ABSTRACT
Introduction ‘Creative places’, variably referred to as ‘creative clusters’ (Cooke and Lazzeretti 2008), ‘creative cities’ (Scott 2006a) or ‘creative fields’ (Scott 2006b), are typically characterized as locations where the talents of creative workers, the productive assets of enterprises, a rich tissue of institutional rules and conventions, and a local social milieu consisting of cultural diversity and bohemian lifestyle come together to produce an environment in which creativity can flourish (Florida 2002: 22). A key argument in this literature is that the symbolic currents of location are vital for the economic success of cultural artefacts and goods (Molotch 2002), and that creative workers use locality as a source of signs, symbols and cues for making their decisions about products and location (Drake 2003). In the present study, I explore the role of place in the identity of artists as creative workers. Identity is vital to artists’ efforts to make sense in and of place in ways that support their decisions. Place refers to a territorial entity (e.g. a work studio, neighbourhood, trade fair, park) that has a material form (natural or artificial) and is subjectively interpreted, experienced and narrated (Gieryn 2000). The objective of this study is to understand the various meanings artists assign to place as they construct their identity as creative workers.
