Creative industries as a field and as an academic discipline has taken a pivotal turn in the last decades. The study of creative industries celebrates the intersection of multiple areas ranging from music, craft, fashion, technology, tourism, to placemaking, to name a few. Interestingly, these form only the tip of the iceberg.
Creative industries as an area was originally conceived towards revenue generation, creating employment and overall economic revitalization. However, the more we understand the creative industries, the closer we reach towards valuing them beyond simply an economic revitalization model. Creative industries serve as a great example to call attention to nuances that every researcher can individually bring- for instance, the questions of indigenous communities and technology is a fascinating example of how two diverse worlds can intersect. Understanding creative industries through its various players, processes and points of view can uncover various interesting facets therein. Thus, by focusing on creativity along with various intersections such as culture, diaspora, mobilities, gender and so on, the application of creativity and creative industries can be endless.
This was my first observation as students of MA Creative Industries Core Course discussed various topics that only kept broadening the scope of the subject and in-class discussions. This in-house e-journal, The Radboud Creative Industries Journal, brings together the articles of students of a Masters level course at Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands (LET-ACWME0000 core course in creative industries). Students conceptualized interesting questions for discussion that were unique to their positionality, adopting a critical cultural studies perspective. The articles that resulted from these conversations in class, and a double blinded peer-review exercise are presented in this e-journal.
The angle of this e-journal celebrates creative industries from a global perspective. In this edition, we explore diverse topics ranging from youth participation in the creative industries in Ghana to Pakistani truck art’s cultural relevance, from the evolution of socially committed art, to understanding the role of platforms such as TikTok or Vinted in contemporary societies. Taking relevant strides towards social relevance of creative industries, this edition touches upon AI and storytelling in museums, and also activism in the music industry underpinning Bandcamp Gaza fundraisers as a case study.
This e-journal came into being with limited resources and no funding, but with the pure intent of making enriching creative industries conversations that take place in classroom more accessible to a wider audience. This idea resulted in this collection of essays. We are grateful for the support of Culture Weekly for housing this initiative and we hope this e-journal sees many more years of collaborative efforts to add depth and richness to creative industries in general. I particularly want to thank MA students Merel Visser and Julia Leijzer for their enthusiasm in supporting this e-journal with their great editorial assistance. We hope you enjoy reading along!
Apoorva Nanjangud Merel Visser Julia Leijzer
Editor Editorial Assistant Editorial Assistant
Nijmegen,
April 2025
Culture Weekly 