Tag Archives: Creative Industries Publication

Essays written by students in the Core Course Creative industries.

The commodification of (online) secondhand shopping: An analysis of the relationship between interface design and consumer behavior on Vinted

By Melissa Ho

Secondhand shopping is an activity that has been around for a long time, not only to save costs, but also as a way of decreasing one’s carbon footprint.1 As the fashion industry has become fast-paced and overconsumption behavior worsens, resources are at risk of becoming obsolete and companies’ search for cheap manufacturing leads to exploitation of laborers in the Global South, while polluting the environment with an abundance of textile waste dumped in landfills.2 Consumer’s increasing awareness of the effect of the fashion industry pushes scholars, companies and consumers themselves to search for a more sustainable way of producing, distributing and consuming fashion.

For decades, different design industries have been using the strategy of planned obsolescence to stimulate consumers to keep purchasing new products.3 Planned obsolescence exists in different forms: the purposely faulty made products or materials that last for a limited amount of time, and the social aspect of planned obsolescence which creates trends and the social need to keep up with the taste of the majority of society.4 As companies plan for products to ‘expire,’ the waste accumulates until it does irreversible damage to the earth and its inhabitants. In the case of fast fashion, at its current understanding, it is about fast and cheap consumption of new items, while sustainability aims for long lasting and durable design and products.5

In approaching the consequences of wasteful industries, different scholars have proposed and advocated for a circular economy (CE). According to Kopnina, CE relies on the concept of circularity, which “entails reducing if not completely eliminating the consumption of new (raw) materials and designing products in such a manner that they can easily be taken apart and reused after use.”6 As the fashion industry has become globalized and destructive, to achieve CE, systematic change and collaboration between all levels – design, manufacturing, distribution, consumption – within the industry is crucial.

In addition, studies of consumption behavior and the consumer’s needs are essential in finding solutions to the pressing problems, since consumers may be able to direct or influence the production or distribution process by demanding for change. The assessment of the needs of the different stakeholders is essential to understand and overcome the obstacles of practicing a more sustainable form of fashion.

One of the examples of a circular form of shopping is secondhand, which is increasingly gaining momentum in popularity among youth.7 As Palomo-Domínguez et al. have described, this type of shopping offers possibilities to curate a unique self identity, while recognizing and confronting the environmental impact of the fashion industries.8 Within the globalized and digital world, different mobile marketplace applications have been developed. The secondhand shopping platform, Vinted, has risen in popularity from 2008 onwards, when it was founded in Lithuania. Starting out with the mission “to make second-hand the first choice worldwide,”9 the company has expanded to more than 20 different countries and has been downloaded by millions.10 As the application is intended to promote sustainable and slow fashion, but could also have less sustainable implications, this paper will both highlight the possibilities and the weaknesses of keeping the promise of sustainability through online secondhand shopping.

Literature research will indicate what the motivations for online secondhand shopping may be and how the consideration of environmental and ethical sustainability are taken into account while consuming fashion. Vinted will be analyzed according to the interface design and connected to the concepts proposed in existing research. The following research question will be studied: In the context of the process of a sustainable future of the fashion industry, to what extent is digital platform Vinted contributing to the transformation of secondhand shopping into a commodified practice?

Reviewing literature: conceptualization of the proposed solutions

The main motivation for purchasing clothes is, as Atik and Ertekin have argued, the desire for newness. While this could be applicable to any product, fashion items are for many people an important symbolic medium to express their self-identity or conform to the norms and values of the larger community.11 The restless desire for newness could also be explained by the empty promises from the media and mass-distributed trends, and boredom resulting in the need for novelty, even when this is elusive.12 While this desire for newness depends on the individual, fast fashion corporations like H&M and Zara are not innocent and fuel this hunger by mass producing new collections of clothes, every month or even week, with a limited availability, pressuring consumers to follow the newest trends. The overconsumption leads to the normalization of disposing of clothes at a faster rate.13

Atik and Ertekin emphasize the lack of emotional connection, or the personal affect, consumers have in regards to their personal belongings and how this makes its disposal even easier.14 In this way, the fast fashion industry not only harms the health of workers and the environment, but it also pollutes the consumer’s mind.

Fashion as a sustainable practice has ambiguous connotations, even within the academic field. To clear up misunderstandings, West et al. have argued for the term slow fashion to describe a type of fashion that “is not reliant on things that are new, it is not obsessed with image, neither is it delivered top down from designers through the catwalk and then emulated by fast fashion retailers.”15 They urge consumers to break with current consumption behavior, where quality over quantity is valued. Instead of following trends, fashion should reflect the consumer’s individual creative choice.16 However, in reality this goal is hard to achieve considering the many factors that contribute to the greater problem.

A circular fashion industry is usually considered from a macro-level, top-down perspective where companies and policymakers are expected to take the initiative to make meaningful changes. Circular economy’s (CE) main goal is to provide an alternative for the linear form of production and economy, which refers to products being made to end up as waste.17 As Mishra, Jain and Malhotra have argued, achieving CE requires radical systematic changes throughout the whole value chain, in order to transform waste back to resources.18 CE in fashion could manifest itself through designers and big fashion brands designing garments that “use sustainable raw materials, close the material loops and keep the material and products in the loop, as long as possible”19 with the help of innovation and collaboration between different levels of stakeholders. As certain fashion designs are made with the ‘resilience’ value in mind, Vanacker et al. believe that kind of “product has a high ability to adapt to changing environments.” 20However in reality, if the current system is lucrative enough, the question remains if companies within the fashion industry feel impelled to radically and systematically rethink and redo their way of producing and supplying fashion.

On the other hand, CE could also be approached from a bottom to top strategy. Different scholars have argued and urged for a bottom up approach to slowing fashion down by understanding consumption behavior and proposing different solutions suited for each type of consumer. West et al. have defined different types of consumers and urge to design the transformation to slow fashion according to those differences. They have observed the following types of consumers through interviews: the hierarchist, egalitarian and the individualist. The hierarchist understands slow fashion as a collective responsibility, and if not everyone is participating, they do not feel obliged to do the same. The egalitarian considers every stage of the fashion production and supply chain and the implications their role and responsibility has on the present and future. Lastly, the individualist approaches fashion based on individual choice, narrative and values, which suggests that this type does not consider slow fashion as a personal responsibility if it is not included in their personal values and they may consider other elements, like style, more important.21

In the context of online secondhand shopping, or thrifting, this activity has been made possible through digitalization and globalization. Through a digital platform, the physical, local vintage or thrift shop transforms into an online marketspace available to a greater audience. Individuals are able to curate their used “closet” and directly exchange secondhand items between each other.

Vinted is currently one of the most popular online resale platforms on the market.22 In mainstream media, Vinted commercials promote the platform and simultaneously the idea of consumption and the reuse of garments,23 using slogans like ‘Don’t wear it? Sell it!’ The app is believed to contribute to Gen Z’s (born from 1995 to 2009) motivation and understanding of sustainable fashion as Palomo-Domínguez et al. have argued.24 They describe Gen Z as digital natives; the generation that exists in and is influenced by online spheres. When expanding their knowledge on the impact of the fashion industry on the environment Gen Z tends to depend on the media and trends they consume.25 In regard to Vinted, a part of the participants in Palomo-Domínquez et al. ‘s focus group interviews appreciated Vinted’s contribution to sustainability and gained motivation to act in the same manner, but also considered it as trendy.26 From their research, the authors have obtained consistent findings in which “despite Gen Z’s environmental and sustainable awareness, this generation still presents a majoritarian consumption behavior that supports fast fashion and other non-sustainable models.”27 The majority of the participants who use Vinted prioritized practical attributes like making and saving money, decluttering and the ease of using the platform.28 Thus, while Gen Z becomes increasingly aware of sustainability and the downsides of the (fast) fashion industry, scholars observe an action-value gap.29

While different studies have proposed practical solutions to a complex problem, there is not one way in which it can be tackled. However, there are a few commonalities: slow fashion and emotional durability seem to express the most important components of a sustainable fashion practice. In the case of (online) secondhand shopping, one might wonder if this type of shopping fulfills these needs or exploits them. Cerio et al. argue in their article that platforms like Vinted are over-marketized, causing conflicts between users on secondhand resale platforms. Conflicts regarding market-related topics are the most common, as most users on these platforms value economic aspects (e.g. bargaining) and convenience (e.g. ease of use) the most, favor a competitive atmosphere and consequently often experience negative social exchanges.30 However, this argument becomes more nuanced, as Ceria et al. argue, since consumers are able to adapt to others who may not have the same commercial intentions, and so they are able to rely on “domestic values, such as politeness and trust, which ultimately work to de-commodify commodity practices.”31

Method

By using the walkthrough method in an interface analysis, the format of the app Vinted will be studied from the perspective of the user’s experience. As Light et al. have stated, this method enables the researcher to establish a corpus of data to study the technical and cultural implications embedded in an app.32 This type of analysis offers insights on the intended use of the app and how the interface may or may not influence the user’s behavior. Using the walkthrough method for Vinted may offer meaningful results, as it indicates how both the company and the consumer have agency over their choice and at the same time influence the outcome of each other’s actions. The collected data will be further discussed in the discussion in relation to the literature review.

Vinted: an online thrifting experience33

Vinted’s expected use in three stages

The first stage entails the app’s vision, which refers to “the purpose, target user base and scenarios of use, which are often communicated through the app provider’s organizational materials.”34 Vinted Marketplace claims on their official website that they want “to make second-hand the first choice worldwide” by extending the lifecycle of its member’s used items.35

The operating model, the second stage of determining an app’s expected use, is based on the “business strategy and revenue sources, which indicate underlying political and economic interests.”36 Vinted gains their incentives through advertisements in the app and the amount of downloads they have achieved worldwide. Users do not have to pay for the app nor do they have to pay the company to place orders or sell products. As a secondhand marketplace, there is some implication that they disagree with the current production and consumption cycle, and in this way want to offer alternative consumption behavior, where extending the lifecycle of an item is desired.

Lastly, the third stage involves the modes of governance, or in other words, the ways “the app provider seeks to manage and regulate user activity to sustain their operating model and fulfill their vision,” which is based on documents like guidelines and the Terms of Services.37 Vinted has set rules to ensure that the platform is a “friendly and safe place to trade secondhand items.”38 They request users to comply with the list of items that are allowed to be put for sale and refer to official rules from the European Economic Area. In the guidelines there is a list of prohibited items and a declaration that Vinted has the right to re-evaluate what items are or are not allowed to be listed. If certain items are found to be unsafe or inappropriate, Vinted may remove these items. Additionally, users are given the agency to report incidents of listings of prohibited items.39

Walkthrough method

Registering and entering Vinted

Upon opening Vinted, the user is met with a regular registration system, in which they fill in their information or log in using an existing Google or Facebook account. Once registered, the user enters the platform and is met with Vinted’s minimalist and straightforward interface design on their home page. At the top of the screen there are three categories shown: “Everything,” “Designer” and “Electronics.” Depending on each category, a new page with different items is shown.

On the bottom of the screen the following buttons show different screens: “Home,” “Search,” “Sell,” “Inbox” and “Profile.” The design and affordances of the app offer basic actions for users to follow to browse through items and sell their clothes.

Everyday use40

When scrolling down the “Everything” page, the following topics with fitting images are shown: “Recommendations for you,” “Your favorites,” “Last viewed items.” These categories indicate the app’s ability to adapt to the tastes of the user based on their recorded behavior on the platform. Simultaneously, suggested items suiting the user’s taste may encourage more consumption.

After scrolling down, the category “New” appears and a roster of newly listed items offers the user an overview of what can be bought. The large number of Vinted users results in frequent updates of newly uploaded items. Each item is visualized with an image, the username of the seller, the size, brand and the price of an item. Users are able to “like” the items that they are interested in and they are able to see the amount of likes, or in other words the amount of people interested in a particular item, which may cause pressure to purchase the item before someone else does.

Once the user finds an item that they have taken interest in, they can click on the image and the item appears in a larger size on screen. When scrolling down, the user finds the seller and their reviews symbolized in a five-star system, a description of the item and additional information (e.g. shipping, extra security fees), and more images of items that the seller offers. In this way, the user is able to hunt for more items from one seller’s “closet.” Buying more from one seller becomes a “bundle” and is rewarded with a discount. However, if the user is interested in a singular item, they could simply buy the item or make an offer. The process of negotiation is private between the buyer and the seller through direct messaging, which can be found in the “Inbox.”

Discontinuation of use

By ‘walking through’ Vinted, the discontinuation of using the app is difficult to generalize for every user. However, a few possible reasons can be imagined. Firstly, in the future, secondhand shopping may not be considered to be as trendy anymore as it is right now, causing this form of shopping to become less desired. Additionally, the “newness” of items or the amount of “new” items that are uploaded may become obsolete or less frequent, decreasing the interest to regularly check the content of the app. This could become the case if another app or platform enters the market that may offer different affordances or different products that are more favorable. Ceria et al. have argued that negative social exchanges between users have resulted in refusing or abandoning the use of the platform, and donating the items somewhere else instead.41 Lastly, if slow fashion will be accomplished someday, the desire for newness may get subdued and users become more conscious of their consumption behavior, which may cause lesser use of the app.

Discussion and conclusion

From the findings of the interface analysis, Vinted can be considered a platform that encourages a conscious way of consuming while destigmatizing secondhand shopping, putting purchasing used items in a positive light and encouraging less textile waste. At the same time, Vinted also sustains a market-focused view on shopping, and possibly overconsumption. The international and easy-to-use nature of the platform together with an online shopping experience may afford the user to gain more accessibility and prolong the desire for newness. Consumers long for self-actualization; they want to be able to curate their own unique self through fashion. The access to individuals’ “closets” from over different countries means a wider variety of unique items, but also the thrill of acquiring garments for a bargain, may make Vinted an attractive app for those users. At the same time, the existence of the app could enable consumers to buy items firsthand while considering the fact that they could always resell it, opposed to donating the items to a local charity shop or purchasing used items. Secondhand shopping is considered to be sustainable, but if it becomes excessive consumption where the individual’s values are prioritized, the outcome may not comply with the goal of CE.

The consumer’s behavior may further commodify the thrifting experience, if consumers consider Vinted as a revenue model. For instance, buying used items, that might be trending or rare luxury finds, in bulk and reselling these items for a higher price could lead to the gentrification of secondhand shopping, meaning that the prices within the thrift and charity shops increase and people with lower income may find it harder to afford. However, it is crucial to note that this discussion as of right now mainly consists of hypotheses that have to be studied with the support of qualitative and quantitative research. Qualitative research, like interviews, could further explore the perceptions that Vinted users may have on the changing experience of secondhand shopping. As Gen Z is influenced by social media, it also might be recommended to study how Vinted markets themselves, how Gen Z portray and promote Vinted in their own content, and how this could affect the perception of sustainability in fashion.

All in all, this paper has offered insights into the concepts clouding the process of making the fashion industry more sustainable. While existing literature has proposed different solutions to companies, designers, artisans, policymakers and consumers, the interface analysis in this paper has shown that current consumption behavior could be continued to be encouraged through the app’s design. In Vinted’s case, it could be argued that the platform affords users to translate their consumption behavior in the setting of the app. While some consumers may be genuine about contributing to the common good, others may use secondhand items as an excuse to continue their excessive consumption. Thus, considering the nature of the platform, in addition to the design of the app which promotes the “new” and personalization, and the use of buying and selling as the main strategy in their marketing, it could be argued that Vinted may fuel the consumer’s desire for newness.

To conclude, platforms like Vinted should attempt to alter their business model in order to create and enable conscious shopping in which the needs of consumers are satisfied without their desire for the new and the material. However, aiming for a circular economy cannot be achieved from an industry standpoint only, consumers are needed to break cycles of unethical and unsustainable practices, and so, a solution is not only a one-way street but a complex web of intertwining and intersecting stakeholders.

Bibliography

Footnotes

  1. Su Yun Bae and Ruoh-Nan Yan, “Comparison between Second-Hand Apparel Shoppers versus Non-Shoppers: The Perspectives of Consumer Ethics,” International Journal of Environmental & Science Education 13, no. 9 (2018): 728. e-ISSN: 1306-3065.
    ↩︎
  2. Leo Paul Dana, Rosy Boardman, Aidin Salamzadeh, Vijay Pereira, and Michelle Brandstrup. Fashion and Environmental Sustainability: Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2024), 134-7. https://www.degruyter.com/isbn/9783110795431. ↩︎
  3. Helen Kopnina and Kim Poldner, Circular Economy : Challenges and Opportunities for Ethical and Sustainable Business (Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2022), 2.
    ↩︎
  4. Kate Fletcher, “Durability, Fashion, Sustainability: The Processes and Practices of Use,” Fashion Practice 4, no. 2 (2012): 222-25. https://doi.org/10.2752/175693812X13403765252389. ↩︎
  5. Deniz Atik, and Zeynep Ozdamar Ertekin, “The Restless Desire for the New versus Sustainability: The Pressing Need for Social Marketing in Fashion Industry,” Journal of Social Marketing 13, no. 1 (2023): 1, https://doi.org/10.1108/JSOCM-02-2022-0036.
    ↩︎
  6. Kopnina and Poldner, Circular Economy, 1. ↩︎
  7. Isabel Palomo-Domínguez, Rodrigo Elías-Zambrano, and Víctor Álvarez-Rodríguez, “Gen Z’s Motivations towards Sustainable Fashion and Eco-Friendly Brand Attributes: The Case of Vinted,” Sustainability 15, no. 11 (2023): 2, https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118753.
    ↩︎
  8. Palomo-Domínguez, Elías-Zambrano and Álvarez-Rodríguez, “Gen Z’s Motivations towards Sustainable Fashion and Eco-Friendly Brand Attributes,” 3. ↩︎
  9. “About Vinted,” Vinted, accessed October 10, 2024, https://careers.vinted.com/company. ↩︎
  10. CI research paper
    Vinted, “About Vinted.” ↩︎
  11. Atik and Ertekin, “The Restless Desire for the New versus Sustainability,” 3. ↩︎
  12. Atik and Ertekin, “The Restless Desire for the New versus Sustainability,” 3. ↩︎
  13. Atik and Ertekin, “The Restless Desire for the New versus Sustainability,” 5. ↩︎
  14. Atik and Ertekin, “The Restless Desire for the New versus Sustainability,” 5. ↩︎
  15. Jodie West, Clare Saunders and Joanie Willet, “A Bottom up Approach to Slowing Fashion: Tailored Solutions for Consumers,” Journal of Cleaner Production 296, no.1 (March 2021): 2, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126387. ↩︎
  16. West, Saunders and Willet, “A Bottom up Approach to Slowing Fashion,” 2. ↩︎
  17. Kopnina and Poldner, Circular Economy, 1. ↩︎
  18. Sita Mishra, Sheetal Jain and Gunjan Malhotra, “The Anatomy of Circular Economy Transition in the Fashion Industry,” Social Responsibility Journal 17, no. 4 (2021): 527, https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-06-2019-0216. ↩︎
  19. Mishra, Jain and Malhotra, “The Anatomy of Circular Economy Transition in the Fashion Industry,” 526. ↩︎
  20. Hester Vanacker, Andrée-Anne Lemieux, and Sophie Bonnier, “Different Dimensions of Durability in the Luxury Fashion Industry: An Analysis Framework to Conduct a Literature Review,” Journal of Cleaner Production 377 (2022): 1, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.134179. ↩︎
  21. West, Saunders and Willet, “A Bottom up Approach to Slowing Fashion,” 5. ↩︎
  22. Palomo-Domínguez, Elías-Zambrano and Álvarez-Rodríguez, “Gen Z’s Motivations towards Sustainable Fashion and Eco-Friendly Brand Attributes,” 5. ↩︎
  23. Vinted, “Too Many? | Vinted,” Youtube, uploaded on May 24, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6ZDnpoEoOU. ↩︎
  24. Palomo-Domínguez, Elías-Zambrano and Álvarez-Rodríguez, “Gen Z’s Motivations towards Sustainable Fashion and Eco-Friendly Brand Attributes,” 2. ↩︎
  25. Agata Balińska, Ewa Jaska, and Agnieszka Werenowska, “The Importance of the Vinted Application in Popularizing Sustainable Behavior among Representatives of Generation Z,” Sustainability 16, no. 14 (2024): 2, https://doi.org/10.3390/su16146213. ↩︎
  26. Palomo-Domínguez, Elías-Zambrano and Álvarez-Rodríguez, “Gen Z’s Motivations towards Sustainable Fashion and Eco-Friendly Brand Attributes,” 16. ↩︎
  27. Palomo-Domínguez, Elías-Zambrano and Álvarez-Rodríguez, “Gen Z’s Motivations towards Sustainable Fashion and Eco-Friendly Brand Attributes,” 16. ↩︎
  28. Palomo-Domínguez, Elías-Zambrano and Álvarez-Rodríguez, “Gen Z’s Motivations towards Sustainable Fashion and Eco-Friendly Brand Attributes,” 16. ↩︎
  29. Anja Kollmuss and Julian Agyeman, “Mind the Gap: Why do people act environmentally and what are the barriers to pro-environmental behavior?” Environmental Education Research 8, no. 3 (2002): 242. ↩︎
  30. Eva Cerio, Alain Debenedetti and Rieunier Sophie, “When the secondhand economy is not as good as it seems: understanding conflicts and their (ir)resolutions between users on secondhand resale platforms,” Qualitative Market Research 1, no.1 (2024): 16, https://doi-org.vu-nl.idm.oclc.org/10.1108/QMR-05-2023-0069. ↩︎
  31. Cerio, Debenedetti and Sophie, “When the secondhand economy is not as good as it seems,” 17. ↩︎
  32. Ben Light, Jean Burgess and Stefanie Duguay, “The walkthrough method: An approach to the study of apps,” New Media & Society 20, no. 3 (2018): 882, https://doi-org.vu-nl.idm.oclc.org/10.1177/1461444816675438. ↩︎
  33. This analysis was conducted on the 16th of October, 2024. ↩︎
  34. Light, Burgess and Duguay, “The walkthrough method,” 889. ↩︎
  35. Vinted, “About Vinted.” ↩︎
  36. Light, Burgess and Duguay, “The walkthrough method,” 890. ↩︎
  37. Light, Burgess and Duguay, “The walkthrough method,” 890. ↩︎
  38. “Catalog rules,” Vinted, accessed October 10, 2024, https://www.vinted.com/catalog-rules?srsltid=AfmBOooyHehpGPegSPnOOy_Xdr9vcl4-Zn7vCf7nPKT XQhN4Mia2M8Sc. ↩︎
  39. Vinted, “Catalog rules.” ↩︎
  40. Due to the limited scope of the paper, only a few aspects of the app will be discussed. ↩︎
  41. Cerio, Debenedetti and Sophie, “When the secondhand economy is not as good as it seems,” 17. ↩︎

Pakistani Truck Art: A Symbol of Resilience in the Face of Globalisation and Commodification

By Farzana Shaheen

Abstract

Pakistani truck art, a vibrant tradition with roots in ancient culture, has evolved into a global symbol of cultural resilience. This paper explores how truck art maintains significance despite globalisation, balancing local traditions with international exposure. Through a theoretical framework grounded in post-colonial hybridity theory, the research examines truck art’s role as a symbol of cultural identity, a response to global influences, and a tool for resilience. Additionally, it highlights truck art’s educational power in raising awareness of socio-political issues.

Keywords: Pakistani truck art, Globalisation, Commodification, Cultural hybridity

Header image: A collage of decorative truck art showing a Sufi saint, a horse, a ship, peacocks,  an eagle and other birds. Source: FANN, 2022.

1.     Introduction

Pakistan, a South Asian country known for its rich culture and ethnic diversity, is home to a unique, vibrant, and famous art form—truck art. This tradition of vehicle decoration, deeply rooted in history, is common in many countries, including the Philippines, India, Central and South America, and Afghanistan. However, Pakistani truck art is notable for its distinct style and ubiquitous presence, with practically all private and commercial trucks decorated in various ways (Elias, 2003; Stewart, 2018).

The practice of work of art on vehicles in Pakistan has a long and illustrious history, dating back to the Mughal rulers. They used to embellish their horse carriages with elaborate flower designs. Some argue that the origins of this folk art may be traced back to the ancient Indus civilisation (Rathnayake, 2022). Truck drivers began beautifying their vehicles with paintings and appealing poems, a practice that grew with the advent of Bedford trucks from England during British colonialism in the sub-continent (Ansari, 2024). After Pakistan’s independence in 1947, the truck industry became one of the biggest industries for transporting commodities (Ali, 2023). Today, truck art is more than decoration; it’s a complicated type of moving visual language and expressive communication. It explores religious, cultural, social, and folk topics, making it an effective visual narrative medium.

Pakistani truck art is called ‘art on the wheel’ or ‘moving art’ (Ansari, 2024; Ahmed, 2022; Ali,2023). This art originated from drivers from rural, low-income regions and is more than a form of expression. It is a powerful tool that portrays their traditions, emotions, and values.

This use of visual narrative bridges the gap between drivers and their communities, reflecting their natural surroundings and cultural heritage (Lefebvre, 1989). Artisans in this field typically inherit the skills from previous generations, resulting in a family tradition. Truck drivers and craftsmen call their trucks “newlywed brides.” At the same time, scholars use various terms such as “moving darbars (palaces)” and “moving billboards” owing to their elaborate decorations and sounds (Elia, 2003; Mackey, 2011; Sheikh, 2018). Elias (2003) covers Pakistan’s five regional truck design styles: three major (Punjabi, Swati, and Baluchi) and two amalgamations (Peshawari and Karachi). Each style features a unique design inspired by ethnic heritage and regional influences.

Pakistan’s truck decoration has reached a premier level and is evolving into a thriving industry that provides livelihoods for many people (Ali, 2023). It has gained worldwide attention through various collaborations and exhibitions, celebrating its cultural importance globally. For instance, it was showcased at the ‘2002 Smithsonian Folklife Festival’ and later used by ‘UNESCO’ to advocate for critical global causes (Smithsonian Institution, 2002; UNESCO, 2022). Despite these international influences, truck art has maintained its strong connection to its local roots. As Appadurai’s (1996) concept of cultural flows explains, this art form beautifully balances local traditions with global exposure, proving its resilience in the face of globalisation and commodification while continuing to stand as a proud symbol of cultural heritage.

2.     Research Aim

This research aims to investigate how truck art embodies cultural resilience, fostering local culture and contributing to other local industries in the context of globalisation and commodification. Additionally, the paper critically analyses the challenges this art faces nationally and internationally.

3.     Research Questions

  • In what ways does Pakistani truck art reflect the resilience of local traditions and identities?
    • How has Pakistani truck art maintained its cultural significance despite the pressures of globalisation and commodification?

4.     Methodology

This paper uses a desk-based research method and the post-colonial theory of hybridity as a framework. Desk-based research is a method for gathering and analysing existing literature and secondary data sources to gather insights and contextualise findings (Fink, 2013; Bassot, 2018). Therefore, academic literature, articles, books, and blogs on truck art in general and Pakistan, in particular, have been accessed and reviewed to understand how this art symbolises cultural identity and resistance and to identify criticisms and alternative perspectives.

5.     Theoretical Framework

The research adopts the post-colonial theory of cultural hybridity to understand how Pakistani truck art maintains its cultural distinctiveness by resisting dominant global cultural homogenisation. Key scholars in this field include Stuart Hall, Homi Bhabha, and Arjun Appadurai. They defined ‘cultural hybridity’ as the ‘continuous re-creation of culture’ (Stuart,1990), the combination and reinterpretation of cultural influences (Bhabha, 1994). According to Appadurai (1996), ‘cultures cannot be confined within today’s boundaries’ suggests that global interactions generate hybrid forms of cultural expression to form new identities and meanings.

Applying this theory to Pakistani truck art allows us to understand how it remains resilient amid the influence of global trends. Today, this folk art embodies colourful designs, patterns, motifs, and images blended with traditional themes, regional folklore, and modern influences. This flexible nature of truck art demonstrates cultural hybridity, developing new forms of mixing old and new, local and global, traditional and contemporary. This way, Pakistani truck art maintains its unique identity while continuously adapting to global shifts.

6.     Literature Review

Truck art in South Asia grasped the attention of scholars at the end of the 20th century; various indigenous and international researchers contributed to this aspect of art in South Asia in general and Pakistan in particular. These will be discussed below in detail. The literature review deals with the history of truck art, its types and meanings, the social-political, cultural and religious influence of art, and its relationship with contemporary art and the fashion industry.

6.1.    History of truck art meaning of images and symbols

The earliest works of truck art are done by French and German scholars, such as Jean-Charles Blanc (1976) ‘Afghan Trucks: Lastwagen Kunst in Afghanistan: Bilder, die fahren’, M. Centlivres-Demont (1976). ‘Les peintures sur camions en Afghanistan’ and Marie-Benedicte Dutrex’s (1978) work ‘La Peinture des camions en Afghanistan’. Due to the language barrier,

these writings could not be accessed and reviewed. However, Elias (2003: 188), in his article ‘On Wings of Diesel: Spiritual Space and Religious Imagination in Pakistani Truck Decoration,’ acknowledged Dutrex’s work as a systematic analysis of the motifs employed in truck design while criticising her work for making “serious errors in translating Pashto, Persian, and Urdu writing on trucks’ mentioning this flawed is due translation issues. Therefore, Dutrex’s work loses creditability in studying the meaning of truck art. In the same article, Elias also explores the tradition of truck decoration in Pakistan, focusing on the artistic styles, motifs, and underlying meanings. He examines how truck decorations transcend aesthetics and become a visual language reflecting Pakistani truck drivers’ religious beliefs, cultural values, and social identities.

Lefebvre (1989), in ‘The Decorative Truck as a Communicative Device’, provides deeper insights into the communicative aspects of truck art. He suggests truck art in Pakistan serves more than mere decoration; instead, it is a form of non-verbal communication that reflects both practical and symbolic purposes. Further expanding on this, Rich and Khan (1980), in ‘Bedford Painting in Pakistan: The Aesthetics and Organization of an Artisan Trade’, emphasise craftsmanship within an artisanal economic system. Based on these, in the article ‘Iconography in Pakistani Truck: A Cultural Appraisal’, Wajid Ali (2023) provides a more contemporary view, categorising truck art into different types and examining the popular. He highlights the impact of economic challenges on this art form.

An image of Truck Art illustrating the colourful floral patterns and the mosque dome with a pillar in the middle. Source: FANN, 2022.

6.2. The Socio-political, Cultural, and Religious Significance of Truck Art in Pakistan

Anna Schmid (2000), in the article ‘Truck Art as Area of Contest,’ illustrates that truck art is a medium for contesting religious, political, and cultural meanings, often resisting the dominating interpretations. The author analyses the construction and decoration of trucks, the interplay between drivers, painters, and the broader Pakistani audience, and the various motifs and inscriptions on the trucks. She explains truck art elements’ contribution to a complex and open-ended discourse that engages with societal values and beliefs, revealing the power of popular culture to challenge dominant narratives and foster individual expression.

Adding further on this, Elias’s (2005) second article, ‘Truck Decoration and Religious Identity: Material Culture and Social Function in Pakistan’, deeply dive into the relationship between truck art and religious identity, which reflects the deriver’s belief and influence of the Islamic

context. The author explores the visual elements that communicate a sense of community, religious beliefs, and cultural values. He draws attention to the evolution of truck decoration over time and the role of the Tabligh Jamaat (religious group) movement in shaping this unique artistic tradition. Eventually, the article emphasises that truck art as visual art goes beyond mere aesthetics, offering insights into Pakistani society’s beliefs, values and social dynamics.

Moreover, Sheikh’s (2018) “Impact of Truck Art, as Popular Culture on Pakistani Society” delves into the vibrant and often overlooked art form of truck decoration and argues that truck art transcends its aesthetic value and represents a rich tapestry of Pakistani culture, political and religious beliefs, and societal values. The observations, interviews with artists and truck owners, and her thoughtful analysis of recurring motifs and imagery showed that it is a powerful communication medium, a form of self-expression, and a reflection of Pakistani identity.

6.3. Truck Art in Contemporary Pakistan Culture

The only work that deals with Truck in the context of contemporary art is Nadia Ahmed’s (2022) ‘Pakistani Truck Art and its Shifts onto Modern Artefacts’, a thesis research project at Auckland University of Technology for her master’s studies. It mainly focuses on the artisan’s motivation in shifting art from heavy vehicles to modern artefacts and their impact on the meaning of their symbols and images as they are recontextualised in these new, often smaller and more personal, objects. The results showed that the artists’ motivation behind fusing contemporary art is to create awareness to promote Pakistan’s rich cultures and traditions globally and improve tourist experiences. Moreover, artisans are adapting Pakistani truck art to create functional objects that meet the modern demand for beauty and practicality. Artists’ satisfaction, decreased demand for work, their love for colours and, in some cases, heath constraints motivated artisans to shift to contemporary art. According to the author, this shift does not alter the meaning of the images.

6.4. The Fusion of Truck Art and the Fashion Industry

The intersection of truck art and the fashion industry has emerged as a fascinating study area. It showcases how this popular art is being reimagined and incorporated into contemporary local and international fashion while preserving its cultural identity.

In her academic paper, Fatima Malik (2018) advocates for preserving and integrating traditional Pakistani motifs and patterns in contemporary textile and fashion design. The article ‘Promoting Awareness about Traditional Motifs and Patterns of Pakistan in Truck Art through Textile and Fashion Design for the Local and Global Market’ draws attention to the adaptation of truck art into textile and fashion industries, locally and globally. By introducing truck art elements into contemporary fashion, the author aims to raise awareness of Pakistani heritage among local and global audiences. Thus, the country’s cultural identity will be promoted while the textile industry will foster economic growth. Correspondingly, Kazmi and Ghani-ur- Rahman (2021), in their article ‘The Evolution and Diffusion of Truck Art into Mainstream Culture Through the Fashion Industry’, illustrate the evaluation and diffusion of this folk art into mainstream cultures through its integration into the fashion industry. Prominent fashion designers and brands in Pakistan have commodified these unique motifs in the form of clothing, accessories, handbags and home decorations. For them, this is due to technological advancements and marketing evolution that have driven the commercialisation of truck art, integrating into various aspects of Pakistani culture. They examine the motivations behind designers’ and consumers’ adoption of truck art themes. This art form has not only been commodified but has also been used as a powerful tool for cultural expression and promotion. The research concludes that truck art has become an integral part of Pakistani cultural identity, reflecting the nation’s rich history, traditions, and artistic heritage.

Most of the literature about truck art deals with the art itself. In other words, many scholars focus on images, motifs, patterns, and meanings in socio-political, religious, and cultural domains. However, its resilience in the contemporary world, particularly in the context of globalisation and commodification, has not been discussed.

7.     Argumentation & Analysis

7. 1.    Truck Art as a Symbol of Cultural Identity

Truck art is a significant part of Pakistani aesthetics, mainly through the exclusive use of colours, intricate designs, and artistic craftsmanship. In addition to artistic expression, truck art is essential in visualising Pakistan’s diverse heritage and shared identity. Many academic works have highlighted the evolution of truck art as a “cultural flag carrier” (Kazmi and Ghani- ur-Rahman, 2021), which means it symbolises and promotes Pakistani culture both domestically and internationally. Inspired by environmental settings, it has become an integral part of daily life in Pakistan, reflecting cultural and national identity, local beliefs and traditions

in various forms (Kurt, 2008; Ansari, 2024). Elias’s (2005) analysis of truck art emphasises that sacred places, calligraphy, and mythical creatures create a ‘spiritual space’ for drivers and passengers, deeply connected to national culture and religious symbolism. This aspect of truck art is also supported by Ali (2023), who states that patterns, motifs, and colours are drawn from Indigenous traditions and beliefs. For example, the depiction of identity markers such as local flora and fauna, national heroes, as well as poetic and Quranic verses serve as a sign of blending the sacred with everyday life. Hence, this fusion of religious, cultural, and aesthetic aspects highlights the syncretic nature of Pakistani society, making truck art a dynamic representation of a unique identity.

7.2. Truck Art in the Context of Globalisation.

In today’s world, globalisation affects every aspect of human life through “both the compression of the world and the intensification of the consciousness of the world as a whole” (Robertson, 1992: 8). In the context of globalisation, Pakistani truck art has maintained its cultural significance. This art was born in the local context and is deeply rooted in the traditional values of the artists, making it able to thrive in today’s era—the use of various cultural symbols and motifs, such as peacocks, flowers, and animals (Elias, 2003; Ansari, 2024). These motifs hold cultural meanings and reflect local folklore, myths and legends. For example, the peacock symbolises paradise and spiritual immortality in Pakistani culture (Ahmed, 2022). Furthermore, the frequent use of poetic verses and phrases in the local language not only emphasises the significance of linguistic identity but also demonstrates a resistance to cultural homogenisation. While rooted in tradition, Pakistani truck art can also adapt to and incorporate elements of modernity, such as modern film characters and political and influential personalities such as Diana and Erdoğan. This blending of traditional and contemporary elements highlights the dynamic nature of Pakistani culture and its capacity to evolve while maintaining its core values and identities. Hence, Pakistani truck art is incomplete without the local traditions, myths, patterns and motifs. These elements of this art reflect a deep commitment to preserving local traditions and identities.

7.3. Truck Art Exemplifies as Cultural Resilience

Malik (2018) suggests that integrating truck art into fashion and textile designs helps truck artists’ livelihood and promotes awareness of cultural motifs in both local and global audiences. This means that despite the pressures of globalisation and commodification, truck art has adopted a hybridity of cultures by retaining distinctly local styles, motifs, and themes

rooted in Pakistan’s cultural context. This falls under Bhabha’s notion of hybridity (Bhaba, 1994), in which the truck exemplifies a hybrid cultural form that blends traditional and modern elements. Truck art emerged from the hybridity of cultures during colonisation when Bedford trucks were imported from England to India. This emergence of a “third space” (Bhaba, 1994) dominated the colonial authority. Lent (1995) also observed this and described trucks as a “reflection and manifestation of foreign and natural popular cultures” (Lent, 1995: 175).

In contemporary times, truck art in Pakistan is shaped by transforming foreign-manufactured vehicles into unique expressions of local identity through traditional colourful designs and intricate local patterns. This hybridity reflects the intersection of indigenous cultural symbols with foreign traditions and the formation of new identities and meanings, as discussed by Bhaba and Appadurai in their theories of cultural hybridity. Schmid (2000) noted this as truck artists adapting foreign landscapes and copying from postcards, depictions of Tarzan or Rambo, and national heroes, calling it a “seismographic” reaction to changes in modern times.

By infusing over 2.28 million privately owned trucks (Elias, 2005) with elaborate decorations, this practice celebrates regional aesthetics and fosters communal pride and belonging among drivers and communities. This exemplifies how local narratives can personalise global products, asserting individuality and challenging the homogenising forces of corporate conformity, thereby showcasing the resilience of cultural imperialism in an increasingly uniform global landscape. Truck art has survived for decades compared to other aspects of culture and art. Countries like Pakistan experience economic crises driven by multiple factors, leading to the extinction of various art practices due to insufficient support for their preservation and conservation. However, truck art emerges as a crucial means of resilience against these economic hardships, reinforcing community bonds and emphasising the significance of artistic expression beyond mere commercial interests. For instance, most trucks in Pakistan are fleet- owned, and drivers are often allowed to customise their vehicles at company expense, typically costing 125,000 to 400,000 rupees (Elias, 2003). This indicates that truck art is driven by more than just financial concerns.

7.4. Educating Through Art: Raising Awareness of Contemporary Issues

Stuart Hall (1990) and Bhabhba (1994) argue that culture is not static and is always continuously re-created through the interaction of various influences. Today, truck art conveys specific messages and values influenced by cultural hybridity and globalisation. Besides aesthetics, it also serves as an activist art by adopting a global trend to raise awareness about

local issues. For example, in specific campaigns such as documentary filmmaker Samar MinAllah Khan collaborated with truck artists by incorporating themes about critical topics such as sexual abuse, honour killing and domestic labour to create awareness among diverse communities using trucks as moving billboards (Rathnayake, 2022).

As Lefebvre (1989) mentioned, ‘the decorated Pakistani truck is an example of how an object is allocated a codified meaning and how this codification is ideologically structured’ (Lefebvre,1989: 218). In other words, truck art functions as a significant medium for expressing economic, national and political issues, advocating for women’s rights, promoting education, and reflecting Pakistan’s national heritage, thereby facilitating critical dialogues on social and cultural matters within the community, such as it carries images promoting polio vaccination and female education (Latif, 2015; Ali, 2023; UNESCO,2023 ). Furthermore, in collaboration with Berger Paints Pakistan, the contribution of truck art is worth noting. In 2019, an award-winning project was launched in which a small number of trucks carried portraits of missing children, as well as a phone number to call the Roshni Helpline (a Karachi-based nonprofit organisation dedicated to their recovery (Bloch, 2022; Saleem, 2022). Truck art is seen as a valuable educational resource internationally, exemplified by the Jingle Trucks Programme, founded by Kate Warren of Chattanooga’s Art. Through interactive art experiences, the Jingle Trucks Programme engages children in appreciating Pakistani truck art. It promotes connections and awareness in a multicultural context, illustrating the potential of such initiatives to cultivate a more inclusive educational environment (Wray, 2021).

An image of Truck Art showing the poetry and a phrase in Urdu. Source: SARA, 2023: 1.

8.     Conclusion

Pakistani truck art stands as a testament to the resilience and adaptability of local traditions and identities. By incorporating local imagery, regional styles, traditional motifs, cultural symbols and narratives, it contributes to heritage preservation and reinforces a sense of shared identity in the face of global influences. Blending historical artistry with modern influences creates a visual language that celebrates Pakistan’s cultural heritage while engaging with contemporary issues. The feature of truck art to embrace change and reflect the evolving socio-cultural landscape continues to hold a significant place in the hearts and minds of the people. This folk art’s ability to develop and stay relevant in a globalised world ensures its continued significance as a powerful expression of Pakistani identity for generations.

9.     Challenges and Recommendations

Despite maintaining its uniqueness, truck art can face the challenges of authenticity and originality in the future due to commercialisation. As Kazmi and Ghani-ur-Rahman (2021) highlighted, traditional motifs are reproduced and simplified for aesthetic purposes. This shift from truck art to commercialisation threatens specific patterns. For instance, the designs are often adapted to meet international tastes, which can marginalise or abandon traditional Islamic motifs, Urdu calligraphy, and regional folklore, which are the essence of Pakistani truck art. Moreover, this can also marginalise the real artists from the trucking community, often benefiting the elite class in the fashion industry.

In addition, some reasons enabled truck art to survive till today. First, the lack of modern technology and poor road infrastructure makes it difficult for new, advanced technology vehicles to travel. If, in future, things change and trucks like Tesla become more common, there is a real risk that this folk art could disappear. Second, the older generation is known for being passionate and skilful in truck art. The younger generation is also less engaged, and there are limited efforts in Pakistan to preserve this art form. Hence, to protect its future, policies are needed to support skill transmission, a truck art museum should be established, and efforts must be made to blend traditional art with modern technologies to keep it relevant.

Reference List

The Role of Museum Storyteller in The Age of Social Media, AI, and Its New Approach of Writing

By Reza Zefanya Mulia

A. Museum Storyteller: Now 

In the current cultural context, storytelling about a museum’s collections or ongoing exhibitions goes beyond simply providing object details such as title, materials, date of origin, and historical descriptions. For social media posts, storytelling is also not merely a supplement to fulfil the institution’s marketing strategy. Rather, it has become an extension, and arguably a central aspect, of the museum’s mission to share knowledge with the public. Writing stories — whether for object labels within a gallery or digital content for a museum’s social media — no longer rests solely with the curator. As museums’ educational objectives evolve, the narratives accompanying objects extend beyond wall text and labels to include digitised formats for distribution across digital platforms such as social media, video streaming services, websites, and newsletters. 

With this new objective, museums come up with new professional role in order to develop their narrative matters: the storyteller — a position that could be under curatorial and interpretation or education and learning department. Museums possess a unique opportunity to establish trusted spaces, both physical and digital, for shared learning and development. Through the creation of dynamic spaces and the use of personalised storytelling strategies, museums can cultivate the same level of audience trust online as they achieve in their physical spaces. Timothy (2011) wrote that by enlivening the past and enabling personal resonance, visitors can establish a deeper connection with the sites they explore.  

A fundamental goal of interpretive programmes should be to provoke active engagement, encouraging visitors to participate in conservation, education, volunteering, or fostering an enduring appreciation for heritage across future generations. The interpretation of objects and the narrative framework used to present them to audiences are central to the storyteller’s role. The primary objective of interpretation is not merely to instruct or convey facts, but rather to stimulate constructive action among visitors. Effective narrative should inspire by offering new insights, rather than solely factual content.  

Storytellers must recognise the diversity of individual experiences, ensuring that the interpretive process fosters meaningful engagement by revealing knowledge beyond basic data associated with objects. This paper will examine the challenges faced by museum storytellers in navigating current technological advancements, while exploring practical examples that highlight the application of new writing approaches to enhance storytelling engagement. 

B. Navigating AI in Museum Storytelling: Challenges, Strategies, and the Importance of Human-Centred Narratives 

With the rapid advancement of online channels and content development tools, storytellers within cultural institutions face a challenge similar to copywriters in the broader creative industry: the potential of being replaced by artificial intelligence in terms of content production. Since late 2022, media coverage and public discussions on AI have surged, with generative AI, particularly ChatGPT, at the forefront. AI has not only become a trending topic, but expectations regarding its future potential have significantly heightened.  

From this, some have argued that generative AI will replace certain jobs, while others have highlighted that it could enhance work in various professions and even create new roles. The transformative potential and risks of artificial intelligence have dominated public debate across many countries in recent years, sparking a range of visions, expectations, and uncertainties. A considerable part of this exaggerated discourse has centred on the possible effects of generative AI on labour markets, covering a wide spectrum of occupations, including those involved in text production, such as copywriters (Vicsek et al., 2024).  

This discourse opens up to more focused conversation related to the role of creative industry practitioners in a museum environment, especially their content writer who might be at threat of job replacement due to AI growth. Though different in tone of voice and writing approach, storytelling in museums could be rooted in the same spectrum of copywriting in marketing. Both are involved in developing a strategy for the writing that encourages people (or museum visitors) to take action, using a creative combination that aids in delivering the message effectively (Hernández, 2017).  

Furthermore, Hernández wrote that crafting a message through copy involves establishing a tone of how the writers want their message to resonate in the minds of their audience. There are specific structures in writing copy and storytelling that create a framework for how these pieces will engage the public — to prompt a response in the form of thoughts, words, or actions. The storytelling component in museums originates from and is directed towards interpretation: the storyteller observes an object and composes a narrative based on their interpretation, which is subsequently presented to the audience in order to stimulate their own interpretive response. 

Public’s interpretation, on the other hand, needs more effort in order to take shape as a knowledge. Knowledge acquisition through interpretation requires understanding in the visitor’s backgrounds, one’s own bias, and contexts (Langer, 2022). Nevertheless, the knowledge distribution through storytelling is unique and cannot be using a one-size-fits-all approach. Whilst there are recommended structures in writing, to know who we speak to in terms of understanding our audiences through in-depth research is still an important aspect before starting to write a copy. 

In a study exploring the anticipated replacement of creative writing by AI and its potential consequences, Vicsek, Pinter, and Bauer (2024) conducted research seeking insights from creative writers. This investigation employed the framework of the sociology of (technological) expectations, which highlights the crucial role of anticipatory beliefs in shaping technological developments within modern capitalist societies, as outlined by Borup et al. (2006). 

This research builds upon previous studies by Beckett (2019), Ellekrog (2022), and Mackova and Marik (2023), which indicate that creative writers, including journalists, believe that AI will not replace their creative outputs, as the process still requires human creativity to imbue the work with a “human touch.” On the contrary, a survey by Breen (2020) revealed that 23% of US marketing experts believed AI could replace copywriting. Rajan, Venkatesan, and Lecinski (2019) come with an optimistic state that throughout their research, they find the actors in the marketing sector (i.e., creative workers) acknowledged that AI is transforming the field by enhancing analytics, personalising messages, improving campaign efficiency, and boosting productivity. 

Furthermore, the creative boost that AI may offer includes increased efficiency in tasks such as automatically transcribing oral interviews and speeding up the retrieval of background information. Hence, the usage of AI will be more likely to become only tools in speeding up the work process, rather than a complete dismissal of a writer’s job in building a narrative. An example can be drawn from the role of copywriters, who rely on their own observations and experiences to engage in an imagined dialogue with an internalised audience, the “implied reader” of advertising texts (Kover, 1995).  

A writer’s unique social background will also shape how they construct their narrative. McLeod, O’Donohoe, and Townley (2009) argued that diversity in social backgrounds may become increasingly significant in sustaining this productive tension. In addition to interacting with imagined others, writers also engage in dialogue with their work partners. The generation of creative ideas involves both partners in a dynamic exchange as they work together to craft messages that connect products with members of a target market (Hackley and Kover in McLeod et al., 2009). 

Most specifically, museum storytellers — whose role extends beyond merely writing stories — could benefit from AI to streamline their workload. Although the storytellers still need to conduct research, examine real objects to develop narratives through field inspections (for example, looking at sculptures and their textures could trigger sensory experience that inspire writers to write their story), and engage with relevant individuals for the essential “human touch,” AI could assist with time-consuming tasks such as proofreading for typographical errors, transcribing interviews, or finding alternatives for condensing paragraphs to meet object label word limits. 

The discourse on how a museum’s narrative through object labels or curatorial notes should be presented has been started with an argument that a didactic approach shall not be present anymore. In the age of meaning-making, a human touch is essential in the 21st century museum visit experience. In his article “The Why, What, And How Of The Best Storytelling In Museum Exhibitions”, Filene (2022) emphasised that museums must find ways to connect with visitors by relating to their experiences. Personal connection is crucial for successful museum learning, and emotional engagement — an integral part of effective storytelling — is not a distraction but a powerful tool for fostering exploration and meaning-making. As previously mentioned through an example of object observation in a way of building a solid writing, this act of human touch could trigger emotional engagement and empathy — something that has yet to be replaced by the presence of AI. 
 

C. New Approach: Learning How The Burrell Collection Tells Their Story 

The Burrell Collection is part of Glasgow Life Museums, located in the southside part of Glasgow. The museum hosts 9.000 objects, including collections of Chinese art, mediaeval treasures such as stained glass, arms and armour, tapestries, and paintings by renowned French artists such as Manet, Cézanne, and Degas. They reopened on 29 March 2022 following a major six-year refurbishment and redisplay. One of the most highly praised aspects of the renovation is the introduction of new interactive and immersive experiences for visitors of all ages. This transformation contributed to the museum winning the prestigious Art Fund Museum of the Year award in 2023. 

The technological aspects that The Burrell Collection use to present their collections are just tools and methods — one important element that binds them all is the storytelling. In her report for The Art Newspaper, Joanna Moorhead (2023) noted that the museum’s approach on their object label for Mary Magdalene limestone sculpture wasn’t about Renaissance craftworks nor about the history of the object. Instead, it asks “How do you think she’s feeling?” 

The Burrell Collection’s object labels have been reinterpreted for all-comers — from regular tourists, local visitors, academics, historians, and many others. They believe that a story that is generally relatable to the mass public will make it easier for them to connect with the objects. Hence, a prior knowledge of art history or specialised training in some subject matters are not necessary for one to read and understand the labels, as Moorhead mentioned. 

Figure 1: The Burrell Collection staff member working with the local community to write a narrative regarding the future object label. Photo courtesy of The Burrell Collection. 

Before developing their storytelling approach, The Burrell Collection conducted interviews, focus groups, surveys, workshops, and design testing involving local communities to ensure the displays reflected stories relevant to both new and returning visitors. This collaborative process provided local residents with the opportunity to express what matters to them and see it represented within the museum. This collaboration has significantly shaped the design of the displays, the stories featured, and the tone in which they are told. For instance, the curators collaborated with the local Iranian community to develop interpretations of objects from Persia and with the LGBTQ+ community regarding the porcelain figure of Guanyin. Visitor feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with 97% of those surveyed indicating that it was a good experience. 

This new approach, while highly experimental and innovative, has faced criticism, particularly from historians who accuse the museum of undermining the essential historical narratives of certain objects. They argue that the museum has adopted “wokism” (or a state of being woke, associated with behaviours in social justice discourse) within its institution. One critic, a follower of Buddhism, expressed offence at the portrayal of Guanyin as a trans figure.  

As Langer (2022) noted in her book, the most effective stories are those that are highly specific — focused on particular individuals, and grounded in a distinct time and place. A simple yet compelling illustration of the power of specificity can be seen in an exhibition on Sami culture, as discussed in one of the chapters. This exhibition presents the personal narratives of two Sami individuals, interviewed at three distinct stages of their lives, offering a more intimate perspective, rather than relying on generalised portrayals of indigenous traditions and broad claims about the resilience of their culture.  

Langer also added that when we incorporate experimentation into our storytelling approach with a commitment to listening and responding to how our audiences engage with our efforts, “storytelling” can evolve beyond a postmodern metaphor. It can serve as a guiding principle in our endeavour to make museums the relevant, transformative gathering spaces. While The Burrell Collection cannot meet the expectations of all visitors, and many perspectives exist on which narrative best represents the exhibited objects, their efforts to engage visitors with themes relevant to people’s daily lives deserve appreciation in opening up this experimental and cutting edge approach in storytelling. 

D. Diversifying Stories Through Digital Channels 

With the increasing shift towards distance learning and digital storytelling, a trend that has intensified since the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more crucial than ever for museums to dedicate significant time and resources to enhancing their digital presence (Carlisle, 2022) as Akker’s opinion (2016) on the state of digital technology that should serve to enhance and expand the museum experience and its functions, rather than replacing them with an alternative. John Stack, former Digital Director of Tate, noted that new technologies and online services, alongside the widespread availability of high-speed internet and mobile connectivity, have significantly transformed the web in recent years (Stevens, 2016). However, how do these technological advancements enable museums to better serve their audiences? This same question was raised by Bautista (2014), who critiqued the reliance on technology in museums, questioning its effectiveness in fostering meaningful engagement with their communities. 

One museum that has successfully created engaging storytelling content through its digital presence is Tate (Britain, Modern, Liverpool, St. Ives) in the United Kingdom. Tate utilises a range of social media platforms, each with distinct strategies, tones of voice, and narratives, aligning with Akker and Legêne’s (2016) argument that museums should employ different narrative models for their on-site and online engagements. Furthermore, Carlisle (2022) wrote that by creating dynamic digital spaces and implementing one-to-one storytelling strategies, museums can successfully foster the same audience trust online as they do in their physical spaces. 

Figure 2: Tate’s YouTube Channel — branding itself to be up-to-date every week with new films about art. Signalling the productive efforts in launching the video-based story. 

While each of Tate’s physical museum spaces focuses on displaying world-class artworks within pristine white walls, its digital marketing team employs digital storytelling by tailoring each platform to its unique narrative. For instance, their YouTube channel centres on in-depth interviews with artists and curators, alongside tutorials inspired by other artworks—all professionally produced with scripts, camera work, and high production values. In contrast, their Instagram Reels feature more spontaneous, phone-recorded content, such as inviting visitors to share their thoughts on particular exhibitions. 

While storytelling naturally fits longer, more structured videos like those on Tate’s YouTube channel, how does it function in shorter, more candid formats, such as on Instagram? By creating dynamic digital spaces and adopting one-to-one storytelling approaches, museums can establish audience trust online, mirroring the trust cultivated in their physical spaces (Carlisle, 2022). Visitor responses about their exhibition experiences may seem like simple testimonials, yet these responses are storytelling in their own right. 

Figure 3: One of Tate’s Reels videos. Highlighting on a visitor’s thoughts from their visit. 

The most impactful stories forge connections: exhibition stories can encourage personal reflection and connection — among family members and occasionally among strangers. Story-sharing often becomes part of the exhibition experience itself (Langer, 2022). This storytelling emerges after visitors have engaged with the narratives conveyed through object labels on the museum’s walls, embodying a personal perspective that can be shared with future visitors or accessed by learners via mobile devices. In the age of internet and social media, museum storytellers incorporate their approach not as merely passive writings, but fostering a possibility of making an active participation in creating an open-ended version of story that keeps on growing. 

In addressing these digital-age transformations impacting museums, Bautista (2014) introduced the concept of “modern museology,” advocating for a deeper understanding of this shift — specifically by examining four core constructs closely interconnected in the digital age: place, community, culture, and technology. These elements converge in an increasing awareness that personal mobile technology has become an extension of art institutions, enabling visitors to engage with the museum experience wherever and whenever they wish. For storytellers crafting narratives specifically for online platforms, understanding the unique user base of each platform is essential — emphasising that writing a story involves more than focusing solely on the object itself. It requires awareness of the context in which the story will be presented, the target audience, and the appropriate approach for effective engagement. 

E. Conclusion 

The role of the museum storyteller has emerged as a vital function within the broader creative industry, occupying a unique position at the intersection of cultural heritage, technological innovation, and audience engagement. In the current museum landscape, storytelling has expanded well beyond the confines of traditional object labels, aligning with practices in fields such as copywriting, content development, and digital marketing. This alignment highlights the storyteller’s role as one that not only imparts knowledge but also inspires and fosters personal connections with heritage. In doing so, museum storytellers operate similarly to brand strategists, crafting narratives that resonate on a deeply emotional and individual level, engaging visitors in ways that simple factual recounting cannot achieve. 

With advancements in technology, especially in areas like generative AI, museum storytellers encounter both potential benefits and challenges. While AI can optimise certain tasks, such as generating text or synthesising information, it often lacks the nuanced understanding of cultural context and personal insight required for meaningful storytelling. For instance, institutions like The Burrell Collection demonstrate how the museum storyteller’s approach goes beyond mere description, employing empathy and audience-centred narratives that invite emotional engagement and contribute to a more holistic and accessible interpretation of cultural heritage. 

In an increasingly digital environment, museum storytellers must embrace skills widely shared within the creative industry, such as developing personalised content and adapting style and tone to suit various platforms, from social media to on-site displays. However, the human element remains irreplaceable, as it ensures that storytelling is rooted in cultural sensitivity and an awareness of audience diversity. This human-centred approach reinforces the museum’s educational mission, ensuring that storytelling remains an essential and transformative force within the digital age, where museums act not only as repositories of objects but as facilitators of meaningful cultural dialogue. Through this integration, museum storytelling asserts its role as an influential practice within the evolving landscape of the creative industry.  

Reference List 

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Trending Tunes: How TikTok’s Platform Economy is Reshaping the Music Industry

By Sofieke de Loos

Introduction 

Music is a crucial aspect of human life, capable of reaching and touching us in various ways. You might hear a song on the radio, in the supermarket, at a festival, or as a recommendation from a friend, and it may become your new favorite song. With the rise of social media over the past decade, people are confronted with music almost every moment of every day. Every video, reel, or snippet contains a song, and while scrolling on your phone all evening, you might hear 50 different songs. This is particularly evident with the social media app TikTok, which experienced a significant rise in popularity during the 2020 pandemic. A core characteristic of this app is the use of music, either as background music or as the focal point of the video. Users of the app often sing along with the lyrics to convey a certain meaning or think of a silly little dance that fits the song. These trends get repeated over and over again until everybody seems to know the song. This raises the question of how the app may have transformed the music industry. In this research paper, I aim to investigate the consumer behavior of TikTok users and how this phenomenon has changed the marketing of music by labels. The most popular hits of our time seem to be determined by platforms such as TikTok, rather than solely by record labels, especially when reviewing how nearly all popular songs are trending on the app. This paper will explore the history of TikTok and how digitalization has led to the creation of this platform of creativity, where consumers play a bigger role in music marketing. It intends to analyze these developments using concepts such as the platform economy and prosumers to answer the following research question: How has TikTok’s platform economy reshaped the marketing strategies and creative processes within the Western music industry? 

History of TikTok 

TikTok is a social media platform that allows users to create and share short videos. It offers easy-to-use editing tools that allow anyone to engage in video editing. TikTok has a large database of licensed songs and sounds that people integrate in their videos. This short-form videos originally got popular in 2013 on a similar social media app called Vine, that allowed users to create 6-seconds videos (Britannica). This app, not unlike their video style, was short-lived. Just a year later, a new app became popular. Musical.ly took over the torch from Vine that allowed users to make longer videos and mostly focused on lip-synching and dancing on popular songs. The app was bought by ByteDance, who merged content and user accounts to the newest app TikTok in 2018, what would quickly take over the world. Like its predecessors, TikTok is a social media platform where users dance and lip-sync to songs. However, it also functions as a platform for comedic and even educational videos. The app was being used worldwide, which led to the creation of an intercultural space where people can form opinions together about popular or social events and therefore also music. Opinions and ratings indicate what works will be accepted in the public discourse. Therefore, consumption and communication on TikTok leads to taste formation that will determine ratings of the music. TikTok, thus, became a community where people from all over the world come together. It has algorithms that creates a specific ‘For You Page’ (FYP) where users receive videos that fits their interest and ideological standpoints. Because of this, it also creates smaller communities within the app with like-minded people. This powerful algorithm fosters an addictive quality to the app, which may explain its widespread popularity (Radovanović 52). The content that you get is catered to the you and you alone based on your interests and favorite topics. The FYP endlessly recommends new content, and the app is set up for viewers to keep on scrolling, causing them to constantly interact with new content (Kaye 61). These algorithms have been proven useful for record labels, because the knowledge of the customers was limited before the app, which means that the marketing strategies of labels have been lacking a personal aspect. However, according to Salo, Lankinen and Mäntym, “Due to the digitization of music, emergence of social media technologies, and popularity of social media, marketers can now reach potential music consumers via social networks.” (24). The algorithm of social media apps, such as TikTok, has made it easier for labels to deliberately target audiences to promote music using discovered data.  

On the other hand, traditional intermediaries of creative products such as record labels have suffered in the rise of the platform economy. Platforms could rapidly replace them, as they grow exponentially faster than traditional intermediaries (Jewell). Platforms do this by accumulating data about what kind of content consumers want and anticipate on this found data. According to David Hesmondhalgh, the internet is inherently democratizing with a liberating effect that allows for more participation and control by users, which is at the expense of professional institutional businesses (qtd. in Nordgård 36). This means that digital networks allow for more control, creativity and participation of non-professionals, which is a threat to corporate power. An important term within music networks on platforms is ‘connectivity’ between companies and their audiences. According to Wikström, “Traditional music networks had a low level of connectivity, where the music companies could control the flow of information to the audiences” (qtd. in Tandberg 5). This means that the important of the internet in modern society had led to an information flow in the online network, which causes a decrease of control for music companies. Hesmondhalgh elaborates by arguing how the power of institutionalized cultural production is eroding, which leads to a more decentralized, democratic system of communication that could change the cultural industries (263). This is mainly the cause of the rise of digital networks that is breaking down the boundary between producers and consumers that highlights ‘user-generated content’ in cultural production (Hesmondhalgh 264). Platform and information-based economies has put the consumer forward into the process of production. This leads to a new form of communication called ‘produsage’, which is a combination of the terms production and usage.  

TikTok utilizes the concept of ‘produsage’ or ‘prosumerism,’ which refers to participation in online environments that transcends the divide between passive consumption and active content creation (Radovanović 52). Social media engages with a greater involvement of fans in how music is being distributed, promoted and consumed. Therefore, the line between intermediaries, corporate institution and fans have been blurred which makes it more difficult to categorize who is a producer or consumer, leading the path to the new function of the ‘prosumer’ (Nordgård 10). The digital atmosphere of the app is created by the users, or ‘TikTokers’. The users both create and engage with other people on this app. This is mainly done using functions such as ‘stitch’ or ‘duet’ videos, which encourages collaboration and creativity. These types of participatory cultures were already present on digital platforms like YouTube through “vernacular creativity, mundane participation as a means of collective cultural participation (Burgess 2006) and produsage, collaborative and continuous building and extending existing content” (Kaye 60). As a result, anyone can engage in creative activities, as they exist beyond traditional cultural value systems or high art. Instead, creativity operates as a collaborative endeavour within a platform that has evolved into a new form of economy. 

The Power of Platform Economies 

The developments in the music industry have been rapidly changing due to the developments in technology, that offers new affordances. These developments all began with the launch from Web 1.0 to 2.0, which has made revolutionary changes for digitalization and the use of technologies (Vizcaíno-Verdú, de-Casas Moreno and Tirocchi 152). Since then, technology has played a huge role in the creation of music and the creative industries as a whole. Especially talking about the relation between the consumers and the entertainment industry. This ultimately resulted in the development of TikTok, which features elements like the For You Page (FYP) and algorithms designed to rapidly spread a song to a wide audience. According to Hesmondhalgh who uses the definition by Oxford English Dictionary, an algorithm is ‘a process or set of rules to be followed in solving a problem, especially by a computer’ and he calls upon the importance of these algorithms as they influence the knowledge, information and entertainment users are exposed to (268). The platform of TikTok affords for a quicker distribution of music and allows the creative class to form connections that will form a greater network in the rise of platform economies. This is a new kind of market strategy in accordance with the rise of social media. According to Sangeet Choundary, who is the leading expert in platform economies, “Platforms are fundamentally changing the economics of content creation and the assumptions that go into determining what content will succeed and what will not.” (Choudary qtd. in Jewell).  

TikTok is an example of a platform economy, which is an economy that emerged as response to the rise of the internet and the movement of algorithms. This, then, created an infrastructure on which platform-based markets can operate (Kenney and Zysman 61). Thus, this economy is facilitated by digital platforms that is based on the connection between the consumer and supplier of cultural goods. TikTok utilizes a platform economy that enables consumers on the platform to impact the market. Jewell explains this in her article about the interconnectedness of consumers on the app and how they produce creative content themselves. She writes, “the companies that create a platform to organize the content market occupy the most powerful position in the content market today. In effect, they determine what content is shown and to whom” (Jewell). Thus, the app itself is in control of the dissemination of music and becomes a system of recommendations 

Platforms can create a lot of value by making use of the content market as they make use of the infrastructure of networks on a social media app (Jewell). Contemporary platforms, such as TikTok, are “reconfiguring the production, distribution, and monetization of cultural content in staggeringly complex ways” (Duffy, Poell and et all 1). Therefore, platforms become new intermediaries in the music industry that influence the creation and the consumption of music. Platforms make use of the network effect, which means that they push forward a self-reinforcing cycle where creators attract consumers, and consumers attract creators (Jewell). Thus, the users of the app contribute to the growth of the network and platform of TikTok and become part of content-creation, instead of watching it from the sidelines as a passive consumer. Vizcaíno-Verdú, de-Casas Moreno and Tirocchi elaborate on this development by calling upon the concept of cultural convergence in their article that have emerged from popular and mass culture. They explain it as followed, “a phenomenon that combines markets and consumers through the media and Internet, providing a set of platforms that have created new opportunities for user-generated content or UGC” (qtd. By Jami-Pour 151). This means that social media has changed the way how information is produced and consumed providing a place for User-Generated Content (UGC). As consequence to this social phenomenon of platformization of cultural production, digital platforms affect the creative industries from an institutional perspective (Duffy, Poell and all 2). This new role that platforms play in the market can afford new forms of creativity and production. TikTok is currently a popular platform with rich cultural content. So, how exactly does TikTok make use of the platform economy to use it for marketing strategies? 

TikTok As Market Place 

In the last couple of years, we have seen a significant growth of the influence of TikTok on music charts. There seems to be a correlation between what songs become popular on the social media app and which songs rests on the top of any music charts. As most of the top songs can be recognized as songs that trended on TikTok. Due to the digital developments that constituted to the creation of the cultural relevance of the app, it has become a cultural industry itself. Collie and Wilso-Barnao elaborate on this by concluding how, “TikTok, on the other hand, operates as a digital enclosure (Andrejevic, 2007) designed to capture and transform creative play into a promotional apparatus and form of digital labor, with algorithms as the organising force” (Collie and Wilson-Barnao 18). Therefore, these features of the app foster an environment of creativity and community. An important factor that should be named, in the question how the music industry could have changed so drastically because of this social media app, is the COVID-19 pandemic. The lockdown caused the world to be locked up in their own house. Many musicians were forced to put their careers on hold. The making of music is an inherent collaborative activity. Especially if we are talking about the recording of music. Many factors are important to consider, such as the musicians specialized in different instruments, sound engineers, producers, marketing, and so much more. Thus, when forced to stay at home, musicians like many others, had to think outside the box to be able to still do their job. The digital space seemed to be the answer and a platform like TikTok could fill the void to still collaborate with other musicians. For example, the Duet function, where creators could pair or chain other videos to create new music while staying at home (Kaye 59). This has caused an acceleration in the popularity of the app and situating it as a platform of creativity and labor. This environment then evolves into a space for marketing and labor, as community is vital for cultivating creativity. Richard Florida argues that in modern society, this is most effective when the community consists of weak ties rather than a close-knit group (5). Social media inherently carries a sense of anonymity, lacking personal, real-life connections. Thus, TikTok serves as an excellent platform for creativity, functioning as a community built on weak ties.  

The app can even serve as a platform for small artists to kick-start their careers and create their networks. Radovanović explains in her article how “Successful (self-)promotion on TikTok leads musicians into the arms of the readily available and ever-watching eye of the music industry.” (63) The journalists Estelle Caswell and Matt Daniels researched the ‘TikTok-to-Spotify pipeline’ and what happened to artists after going viral on TikTok. They concluded after researching this phenomenon, in relation to the networks in the music industry, how these new developments on TikTok has caused fundamental changes to the music business. The journalists discovered how a quarter of the 200 new Spotify artists found their rise through TikTok with many receiving a record deal based on a viral moment on the app (Radovanović 63). Thus, TikTok is now being used as tool to start a music career as it provides opportunities for independent artist to do their own marketing. This phenomenon started at the peak of digital optimism in the early 2000s where it became more common for artist to achieve success via the web, like YouTube, without the needing to be in the inner circle of the music industry (Hesmondhalgh 298). However, the idea of going viral and obtaining success in the music industry on the internet as exponentially grown due to the rise of social media platforms, especially in combination with the affordances of TikTok. TikTok has provided new ways to be discovered. This is mostly due to the FYP function, which is a network that connects all users that participate on the app. As creator you can choose to post your video for only friends or to go on the FYP. In this case according to Collie and Wilson-Barnao, “content can go viral without a user having many followers, which introduces a democratizing effect to the app, no matter how illusionary this might be, given the aggressive algorithmic management engineered into the process” (180). Thus, through the affordances of TikTok, it becomes easier and easier to start your music career from your bedroom.  

Platformization influences the nature of creative labor as they incite to find new routes to audiences and visibility. It could be argued that the social media app is used by labels as marketing tool, as users of the app seems to do their work for them. An artist themselves can use the app to find a like-minded community of fans who would be interested in listening to their music. They can do this by sharing details about the creative process, creatively presenting their music on the app, and engaging in the comment sections (Radovanović 62). Artists seemed to have noticed the appeal of the consumer on TikTok, and they actively engage with their fans on the platform. This new element of personal relation has seemed to bring the musical artist and fan closer. This increase in connectivity and an easier access in the music industry on this app enables fans to remix, create and engage with their idol’s content, which is not something that has been seen before on a social media app (Tandberg 5). Thus, TikTok creates a space where fans can be creative as well. Another strategy could be to share a ‘snippets’ of a song and ask influencers to engage with it (Radovanović 62). A snippet is a certain section of song of about 15 seconds with the intent to share it prematurely on the internet to peak interest. This snippet could then be used by influencers on the app to create a viral dance challenge or trend with the song, boosting the song’s popularity. An example of this would be the promotion of the album Brat by Charlie XCX, who’s song “Apple” was popularized due to a viral TikTok Dance. The app is used to create and remix already existing sounds, which means it promotes imitation performance as form of collaboration (Vizcaíno-Verdú, de-Casas Moreno and Tirocchi 154). This then also creates ‘trends’ by the repeated use of sounds and the attached creative idea that fills the ‘for you page’ (FYP) of users. TikTok can, therefore, be seen as an app for great exposure. This marketing strategy, thus, makes use of the participatory culture and the produsage within communities on TikTok to promote music.  

Conclusion 

In this research paper, we have explored how musical artists use the social media app for marketing, as the app operates as part of a platform economy. The affordances of this app, like the FYP and Duet function, help musical content creators find their target audience and establish genuine connections that lead to community building, without the need for the traditional music industry. The platform encourages participatory behavior, blurring the lines between users and producers. The rise of the ‘produser’ on the app has prompted changes in the music industry that could lead to the erosion of traditional intermediaries, like record labels. TikTok is a space for community building, heavily influenced by algorithms that bring like-minded people together. This community fosters creativity, strengthened by the existence of weak ties among users on the platform. The app facilitates quicker distribution of music, where the connection between artist and fan becomes closer, as both contribute to content creation. The contemporary infrastructure of the app, based on platform economies, has paved the way for new strategies in music creation and promotion. Artists leverage the connectivity and information flow provided by the app to enhance or launch their careers, potentially eliminating the need for traditional intermediaries. Thus, TikTok, as a rising platform economy, has significantly shifted the structure of the Western music industry, using its affordances to foster a creative community 

Bibliography 

Youth Participation in the Creative Industries in Ghana; Motivation and Barriers

By Isaac Anim Ntiri

ABSTRACT

This research investigates the motivations and barriers to youth participation in the creative industries in Ghana. Using Expectancy-Value Theory, the research concludes that intrinsic motivation such as passion, and belief in abilities are the main drivers of youth participation, while financial constraints, limited mentorship, societal stigma, and lack of support impede it. The study proposes the need for targeted interventions, including financial assistance, mentorship programs, and policy reforms, to create a thriving creative ecosystem for young creatives in Ghana.

Keywords: creative industries, Ghana, youth participation, motivations, barriers, Expectancy-Value Theory

1.0.    INTRODUCTION

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, DCMS (2001) define creative industries are “those industries which have their origin in individual creativity, skill, and talent and which have a potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property.” These industries may include, but not limited to music, literature, movie, publications, arts, and crafts, etc. Ghana, like many countries in the global south have witnessed a boom in participation in the creative industries. This surge, has particularly been significant in disciplines such as music, theatre and mainstream acting, User-Generated Content creation (UGC), contemporary arts, craftsmanship, literature, and other cultural expressions which are positively impacting the economy of Ghana. Hennessy and Amabile (2010) contend that creativity is important for civilization development. While this resurgence in participation is a welcome development for the country, the extent of youth participation in Ghana’s growing creative industry continuous to remain a subject of inquiry. The rationale behind this research to interrogate the motivations and the potential barriers that impact the participation of Ghanaian youth in the creative industries in Ghana.

The creative industries in Ghana has been a breeding ground for personal fulfilment and expression, a means of economic sustainability, cultural expression, skills development, and contributing to social cohesion and harmonious living in the country. Additionally, Agoralumiere (2009) makes a claim that the creative industries have changed into one of the most dynamic sectors of the global economy. In the face of globalization, and digitalization, the creative industries continuous to be a source of employment for different groups of people.

In the face of these potentials, issues such as lack of financial support, little or non-existent mentorship schemes, logistics, societal expectations, lack of recognition for crafts, and professionalization, cultural norms and stereotypes continue to be a barrier to youth participation in creative industries in Ghana, discouraging them from committing a full-time profession in this sector.

In order to ascertain the extent of youth participation in Ghana, with focus on the barriers and motivations in the creative industries, this paper will draw on existing literature and data gathered from a survey through purposive sampling to buttress arguments and claims in this paper.

1.1. AIM OF THE RESEARCH

This research paper seeks to contribute to the deeper understanding of the dynamic nature of the creative industries in the broader sense, by focusing on the motivations and the unique systemic barriers the Ghanaian youth encounter in their quest of professionalizing their creativity.

1.2. RESEARCH QUESTIONS

  • What are the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations that influence the participation of Ghanaian youth in the creative industries?
  • What are the barriers to youth participation in the creative industries in Ghana and how do they interact with the motivations?

2.0. LITERATURE REVIEW

A growing body of literature have provided a headway into understanding the challenges, and motivations in the creative industries. For an up-to-date insights into the motivations and challenges faced by the youth in the creative industries, this research relied on recent publications to identify knowledge already existing in this field of study in order to establish the gaps for future research. The literature review has been written in thematic clusters such as: Motivations for participation, and barriers in the creative industries.

2.1. Motivations

Cnossen et al. (2019) in their article discusses the main motivations of people who are committing or have committed careers in the creative and cultural industries (CCI) by using the self-determination theory which was developed by Ryan and Deci. The theory emphasizes the role of intrinsic motivation in psychological fulfilment. In their research, issues such as self-perceived competence (confidence in their abilities) were highlighted. They also find intrinsic factors more central than extrinsic motivation such as monetary gains. The study also brings to the fore, the importance of the psychological needs that serve as impetus for individuals to forge on in a competitive landscape of the creative and cultural industries.

In addition, An (2019) also strengthens this argument by interrogating the role of intrinsic motivation (IM) among creative labour (CL) in South Korea. Her study particularly focused on media production in South Korea. The study highlighted the role of intrinsic motivation in passion in navigating a challenging work environment with unfavourable working conditions. An raises an important question: Can initial passion wane as creative work becomes routine? Most importantly, the study contributes to understand how intrinsic motivation-passion, serves as a driver for creative labourers and the potential influence of intrinsic motivation on their quality of life. This further calls for a deeper research into the motivations of creatives in other contexts.

Building on these insights Reid et al. (2016) introduces the concept of “calling” as a source of motivation for creatives. According to the respondents in this research, they consider their

careers as creative as a form of calling-naturally innate which is equally an intrinsic form of motivation. Reid et al. (2016) clustered this form of motivation under what they termed “elements of worth” These elements of worth highlight the importance of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors in situating the motivation of creatives, and their importance to society and culture.

2.2.   Barriers

Studies done by Campbell (2018), Kilu et al. (2024), and Olanrewaju (2024) reveal a worrying state of creatives in different geographical contexts. With focus on Canada, Ghana, and Nigeria, and diverse creative disciplines such as crafts, and performing arts, they establish a network of related barriers that can potentially stifle the growth of young creatives in the industry.

In documenting the challenges young people face in the creative industries, Campbell (2018) adds a new dimension to the discourse, revealing the multi-faceted nature of the challenges that hinder the potential of young creatives. The author arrived at this through interviews, and online surveys. Apart from mundane challenges in terms of finances and lack of social support, the research reveals the issue of exploitation, diversity and equality as some challenges young people face in the creative industries. She argued that young people from marginalized communities such as sexual and gender minorities, likewise People of Colour (POCs) face representational challenges in the creative industries. The study also highlights gender disparity and the precarity of the creative landscape.

Kilu et al. (2024), in their work “Spirituality in the Creative Arts: How crafts entrepreneurs cope with precarity”, the authors discuss the challenges faced by creative workers, particularly those in the crafts discipline in Ghana. Through their research, it becomes evident that issues such as precarity of the industry, which is as a result of unstable financial conditions, gender disparity due to spiritual beliefs in Ghana, unstable market, informal working sector, and lack of recognition continue to be a barrier for entrepreneurs in the crafts industry in Ghana. Highlighting the interplay of the economy, spirituality, and social expectations that characterize creative work in Ghana)

In addition, Olanrewaju (2024) discusses the challenges of the creative industries in Nigeria, with focus on the performing arts through a desktop research. In her research, the author makes a claim that, creatives in the performing arts industry in Nigeria face several challenges such as piracy, infrastructural deficiencies, inadequate funding, and limited mentorship opportunities. Due to similar social, economic, and cultural contexts, these challenges are also experienced by creatives in Ghana, as established by Kilu et al. (2024). These shared hurdles gives insights into the barriers to youth participation in the creative industries in Ghana from an empirical perspective.

Much of the discussed articles above focus on western contexts in the creative industries. Apart from this, there is a focus on the creative industry as a whole with little or no prioritization of youth motivation and participation. There may be specific challenges the youth are encountering. These include lack of mentorship, societal stereotypes, lack of financial support, just to mention a few. There is the need for a study that focuses on the unique social, economic, and political challenges the youth face in their participation in the creative industries in Ghana

3.0.THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Expectancy Value Theory

Expectancy-Value Theory (EVT) developed Jacquelyn Eccles, cited in Eccles and Wigfield (2000), provides a practical framework for understanding the motivation and barriers to youth participation in the creative industries in Ghana. The theory asserts that the motivation of an individual to participate in a given task is influenced by a belief to be successful in that endeavour (expectancy) and the importance of the endeavour (value). This theory has the potential to provide practical insights into the pull and the push factors of youth participation in the creative industries in Ghana

3.1.Theory Application

In this paper, expectancy has been situated in the belief young people have in whether or not they have the talent to have a successful career in the industry. According to the theory, people with low self-esteem in their skills and talent are less likely to pursue a career in that regard. Conversely, those with high self-efficacy are more likely to be motivated to engage in creative activities. Value refers to the perceived importance of the creative industries in Ghana. Do the youth consider it a fulfilling industry? Worthy of commitment? Will it provide the necessary satisfaction, financial stability, and the recognition they so desire? Just like ‘expectancy’ if young people perceive the creative industries as valuable, it would translate into heightened motivations to participate in the industry

EVT will provide the necessary framework to contextualize motivations and barriers to youth participation in the creative industries in Ghana. For example, low expectancy could be as a result of limited training opportunities as that could potentially be a dent on the confidence of such people to succeed. In addition, if the industry is not considered as a respectable career option in a traditional Ghanaian society, the perceived value for the industry will be low. Furthermore, socio-cultural factors such as stereotypes, poverty, and lack of opportunities can adversely expectancy and value in the creative industries. By centering this theory on youth participation in the creative industries in Ghana, we gain a comprehensive insights into the motivations and barriers among the youth. This will be very imperative in developing targeted policies to promote greater youth participation in the creative sector.

4.0. METHODOLOGY

4.1. Sampling Strategy

In order to ascertain that the participants in this study have the relevant knowledge and insights into the creative industries in Ghana, the research employed the use of purposive sampling in recruiting the participants. Purposive sampling according to Oliver (2015), is a type of non-probabilistic sampling in which decisions concerning the individuals to be included in the sample are taken by the researcher, based upon a variety of criteria which may include knowledge of the research issue, and willingness to participate. To be specific, the researcher recruited twenty (20) young people in Ghana who are within the ages of 18-35 years and have some experience of working in the creative industries in disciplines such as music, theatre, literature, arts, and crafts. This sampling strategy made it possible to gather insights from Ghanaian youth who have informed opinions of the work environment in the creative landscape in Ghana through their individual experiences.

4.2.   Mixed Methods: Quantitative and Qualitative Survey

For a nuanced understanding into the motivations and barriers faced by Ghanaian youth in their participation in the creative sector, the research also employed a concurrent mixed method survey through administering a survey to the participants of the research. Tashakkori and Creswell (2007; p. 4) defines mixed method as ‘research in which the investigator collects and analyses data, integrates the findings and draws inferences using both qualitative and quantitative approaches or methods in a single study’ The survey had quantitative questions in the form of multiple choice questions, complimented by qualitative questions through open-ended questions.

4.3.   Limitations to Research Design

A significant challenge to purposive sampling technique is the researcher bias which manifests indirectly in the process of recruiting the participants through their subjective judgements. This limits the generalizability of the study. Going forward, the sample size poses a restriction on the ability to draw definitive conclusions on the youthful population of Ghana. While influenced by experiences, there could be discrepancies in the data reported by participants and the reality on grounds. Finally, mixed-method design can be challenging for researchers with limited time and resources as established by Johnson and Onwuegbuzie (2004; cited in Doyle et al. 2009; pp. 183)

5.0   FINDINGS

The survey utilized qualitative and quantitative questions to gather the relevant information on participants’ demographics, motivations, perceived challenges, experiences, societal expectations, and belief in their abilities. The results, providing valuable insights into the motivations and barriers Ghanaian youth face in their participation in the creative industries are presented as follows:

When asked about the discipline in the creative industries they are likely to succeed, eleven participants, representing a majority (55%) chose music, this was followed by the fashion industry, preferred by three participants (15%), while User-Generated Content Creation (UGC), literature and publication had each 10% each. Surprisingly, none of the participants expressed optimism about the likelihood to succeed in the movie industry in Ghana. Music appears to be very popular among the participants and an inspirational field for most young creatives. This reflects the pool of talents, the market demand, and perceived opportunities in the music industry in Ghana.

Figure 1: Preferred discipline of the creative industries, survey 2024, online.

When interrogating the primary motivations driving young people in Ghana to participate actively in the creative industries, passion appeared to be a common motivator for most of the participants. Ten of the participants are motivated by their passion for creativity. This represents 50% of the sample size. Following closely is the desire for self-expression as expressed by six participants (30%). It appears financial reward is not a major source of motivation for young creatives, however surprising this appears, only 15% of the sample size consider finances as a motivation for participation. This reveals the diverse levels of motivation among young people in the creative industries in Ghana.

Figure 2: Motivation for participation, survey 2024, online.

Several key challenges were identified when asked about the challenges to participation. When asked about their top three barriers to participation, Financial constraints were highlighted among all the participants, indicating the importance of availability of capital in the industry. The other barriers include limited mentorship opportunities, societal stigma and stereotypes, lack of family support, and limited access to education and training facilities. These challenges expressed by the participants indicate the systemic and the multi-faceted nature of challenges young people face in their participation in the creative industries. These challenges call for targeted interventions to curb the menace.

Figure 3: Barriers to youth participation, survey 2024, online.

Other notable findings were also highlighted through the survey. An overwhelming majority, 60% of the participants agreed that personal connections and networks are crucial for success in the creative industries in Ghana. Additionally, only nine participants (45%) expressed some level of confidence in their abilities and skills while 20% mentioned they have supportive families in their work as creatives. Majority, as expected identified government policies as crucial to addressing the above-mentioned challenges. This information underscores the essence social capital and institutional support in establishing a booming creative landscape.

6.0   DISCUSSION

The study explored the motivations and barriers to youth participation in the creative industries in Ghana by situating it in the Expectancy Value Theory (EVT) as the theoretical framework. The theory, as already discussed posits that the motivation of individuals is influenced by the belief in their ability to succeed (expectancy), and the perceptions about the value of the task.

6.1. Motivation

Pinder, (1984, p. 8) defines motivation as “a set of energetic forces that originate both within, as well as beyond, an individual’s being, to initiate work-related behavior and to determine its form, direction, intensity, and duration”. The study highlights the importance of both expectancy and value and how they influence individual motivations to participate in the creative industries. This aligns with the EVT. Expectancy is evidenced in the survey through the majority of the participants expressing some level of confidence in their abilities and skills. This is an important driver which cannot be overlooked. For instance, belief in musical talents and its potential for young creatives is expressed by an overwhelming preference for the music industry as illustrated in figure 1. “Value” is also measured by the perceived significance of the creative industries as a rewarding industry. The dominance of “passion” as a main motivator for Ghanaian youth also indicates that the participants consider the creative industries as intrinsically rewarding and fulfilling. In Richard Florida’s (2002) concept of “creative class”, he highlights the need for passion in driving innovation, and economic growth.

Vickery (2012) also highlights the relevance of considering socio-cultural structures in assessing the motivations in the creative industries in different contexts. While the survey do not put financial rewards on the apex of the pedestal of motivation, it could be as a result of the societal perceptions about the creative industries in Ghana and other cultural norms. As a result of cultural norms and societal expectations in Ghana prioritize conventional career paths, such as medicine, law, and teaching over “non-conventional” careers such as the creative industries. A study done by Kissi-Abrokwah et al. (2023) also concluded that students in Ghana preferred careers that are considered to be of high societal value.

6.2. Barriers

The complex nature of the challenges faced by young people in their participation of the creative industries in Ghana is also highlighted in the research. Even though financial rewards are not the primary motivation for young creatives, the lack of capital to start a compelling career in the creative industry appears to be a major challenge among most of the participants. This adds up to the previous research on the challenges of the creative industries in developing countries as established by Kilu et al. (2024). Additionally, the limited mentorship opportunities, likewise the societal stereotypes adversely impacts the expectancy of the youth towards the creative industries. This is as a result of the fact that it casts a dent on the perceived value of the industry. Furthermore, the lack of family support, and limited mentorship and educational opportunities further compound these challenges. The above- mentioned factors hinder the ability of the youth to develop and thrive in a competitive industry such as Ghana’s creative scene.

6.3. The Role of Social Capital and Institutional Support

Florida (2002) emphasizes the role of the creative clusters and social networks in fostering economic growth and innovation in the creative industry. This findings of the study confirms this position by Richard Florida, highlighting the essence of social capital and institutional support. From the survey, it appears personal networks are crucial for a successful carrier in the creative industries in Ghana. Institutional interventions through state agencies and ministries are equally relevant in addressing the challenges faced by the youth in their participation in the creative industries. Policies such as capital provision in the form of soft loans, educational and mentorship opportunities, relevant logistics and infrastructure will create an enabling environment for young creatives to thrive in expressing their creativity. Of course, Governments in the past have taken some steps to advance the interest of creatives in the country such as establishing the Creative Arts Council, National Film Authority, Ghana Union of Visual Arts, and other legislations such as the Copyrights Regulations, 2010 (L.I 1962) to safeguard the interests of creatives against piracy and plagiarism. A renewed commitment will the desired from the government in order to implement already existing policies for the creative industries in Ghana. Additionally, the educational curriculum from the basic schools in the country needs to be enhanced in order for students to appreciate creativity and also curb the public stereotypes against the sector in the country.

7.0   CONCLUSION

The research has provided data-driven insights into the motivations and barriers faced by young people in the Ghanaian creative industries. Through the study, it becomes obvious that despite the importance of financial rewards, young creatives prioritize intrinsic motivations such as passion, and the opportunity for self expression. These appear to be the main drivers of motivation for Ghanaian youth in the creative industries. Through the Expectancy-Value Theory, we have gained a nuanced understanding into the complex nature of the factors that influence youth participation in the creative industries in Ghana. The results shows the importance of intrinsic motivation, social capital, and institutional support in establishing a supportive creative ecosystem that enables young creatives to thrive. Addressing the identified challenges through targeted interventions is crucial for empowering young people and unlocking the full potential of the Ghanaian creative industries.

An, C,. (2019).‘The content and role of intrinsic motivation in creative work: the importance of seeking “enjoyment”. in Creativity Studies, 12(2), 280-290.

REFERENCES

Figures

Figure 1: Preferred discipline of the Creative Industries, Survey 2024, online. Figure 2: Motivations for Participation in the Creative Industries, Survey 2024, online. Figure 3: Barriers to Participation in the Creative Industries, Survey 2

Humanitarianism and Activism in the Music Industry: Bandcamp Gaza Fundraisers as a Case Study 

By Hana Arshid

Introduction 

Prior to the World Wide Web boom, the music industry engaged in media-driven activism and humanitarian aid through broadcasted concerts and tours, exemplified by the high-profile Band Aid and Live Aid events of the 1980s, which raised millions for Ethiopian famine relief. These celebrity-driven initiatives were criticised by both Müller (2013) and Jones (2017), who argue that celebrity humanitarianism feeds a form of marketised philanthropy that oversimplifies complex socio-political issues. They contend that Band Aid and Live Aid, through media-driven activism, employed neocolonial representations of Africa to evoke emotional responses by focusing on pity, rather than addressing the structural causes of crises (Müller, 2013; Jones, 2017). This approach advanced a depoliticised narrative, which transformed activism into what Douzinas (2007) calls “a consumer spectacle” centred on mass appeal and individual donations, ultimately reinforcing neoliberal ideals. These efforts sustained global power dynamics that perpetuated existing inequalities rather than propelling systemic change.  

The advent of music platformisation has altered the industry’s approach to humanitarian and advocacy efforts. While celebrity-driven humanitarianism remains prevalent, platforms like Bandcamp—described by Hesmondhalgh et al. (2019) as quasi-platforms—give musicians both a way to sustain their careers and a direct avenue to engage in advocacy through the sale of digital and physical music, as well as merchandise. This sets it apart from massive conglomerates like Spotify, and larger platforms such as SoundCloud, which is gradually embracing the economic model of streaming giants. Suárez (2012) maintains that smaller entities are more likely to advocate for social justice and lend legitimacy to nonprofits working for social change. Bandcamp’s model reflects this perspective, with independent musicians and labels collaborating with relief NGOs to raise funds for humanitarian crises and show solidarity. 

Several characteristics render Bandcamp particularly well suited to these endeavours, foremost among which is its commitment to an independent ethos. This resonates with independent musicians who seek to distance themselves from the corporate frameworks that dominate the mainstream music industry—a sector notorious for failing to adequately compensate artists for their labour. The producer-oriented platform endorses a moral economy, where consumer interests converge with musicians’ welfare (Hesmondhalgh et al., 2019; Rogès, 2024), thus appealing more to niche audiences than to the mass market. Appadurai’s (2012) theory of “the social life of commodities” is relevant here: a commodity’s value arises from the social interactions and exchanges that shape it. In the context of Bandcamp fundraisers, the value of music as a commodity is not solely anchored in the artistic work itself but extends to the causes that it endorses and the bonds it establishes between audiences and humanitarian initiatives. 

Since October 2023, there has been a notable proliferation of art- and music-based fundraisers for Gaza, with strong engagement from the Bandcamp community, in response to the escalating humanitarian crisis precipitated by the large-scale Israeli bombardment and the total siege of the territory. This essay explores how cultural production through fundraising on Bandcamp creates social and economic value within the digital platform economy, amidst the complexities of digital activism and humanitarianism, and the commodification of suffering. Using distant reading and sentiment analysis, the study examines the rhetorical appeals in 30 record-label fundraisers published between October 2023 and October 2024. It also probes the degree to which these fundraisers reinforce traditional media-driven humanitarian paradigms akin to those epitomised by Band Aid, and where they challenge and deconstruct these established traditions.  

Methodology 

The study integrates quantitative research methods with qualitative analysis of the derived data. It implements a distant reading algorithm, written in Python, to process textual data from 30 Bandcamp record-label pages, utilising the Natural Language Toolkit (NLTK) library, which offers a suite of tools for natural language processing (NLP). This statistical approach corresponds well with the complex and manifold nature of the fundraisers’ discourses (advocacy, promotion, genre-specific language). It enables the exploration of the corpus through a more ecologically valid lens that provides an objective measure of key metrics and minimises the impact of human intuition and subjectivity (Allen et al., 2020: 5), thus enhancing data reliability. 

NLP facilitates the extraction of insights from large text datasets, like Bandcamp fundraisers, through techniques such as sentiment analysis, topic detection, and recognition of named entities and relationships within texts (Kibble, 2013). The algorithm tokenises the text into individual words, removes common stopwords, and counts word frequencies. With the NLTK library as a foundation, additional algorithms were devised to conduct bigram analysis, identifying word correlations through the detection of frequently co-occurring word pairs, in addition to sentiment analysis.  

Charts and maps serve as the primary visualisation methods. Knowledge visualisation effectively communicates research to the public, supports integrated learning on complex problems, and nurtures relational perception (Boehnert, 2016). Python code is used to map the locations of record labels involved in fundraising for Gaza by assigning geographic coordinates and continent-based colours. The data is dynamically visualised on a Folium map to display location frequencies, while word frequencies, bigrams, and sentiment analysis are visualised through bar charts generated by Matplotlib. 

As for the selection criteria for the 30 Bandcamp fundraisers, they include those launched between October 2023 and October 2024, appearing in the top results for the keywords “Gaza” and “fundraise,” and containing a clear statement of purpose beyond just the use of keywords in the title. 

Political Consumerism and the Appeal for Credibility  

Bandcamp fundraisers motivate record-label fans to leverage their purchasing power as a form of political engagement in the digital sphere. George and Leidner (2019) categorise digital political engagement into three tiers—spectator, transitional, and gladiatorial—based on Milbrath’s (1981) hierarchy of political participation. Bandcamp fundraisers fit into medium-effort political engagement, as they involve two types of transitional activities: political consumerism and e-funding (George and Leidner, 2019; Ward and Vreese, 2011). These activities, unlike minimal-effort spectator activities, require greater resource allocation and financial contributions from participants. Purchases of music records, framed as contributions to relief and advocacy efforts for Gaza, is an example of political consumerism, which Ward and Vreese (2011: 402) define as an individualised collective action where “consumer choice of producers and products is based on their alignment with personal, political or ethical considerations.” 

Political consumerism on Bandcamp manifests through diverse forms of e-funding. For instance, the Moot Tapes label fundraiser in Ireland promotes what George and Leidner (2019) refer to as “e-funding through direct donations” to a partner on-the-ground relief NGO. Consumers who provide proof of donation receive free access to the label’s album, which was created specifically for fundraising. Alternatively, the label offers a “name your price” option, allowing supporters to purchase the album without necessarily donating to the partner NGO. Whether or not the album purchase supports NGOs in Gaza, its value and circulation as a commodity are shaped by politics and an association with relief efforts. The music album operates within what Appadurai (2012) terms “regimes of value,” the cultural, social, and historical frameworks that regulate the classification and exchange of such commodities (Appadurai, 2012: 83-84). 

Figure 1: Top 20 Relief-Related Bigrams (Arshid, 2024) 

Bandcamp fundraisers cultivate political consumerism through a complex interplay of trust-building mechanisms. Neilson and Paxton (2010) found a negative correlation between political consumerism and trust in institutions and official bodies; it is, meanwhile, positively linked to generalised trust, that is, societal trust, including in grassroots and independent initiatives. The collaboration between independent musicians and humanitarian institutions enhances the credibility of the fundraisers, particularly at a time when, as Sharma (2017) argues, humanitarian organisations, now functioning as brands, struggle to maintain moral authority due to their perception as commercial entities. 

An additional pillar of trust-establishment is the use of rhetorical devices intended to boost credibility. The distant reading of the fundraiser statements indicates a merger of immediate humanitarian aid with long-term advocacy discourse to form a dual-purpose appeal. Figures 1 and 2 illustrate that advocacy terms such as “liberation,” “human rights,” “solidarity,” “freedom,” and “justice” do not dominate the frequency counts to the same extent as the terms directly associated with relief. Thus, fundraisers achieve their appeal for credibility primarily by showcasing direct, short-term impact and addressing urgent needs. To enhance legitimacy for this appeal, the fundraisers align themselves with broader justice-oriented demands by drawing on terminology rooted in universally recognised values, in a bid to evoke emotional and moral responses from supporters. The advocacy-related bigrams likewise highlight the overarching theme of collective action. This “collective identity,” stemming from a “shared sense of ‘we-ness’ and ‘collective agency’” (Snow, 2001: 2212), is a strong emotional motivator for participation in donations. The blend of ethos and pathos in the fundraiser discourse aims to engineer consent (Herman and Chomsky, 1988) from supporters by reassuring them that their buy-in will generate sustainable justice, in addition to providing urgently needed relief. 

Figure 2: Top 20 Advocacy-Related Bigrams (Arshid, 2024) 

Notably, the moral sentiments underpinning classical humanitarian discourse, such as compassion and empathy, are not explicitly invoked as rhetorical devices within the fundraisers. However, terms like “children relief” carry an implicit emotional appeal, as they suggest helping vulnerable populations, evoking feelings of compassion and empathy. Sharma (2017: 3-4) proposes that these sentiments are “asymmetrical feelings” that may reinforce social and geopolitical hierarchies between benefactors (in the global North) and recipients (in the global South). The emotional and moral appeal of the Bandcamp fundraisers is not rooted in mere sympathy evocation; rather, it situates advocacy within the discourse of human rights and global solidarity, potentially generating another form of asymmetrical sentiment. This approach positions victims as subjects of universal human rights narratives, rather than individuals grounded in their specific geographic or cultural contexts (Nayar, 2009).  

The Geopolitics of Humanitarianism and the Music Industry  

Figure 3: Record Label Location Frequency Map (Arshid, 2024)  

Interactive map link: https://hanairs91.github.io/Bandcamp-Gaza-Fundraisers—Distant-Reading-and-Visualisation/  

The algorithmically generated map (Figure 3) reveals a marked concentration of Bandcamp fundraisers by record labels based in Europe and North America, a phenomenon that resonates with a deep-rooted Western tradition of conceptualising humanitarianism as the political bedrock of global solidarity. The data also corroborates the view that humanitarian fundraising, as a political mechanism in response to crises, is significantly less prevalent in the Global South. Originally envisioned as a neutral, apolitical initiative with the establishment of the International Red Cross in the mid-19th century, humanitarianism has gradually morphed into a more politicised mode of global solidarity, particularly in the aftermath of World War II and the ascension of the liberal world order (Douzinas, 2007; Lawrence and Tavernor, 2019; Hopgood, 2019). This transformation, as noted by Lawrence and Tavernor (2019), gave rise to the notion of “mediated humanitarianism,” wherein media culture—spanning television, cinema, and music—became inextricably linked with humanitarian outreach and community formation, moulding and refracting efforts toward global solidarity from the mid-20th century onward. Chouliaraki (2010) further contends that contemporary media has catalysed the emergence of “post-humanitarianism,” which encourages politically ambivalent engagement and reduces humanitarian action to commodified, superficial acts of “playful consumerism.” The politicisation and mediation of humanitarianism have transformed it into what Douzinas (2007: 12) calls the “ultimate political ideology,” wherein Western well-being is intertwined with the hardships of the Global South. 

Additionally, the dominance of Western record labels in Bandcamp fundraising efforts offers context for the tendency to prioritise universalist human rights discourse, with “Palestinian liberation” standing out as an exceptional case of a context-bound, relativist approach in the advocacy-related language (see Figure 2). The link between humanitarianism and universal human rights, two distinct manifestations of social activism (Hopgood, 2019), is deeply entrenched in Western tradition. Spivak (2023) and Douzinas (2007) maintain that NGO and relief efforts frequently serve to propagate Western neoliberal democracy under the guise of “human rights,” shaping social movements to conform to capitalist interests. While ostensibly framed as acts of solidarity, Western involvement in global crises can perpetuate imperialist sentiments and reinforce the dichotomy between the “rescuers” (those in the West) and the “suffering populations” (those in the Global South). Spivak’s (2023) radical rejection of philanthropic “giving” as a normative practice stems from her understanding that such gestures often obscure the complex historical and political realities of the situations they aim to address. Universal human rights, framed as a moral obligation, can undermine the agency of subaltern populations and  place Western intervention at the centre (Spivak’s 2023; Douzinas, 2007). While Bandcamp fundraisers are organised by independent artists and labels, rather than large relief institutions, they still replicate some of the tropes of hegemonic structures from which they declare independence.  

Distant reading of the tags labelling the albums and compilations sold to raise funds for Gaza shows that the highly contested category of “world music” ranks among the top four genres, following punk, a genre often associated with political protest and disobedience. Connell and Gibson (2004: 346) describe world music as a commercial construct that emerged in 1987 as a marketing strategy rather than an authentic genre tied to specific places. Historically, it served as a vague label for non-European and marginalised music, creating a division from other genres (Van Klyton, 2012). This divide enables Western corporations to profit by exoticising non-Western sounds and packaging them for global consumption (Connell and Gibson, 2004; Van Klyton, 2012). At its core, world music reflects the impact of globalised markets, where cultural products are detached from their geographic origins and recontextualised for Western audiences, which reinforces a Eurocentric framing of diverse cultural expressions and identities.  

Figure 4: Top 20 Most Common Genres (Arshid, 2024) 

Representation and the Commodification of Suffering  

The distant reading results regarding words associated with Palestinians expose the power imbalances embedded in the narrative about the suffering of Global South populations (Ziberi et al., 2024) and humanitarian advocacy within the independent music community on Bandcamp. The most frequent terms linked to Palestinians predominantly revolve around the need for external help, casting Palestinians as passive beneficiaries of aid. The prominence of “charity” among the top four terms highlights that a segment of the fundraisers corresponds with Tullock’s (1971) definition of charity: where the affluent leverage their position to offer gifts to the less fortunate, with the quantity and nature of aid left at the benefactor’s discretion, as Buchanan (1987) suggests. Ethical theory distinctly separates charity from justice. While charity excludes the recipients from the process of planning systemic change, justice guarantees an entitlement to aid, rather than leaving it to the benevolence of others (Coss, 2019; Fang, 2021). 

The above finding is further substantiated by an emphasis on vulnerable groups. The prevalence of terms like “children” and “youth” as demographic categories indicates that younger populations are significant in the discourse surrounding Palestinians. Such emphasis is further spurred by the facts outlined by international human rights organisations, such as Save the Children (2024), which ranked the occupied Palestinian territory as the most dangerous place in the world for children as of 10 October, 2024. However, this focus also resonates with the portrayal of children as inherently vulnerable in Western narratives, as Sergi (2021) argues, and is therefore designed to elicit maximum empathy for the Palestinian cause. 

Figures 2 and 5 illustrate how immediacy and urgency are deployed as persuasion techniques within the fundraisers’ discourse. It is undeniable that swift action is urgently required in response to the crisis in Gaza. From a discourse perspective, however, urgency rhetoric also functions as an “attention economy” mechanism (Ziberi et al., 2024), a key principle in commodity theory, particularly relevant in the age of digital platforms. In this context, human attention is treated as a scarce and highly valuable resource in an oversaturated informational landscape. To facilitate the transactional process, i.e.,”buy this album, contribute to relief efforts in Gaza,” urgency transforms passive viewers into active contributors on the digital platform. Nayar (2009) explains that transforming struggles into a consumable public domain is a form of commodification that not only stirs empathy but is also intertwined with global media industries that profit from such representations (Nayar, 2009: 151-153). This raises important discussions around the ethics of representation and the asymmetries that are entrenched within them. 

Figure 5: Words Associated with Palestinians (Arshid, 2024) 

Supporter Engagement 

Bandcamp’s resistance to platformised aesthetics, with its focus on materiality, permanence, and insularity (Hesmondhalgh et al., 2019), comes with practical limitations regarding the data available about supporters who purchase releases. Bandcamp uses a basic application programming interface (API) that offers simple functionalities for accessing and managing data. While it provides some metrics similar to those on social media platforms, the quantity of music purchasers is not displayed numerically. Instead, users are shown a collection of supporter avatars and comments. This basic API is intentional, contributing to the creation of “symbolic meaning” (Davies and Sigthorsson, 2013) around the music artefacts and their detachment from capitalist modes of production and circulation. However, it restricts insight into supporter behaviour to the analysis of comments on the record labels’ pages. 

Reactions rooted in anger, fear, outrage, and sadness are typical crisis response stimuli (Ziberi et al., 2024), but sentiment analysis of Bandcamp fundraiser supporters’ comments reveals that positive sentiments dominate. Positive words appear 8 times more frequently than negative ones, with 4.5 times more overall occurrences, indicating a clear bias towards positive emotions despite some strong negative sentiment (see Figure 6). The word “favourite” is the most frequent, as many comments reference supporters’ favourite tracks from the albums. This demonstrates a pronounced interest in the record label’s music and reflects a transactional approach, with an emphasis on personal choice. Chouliaraki (2010) suggests that post-humanitarian communication has shifted towards individualised engagement, in which personal choice and spectator “reflexivity” assume a central role. Contemporary campaigns “technologise action” by reducing participation to quick, simplified clicks—such as online donations—that favour convenience over long-term moral and emotional commitment (Boltanski, 1999; Chouliaraki, 2010). This model of humanitarianism increasingly follows a consumption-based logic, where global solidarity is reduced to transactional gestures that give the impression of action while alleviating guilt (Hopgood, 2019). 

Figure 6: Sentiment Analysis of Bandcamp Fundraiser Supporters’ Comments (Arshid, 2024) 

Negative sentiment words contain strong language that is tinged with the gravity of the underlying geopolitical crisis and reflective of anger, hardship, and oppression. Pity-related terminology is conspicuously absent from the comments, which reflects a trend in contemporary humanitarian discourse to move away from the notion of a “crisis of pity,” where humanitarian appeals relying on grand emotions like guilt have lost their potency in galvanising sustained public action (Boltanski, 1999). As Douzinas (2007) and Müller (2013) note, pity is often a paternalistic emotion directed by the West towards the Global South to legitimise existing inequalities. While platform-based music fundraisers differ from the pity-driven humanitarianism that tainted antecedents such as Band Aid, they still operate within a marketised humanitarianism, marked by low emotional intensity and short-term engagement.  

Concluding Thoughts  

The distant reading of Bandcamp fundraisers for Gaza uncovers the complex power dynamics within digital humanitarianism, particularly in the independent music sector. Although the platform facilitates grassroots relief and advocacy initiatives, much of the engagement is transactional, centred on immediate relief efforts rather than addressing deeper structural issues. The prominence of consumer-driven activism, where music purchases are framed as acts of humanitarian support, exemplifies the commodification of suffering. This underscores longstanding patterns in Western humanitarianism, which often portray Palestinians as passive recipients of aid rather than active participants in their own liberation. 

Further highlighting the dominance of Western narratives in sculpting humanitarian discourse is the geographic concentration of fundraisers in the Global North. The emphasis on vulnerable groups, especially children, evokes empathy, yet reinforces familiar tropes of victimhood. Urgency is frequently deployed as a persuasive device, reflecting the “attention economy” where immediate action is prioritised over sustained, critical engagement. 

Sentiment analysis of supporter comments indicates a predominance of positive emotional responses, with relatively minimal engagement in negative or critical discourse. This suggests that supporters are primarily motivated by personal connection to the music or to the idea of contributing to a cause, rather than by the deeper political complexities of the Gaza crisis. While this reflects a shift away from pity-driven humanitarianism in the music industry, it also points to the limits of Bandcamp fundraisers as means for advocating long-term engagement with issues of structural inequality and injustice. 

This study emphasises the imperative for further exploration of the visual and sonic rhetoric utilised in music industry fundraisers associated with the Gaza crisis. Such research has the potential to yield a more nuanced understanding of the independent music industry’s contributions to digital humanitarianism and activism. 

Reference list:  

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Appendices 

Appendix 1: Bandcamp Fundraisers Textual Data 

https://github.com/HanaIrs91/Bandcamp-Gaza-Fundraisers—Distant-Reading-and-Visualisation/blob/main/Textual%20Data%20-%20BC%20Gaza%20Fundraisers%20-%20Final.xlsx

Appendix 2: Python Code Developed for Data Analysis and Visualisation 

Appendix 3: Github Repository of the Research Project 

https://github.com/HanaIrs91/Bandcamp-Gaza-Fundraisers—Distant-Reading-and-Visualisation

A review of social commitment in 20th century art and its commodification under Capitalism

By Zahra Abdi

Introduction
At the start of the 20th century, the impact of war, economic crises, colonial competition, and skepticism about progress led many artists to move away from content-driven art and embrace formalism, sparking the rise of modern art. By the 1920s, however, avant-garde artists renewed their interest in socially engaged art, which is essential in addressing the era’s socio-political challenges (Scheunemann, 2005; Clark, 1997). In the 1920s and 1930s, artists addressed issues like poverty, housing, war, executions, and workers’ strikes. However, as the economy improved and the art market grew, the question of art’s autonomy led to a divide between art and life (Roberts, 2014). Modern art, with its formalist focus, dominated the art world until the postmodern era. In postmodernism, art shifted back to social discourse. After 1960 in France, a rebellion against consumerism sparked critical art, and by the 1980s, figurative painting became a platform for addressing social issues. Social movements, feminism, and themes of gender, race, and identity then became central to cultural studies and artistic works (Smythe, 2015).


This research aims to answer the key question of how the discourse of socially committed art evolved within Western art during the 20th century, shaped by historical developments. It also seeks how this art is commodified in a capitalist society. The objective of this research is to examine how socially committed art—as a tool for resistance and social critique—has evolved in its expression and purpose, and to analyze how capitalist systems transform this critical art into consumable products, often stripping away its oppositional potential. To address this, the research adopts a descriptive-analytical method, beginning with a review of the trajectory of socially committed art during two first decades of the 20th century, extending through the rest of the century and into postmodernism, then applying Theodor Adorno and Horkheimer’s theory of the Culture Industry to explore how capitalism affects art and culture.


Socially committed art in the first two decades of the 20th century
To fully grasp 20th-century art and the development of modernism, it is essential to contextualize them within the broader political, social, and technological changes of the time1 (Berlin, 1997). At the beginning of the century, many Europeans and Americans were imbued with an optimistic belief in societal progress, driven by the expansion of democracy, capitalism, innovation, and technology (Marx & Mazlish, 1996). However, the competitive nature of colonialism and capitalism introduced deep instability within Europe and its political allies, ultimately leading to widespread skepticism regarding the notion of progress. The concept of progress posits that history unfolds as a continuous process of improvement, with all societies contributing to a collective evolutionary trajectory. According to this framework, if one perceives history as a definitive path toward advancement, Western civilization becomes positioned as the apex of this developmental pathway (Castoriadis & Murphy, 1985). Hegel, in his metaphysical narrative, proposed that the driving force of history lies in the birth and evolution of ideological maturity. He argued that this ideological shift occurs when a new idea emerges within the confines of an established one, eventually superseding it. In his philosophy of history, Hegel maintained that any reflective individual analyzing historical events must accept that suffering is an integral part of progress, thus embedding the concept of colonialism within the broader framework of historical advancement (McLangy, 2024).


In the latter half of the 19th century, the notion of an organic society diminished, and conflict came to be seen as the foundation of life in industrialized Western society. This view was reflected by Marx and Engels in the early Communist Manifesto, which can be seen as a seminal modernist statement advocating a radical break from the past. Modernist writers and artists were influenced by this perspective, striving to depict the alienation of urban life. The shift toward abstraction in avant-garde art is also interpreted as a reflection of this social alienation2 (Childs, 2017). The incorporation of Marxist ideas into 20th-century art, prior to the Russian Revolution, led to the creation of movements like Futurism and Constructivism, where machine played a central role. This often led to the development of abstract expressions. These artists created a significant break from traditional art forms, embracing avant-garde techniques to merge industry and production with art. By defamiliarizing common processes, they aimed to elevate critical cultural awareness (Versari, 2009). In addition to philosophical influences, the rise of avant-garde art movements was closely tied to the events surrounding World War I (Cárcel, 2023). The outbreak of the war in 1914 drastically altered global dynamics. Prior to the conflict, collaboration among European artists was widely accepted, but the war’s onset and divergent views on it caused these relationships to collapse, ushering in a new phase of European art. During this period, many artists, either voluntarily or due to obligation, joined the front lines, with some subsequently glorifying war while others strongly opposed it (Becker, 2020). It seems that the glorification of war by avant-garde artists stemmed more from their anti-bourgeois stance than from any commitment to patriotism. This avant-garde viewpoint aimed to destruction of all systems influenced by the bourgeoisie. Among European avant-garde groups, the Italian Futurists, led by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, were the most captivated by war (Storchi, 2015).

The first Futurist manifesto, issued by Marinetti in 1908, declared that only by becoming free of the stinking gangrene of… “professors, archaeologists, touring guides, and antique dealers” only by burning libraries and flooding museums, could Italy save itself. The new world of speed and technology required a new language of forms derived not from the past but from the future. A second manifesto declared that by denying its past could art correspond to the intellectual needs of our time. Tradition was reactionary, Modernism alone was revolutionary and progressive (Gablik, 2004).


These artists displayed a fragmented chaos that represented the 20th century—a century that was increasingly and technologically undergoing transformation (Salter, 2010). For the Futurists, war was viewed as an inspiring, progressive, and even beautiful phenomenon. However, this fascination was not universally shared among artists; for some, enthusiasm was replaced by profound hatred. In France, André Breton, who would later lead the Surrealist movement, expressed his reluctance toward the glorification of war, while artists such as Marcel Duchamp distanced themselves by leaving their homeland (Re, 2004). By mid-1915, the violence, suffering, and perceived futility of the war compelled many pro-war artists to reevaluate their positions. They sought to use their art to denounce and critique the war. In post-World War I Europe, the anxiety stemming from the conflict prompted some artists to memorialize the victims, not to celebrate military heroism, but to condemn the political underpinnings of war and the prevailing culture of forgetting (Cork, 1995).


Amid World War I (1916), the Dada movement emerged with its revolutionary critique of war and bourgeois society, followed by Surrealism in 1924, which embraced an anti-war stance (Rubin, 1968). By the 1920s, the postwar generation of Dadaists had grown increasingly skeptical of society’s mercenary nature. The catastrophic consequences of the war had shattered any remaining faith in a rational and peaceful future. In their view, a civilization that tolerated such atrocities was unworthy of art’s consolations, having lost its legitimacy. Consequently, the public was confronted with meaningless, aggressively absurd object (Gablik, 2004). Avant-garde modernism emerged as an artistic movement protesting the existing social order while seeking individual freedom. The war’s catastrophic effects shattered faith in progress and disillusioned artists with past ideologies, leading them to embrace absurdity. Dadaist and Surrealist artists aimed to dismantle established patterns, yet the disharmony and fragmentation of their works mirrored individuals’ loss of control and societal harmony (Childs, 2017). This loss of centrality once again led artists to reconsider the relationship between art and society from a new perspective.


Socially committed art from 1920 to postmodernism
In the late 19th century and early 20th century, the presence of humans, either as a source of evil or as an oppressed and threatened identity, became increasingly prominent in artworks3 (Wosk, 1986).

Even though the social thought and function of art around the 1880s gradually gave way to a phase of avant-gardism, which remained influential until about 19204, but during that period, the intensification of art’s autonomy through the aesthetic movement facilitated the avant-garde’s recognition of the inherent lack of social impact in autonomous art. As a logical consequence, there emerged a concerted effort to reintegrate art into the domain of social action. The fundamental transformation that arose from the transition from aestheticism to the avant-garde movement was rooted in art’s awareness of its role within bourgeois society—or, more precisely, its comprehension of its own social standing. Avant-garde artists believed that the integration of art into life was possible, provided they created unfinished works that remained open to audience reactions. This approach began its activities in 1920s5, when streets replaced galleries as venues for artistic expression, emphasizing the connection between life and art more than ever before (Burger, 1984). Alongside radical movements, the resurgence of realism in post-war European painting cannot be overlooked. The psychological impact of the war fostered a revival of realism, as artists, driven by a heightened sense of responsibility, became more attuned to their social and human obligations, seeking to contribute to the betterment of society (Lucie-Smith, 2020).


The formation of social realism in the 1920s and 1930s was inspired by the belief that art could serve as a weapon to combat the exploitation of workers under capitalism and halt the rise of international fascism (Whitfield, 2022). The painful experience of war drove German artists such as Max Beckmann and Käthe Kollwitz to create works with themes of war, suffering, and grief. However, while Kollwitz’s work can be considered part of social realism, Max Beckmann is associated with Neue Sachlichkeit. The ‘New Objectivity’ movement, which emerged in the 1920s, was an artistic response to the war and the political and social upheaval of the Weimar Republic, often characterized by a critical, detached, and sometimes satirical portrayal of contemporary life and politics in Germany (Pound, 2018). In addition to European art, American art during this period exemplified the return of art to social action. The Harlem Renaissance, which unfolded between the end of World War I and the mid-1930s, marked significant cultural, social, and artistic transformations in Harlem. Although initially driven by a literary movement led by writers and poets, this period gradually attracted artists, photographers, and musicians, establishing Harlem as a cultural hub. The Harlem Renaissance revitalized Black pride and contributed to changing perceptions of African Americans and their roles within the cultural framework of the United States (Stephens, 2006). According to Art Hazelwood, citing Gorky6, despite the significant socio-political movement in the art world, the powerful political art of the 1930s was sidelined. During this time, elitism reemerged with the economic recovery and the decline of the Great Depression. Many curators, gallery owners, and artists participated in this pronounced shift away from political art, which had previously symbolized solidarity among artists in the 1930s. Economic improvement, evolving artistic practices, the revitalized commercial art market, fatigue from political engagement, and a sense of futility surrounding political art were all noted as reasons for the decline of political art (Hazelwood, 2017).


The return of art to social commitment: Postmodernism
Postmodernism presents both opportunities for the resurgence and expansion of cultural politics and the risk of its neutralization. A significant focus of postmodern aesthetic theory is the rejection of the modernist distinction between art and other social activities. It seeks to reclaim the suppressed political dimensions inherent in aesthetic and cultural practices. As culture permeates all areas of life, there is a growing aestheticization of social, political, and economic spheres (Connor , 1989). The resurgence of political and social consciousness, along with the re-engagement of art in political discourse, was most prominently visible in France. In 1960s France, a rebellion against consumerist society emerged at a time when art was often seen merely as entertainment. This upheaval provided a renewed platform for critical art. Although abstract painting dominated the artistic landscape and gained significant traction in educational institutions, the resistance to mainstream art forms led artists to incorporate everyday objects, including discarded materials, into their work. This shift positioned them as commentators on social movements, reflecting broader critiques of contemporary culture (Foster, et al., 2005).


With the ongoing production of socially themed artworks, a new vitality emerged in painting from the early 1980s. This revival followed the marked isolation and unprecedented withdrawal that the medium had experienced during the 1960s and 1970s in response to innovative experiments beyond the traditional canvas framework. Notably, this renewed energy in painting was expressed not through abstraction, but primarily through figurative art (Cork, 2002). During this period, it is noteworthy that Marxist and socialist interpretations of art, which gained significant influence after World War I, contributed to the emergence of a movement known as the social history of art by the mid-20th century. This movement emphasized the reciprocal relationship between society and art. Over time, Marxist art history evolved into social art history, integrating with competing methodologies such as feminism, psychoanalysis, and studies of gender and race. This shift resulted in a diverse and interdisciplinary body of work, often referred to as “modern art history. Simultaneously, approaches associated with “cultural studies” increasingly gained prominence within the realm of sociological art studies (Doy, 1998). Alongside the expansion of social art studies, a wave of global artistic events emerged, spotlighting artists of diverse nationalities, ethnicities, and cultures who had been overlooked for years. Moreover, the rise of multiculturalism coincided with the end of the Cold War, exemplified by two exhibitions that challenged the institutional dominance of white artists in Paris and London (Stallabrass , 2006).


One of these two exhibitions was “Magicians of the Earth7” at the Georges Pompidou Center. This event was pivotal in decentralizing the main cultural and artistic hubs of the world and distributing art across international centers. Selecting half of the works from Asian and African countries, aimed to present a more global discourse on art, integrating local characteristics while fostering dialogue within a broader international context. During this time, new artistic movements with social objectives emerged. Conceptual and thematic art, which gained prominence in the late 20th century, transformed aesthetic perceptions and accompanied art with a form of aggressive ethics. However, the radical advancement of new artistic expressions faced significant resistance both within and beyond the art world, prompting many artists to redefine art in a figurative space. During this period, there was a widespread effort to address social issues, focusing on inequalities related to class, race, gender, and ethnicity, especially for those facing discrimination, violence, exploitation, or invisibility. What was once a marginal issue in the modern era became central in postmodernism. The emphasis shifted towards exposing both overt and hidden forms of discrimination, reshaping social images becoming a dominant approach in contemporary art.


Commodification of socially committed art
Adorno and Horkheimer’s theory of the Culture Industry indicates how cultural products, initially created for expression and intellectual development, are commodified and mass-produced for capitalist markets (Horkheimer & Adorno, 2012). Culture and capitalism have been deeply intertwined since the Industrial Revolution, leading to the separation of culture from everyday life. This separation resulted in an undemocratic culture, where art and culture became commodities (Childs, 2017). Commodification refers to the process through which symbolic forms—cultural products with significant intellectual, aesthetic, or emotional content—are produced, distributed, and consumed as commodities within capitalist systems (Scott, 2011). These products, which may serve as tools for entertainment, communication, or social positioning, are transformed into goods for profit within market exchanges which is one of the main concerns of culture industry theory (Scott, 2011; Horkheimer & Adorno, 2012). In the context of art, commodification refers to the process by which creativity, or any form of expression is transformed into a marketable product, valued primarily for its potential to generate profit, rather than for its intrinsic or affective qualities (Anonymous, 2017). The profit derived from exclusive control over unique, non-replicable resources—such as a work of art— is referred to as monopoly rent, which can extract value from it by capitalizing on its uniqueness as discussed by Harvey (2001). Capitalism seeks to appropriate local differences, cultural variations, and aesthetic meanings to generate monopoly rents leading to the commodification of cultural products, often at the expense of their original authenticity and political meaning. Walter Benjamin and Theodor Adorno argue that art has the power to disrupt capitalist ideologies as it serves as a bearer of truth by revealing hidden social and historical truths often obscured by dominant power structures. However, they stress that art’s autonomy—its ability to remain independent of market or political pressures—is fragile. Autonomous art retains its critical edge, but when absorbed by the creative industries and commodified, it risks losing this independence and its capacity for critique (Lijster, 2017). Art can also criticize capitalism and its effects, offering a platform for resistance. Malik (2008) argues that the art market uses critique as a moral justification to appear distinct from overtly commercial practices, yet both primary and secondary markets ultimately reinforce capitalist accumulation. The values of “artist critique”—creativity, autonomy, and resistance to commodification—have been co-opted by neoliberal management. These values, once used to challenge capitalism, are now integrated into its operations, making critique part of the system and weakening its oppositional power (Chiapello, 2004).


The paradox of socially committed art lies in the fact that, while it seeks to challenge and critique the very systems of oppression and commodification inherent in capitalism, it is not immune to the forces of commodification itself. Activist art, a form of socially and politically engaged art that aims to provoke change by raising awareness about injustices, encouraging dialogue, and mobilizing communities for social action (Gupta, 2021; Himada, 2014), is the prime example of this contradiction. This form of art transcends mere aesthetic appeal, using emotion (affect) and strategy (effect) to foster a deeper understanding of systemic issues and catalyze social transformation (Gupta, 2021; Sholette, 1998). Although activist art challenge societal norms, criticize power structures, and address issues such as racism, gender inequality, environmental degradation, and human rights violations (Hackney, 2016), yet, like much creative productions, it often finds itself co-opted by the same market forces it critiques. As Lippard (1984) notes activist art can act as a Trojan horse, appearing within the structures of the art world but containing subversive messages aimed at disrupting power structures. However, when this form of art is commodified, its critical edge can be dulled, turning a tool for resistance into a marketable product for public consumption. The commodification of art, especially within the context of public spaces or cultural institutions, raises questions about the authenticity of its message and the ability of such works to maintain their political impact. Street art as a type of activist art, once a form of urban resistance and critique, has also been co-opted into the very capitalist frameworks. This transformation of public art into a tool for urban branding reflects the idea of co-optation in a broader trend of “creative city” paradigms (Pavoni, 2019), where this aesthetics are incorporated into mainstream advertising, tourist attraction, and increasing property values. What began as a form of cultural opposition to the urban decay and marginalization has been turned into a commercial product that facilitates gentrification processes while maintaining structural inequalities by excluding residents from decision-making and alienating them(Raposo, 2023; Ian Ross, et al., 2020).


On the other hand, the sense of alienation felt by people or communities in this system, resulting from commodification, can lead to resentment and opposition toward the capitalist system. This aligns with Adorno’s concept of negative dialectics, where alienation creates the possibility for resistance, even within systems of oppression (Sherman, 2016). Besides, considering capitalism needs cultural differences and their uniqueness to generate monopoly rents and maintain the illusion of authenticity, this can create openings for resistance. Alternative forms of cultural production and political organization are another form of resistance to commodification. Socialist movements and other radical political forces can use culture as a tool for opposition, reclaiming creativity and authenticity from capitalist exploitation. By focusing on collective empowerment and redirecting cultural production toward social and communal values rather than profit, these movements can challenge the dominance of capitalism while preserving cultural uniqueness (Harvey, 2001). Serafini believes community-centered art practices as resistance for this commodification. She draws on Herbert Read’s essay “To Hell with Culture” (1941), where Read critiques how capitalist systems commodify art and hinder the democratization of culture. She argues by engaging people in radical politics and social change rather than institutions through community centered art we can maintain art’s autonomy and preserve its critical potential outside the constraints of institutionalization and market pressures (Serafini, 2015). Adorno’s concept of autonomy in art, which emphasizes its separation from market logic, can be also seen here as another model for preserving the integrity of socially committed art. Read advocates for a radical shift towards a democratic model of cultural production. He argues that under capitalism, art is produced primarily for profit, leading to an elitist and undemocratic culture that is disconnected from the everyday lives of people. To counter this, it should be a system where all production is for use, not for profit, with an emphasis on function and fulfillment as the defining qualities of art, rather than its marketability. He calls for the collective ownership and control of the means of production, including artistic industries, ensuring that cultural output serves the common good rather than capitalist interests. Furthermore, Read envisions a society where art is fully integrated into everyday life, breaking down the separation between culture and work that was caused by the Industrial Revolution. In this model, artists are no longer isolated as unique geniuses but are part of a collective workforce, contributing to the democratic and functional culture that serves society as a whole (Child, 2015).


In conclusion, the commodification of socially committed art under capitalism poses a paradox: while this art form seeks to challenge and critique oppressive systems, it often becomes absorbed into the very market forces it opposes. As critical art is transformed into consumable products, its oppositional potential is frequently diluted, turning acts of resistance into marketable commodities. However, opportunities for resistance remain, as artists and communities continue to explore alternative models of cultural production that preserve the integrity of socially engaged art and challenge its commodification within capitalist frameworks.

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Footnotes

  1. In his article The Pursuit of the Ideal, Berlin identifies two significant factors in shaping the history of humanity in the 20th century: the active influence of science and technology, and the profound ideological upheavals that emerged. Events such as the Russian Revolution and its aftermath, totalitarian regimes (both left and right), surges of nationalism, racism, religious fanaticism, etc (Berlin, 2018) ↩︎
  2. Lynton describes modern art as if “there was no design, no composition, and no way for the viewer to know what to admire, let alone what to think about. It seemingly lacked any content (Lynton, 1980). ↩︎
  3. At the end of the 19th century, in the works of artists such as James Ensor (1860–1949), Edvard Munch (1863–1944), and Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901), there was no longer any trace of the tranquility and brightness found in classical works or the vibrancy of life depicted in realism. Instead, there are faces of distorted humanity, beings devoid of identity, and purely anguished visages; these faces symbolize the sickly and pessimistic spirit of suffering and corrupted humanity. ↩︎
  4. The avant-garde timeline should extend back to the 1830s, tracing its roots to l’art pour l’art. This shift highlights that the avant-garde was not only a rejection but also a continuation of l’art pour l’art (Singsen, 2020). ↩︎
  5. It is also known as radical avant-garde (GAIE, 2021). ↩︎
  6. Arshile Gorky, poor art for poor people ↩︎
  7. Magiciens de la Terre, a contemporary art exhibit from 18 May to 14 August 1989. ↩︎