommande, motstånd mot de kreativa städernas varumärkesbyggande konstruerade av storslagna narrativ om de Sydostasiatiska kreativa ekonomierna. Genom analys av teman relaterade till rumsliga praktiker i staden, kulturellt minne och kulturell identitet erbjuder den etnografiska och visuella infallsvinkeln en lins genom vilken vardagliga kreativa praktiker, såsom uppfinningsrikedom och rådighet, kan förklaras och värderas. Artikulationen av olika identiteter – som stadsbo, konstnär, konsthantverkare och kreativa kollektiv – erbjuder en alternativ bild av vad det betyder att leva och verka i Sydostasiens kreativa städer, på dess bakgator, kreativa centra och i dess olika grannskap. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/07083571-8cc7-4df4-a51f-a30308a0c264
- author
- Habibi, Zaki
LU
- supervisor
-
- Annette Hill LU
- Magnus Andersson LU
- opponent
-
- Professor Reading, Anna, Kings College, London
- organization
- alternative title
- Stadens kreativa röster : Artikulationer av medier, plats och kulturella identiteter hos kreativa kollektiv i Sydostasien
- publishing date
- 2020-12-14
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- articulation, creativity, creative city, cultural identity, cultural memory, cultural resistance, media practice, space, visual method, artikulation, kreativitet, kreativ stad, kulturell identitet, kulturellt minne, kulturellt motstånd, medieutövning, visuell metod
- in
- Lund Studies in Media and Communication
- issue
- 23
- pages
- 222 pages
- publisher
- Lund University
- defense location
- Digital channel will be announced on www.kom.lu.se
- defense date
- 2020-12-14 15:00:00
- ISSN
- 1104-4330
- ISBN
- 978-91-7895-666-1
- 978-91-7895-667-8
- project
- Mediated Urban Creativity in Southeast Asian Cities
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 07083571-8cc7-4df4-a51f-a30308a0c264
- date added to LUP
- 2020-11-16 12:41:04
- date last changed
- 2021-12-13 16:09:56
@phdthesis{07083571-8cc7-4df4-a51f-a30308a0c264,
abstract = {{This thesis investigates the lived cultures of the individuals within collectives who are part of creative cities in Southeast Asia. Such individuals and their creative collectives are all too often rendered silent and unnoticed within the official narratives of creative city branding. This monograph thesis examines the articulation of creative collectives in two cities: the creative city of Bandung in Indonesia and the creative, heritage city of George Town in Malaysia. The research draws upon the intersections between media and cultural studies, everyday life studies and urban cultures, to understand how the tactics of individuals within the creative collectives disrupt, or counteract, official narratives and the top-down strategies of Bandung and George Town as UNESCO cities. This thesis gives priority to the voices of the city dwellers from a bottom-up approach, enriching academic discussions on everyday life, culture and creative cities within the field of urban media and communication. Methodologically, this research combines ethnography and visual methodology, providing a situated and nuanced context for street-level analysis of Bandung and George Town, in particular analysing how spatial and visual contexts are significant aspects of urban creative collectives.<br/><br/>The analysis illuminates the creative politics of space and placemaking in local settings, highlighting how the collectives in this study form alternative spaces to live and work, developing an organic and dynamic interplay between the physical, social and digitally mediated spaces of creative cities. A key argument concerns the articulation of alternative voices through the form of ‘subtle resistance’ by creative collectives, signposting small, micro level tactics as a form of cultural resistance to creative city branding and top-down narratives of creative economies in Southeast Asia. Through an analysis of themes related to spatial practice in the city, cultural memory and cultural identity, the ethnographic and visual research offers a lens within which to understand and value everyday creative practices such as inventiveness and resourcefulness. The articulation of various identities, as urban dwellers, artists, craftspeople and creative collectives, offers a powerful alternative understanding of what it means to live and make do in the local streets, creative hubs and residential neighbourhoods of Southeast Asian creative cities.}},
author = {{Habibi, Zaki}},
isbn = {{978-91-7895-666-1}},
issn = {{1104-4330}},
keywords = {{articulation; creativity; creative city; cultural identity; cultural memory; cultural resistance; media practice; space; visual method; artikulation; kreativitet; kreativ stad; kulturell identitet; kulturellt minne; kulturellt motstånd; medieutövning; visuell metod}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{12}},
number = {{23}},
publisher = {{Lund University}},
school = {{Lund University}},
series = {{Lund Studies in Media and Communication}},
title = {{Creative voices of the city : Articulating media, space and cultural identities by creative collectives in Southeast Asia}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/86907498/2020_Zaki_Habibi_Creative_voices_of_the_city_COMPLETE_.pdf}},
year = {{2020}},
}