CREATIVITY AROUND THE WORLD

BURNING MAN – a place where creativity is unlimited

Doubtless, Burning Man is one of the most famous and fascinating festivals in the world. In this blog I would like to report on the amazing creative art scene taking place in Black Rock Desert, in Nevada.

Since 1986 every year, about 70.000 people of each age group around the world come together to make up the “Black Rock City”, a metropolis dedicated to art and community. In the last 25 years Burning Man became the destination especially for those people who want escape from the triteness of everyday life and participate at this temporary city (Dodd, 2017). Art, self-expression and self-reliance are the essential parts within the construed community, and according to organiser of the event it is a place “to find out who you are” (Burning Man, n.d.).

Since 2004, there are 10 principles of Burning Man, wrote by the co-founder Larry Harvey. This guideline contains the ethos and culture of the festival, such as radical inclusion, gifting, self-expression, civic responsibility. Most of all it is focused on being a community.

Travellers-Insight-Reiseblog-Events-weltweit-Burning-Man.jpg — Burning Man, art car

The event is a concurrence of artists, musicians, creative people, visionaries, self-exposers, artists, kooks and party people. However, the most impressing art objects are certainly the huge art installations, the mutant vehicles and the art cars with their extravagant decorations and colours (Smith, 2014). Though, Burning Man is above all a cultural pot, whereas all people are welcome.

The aim of Burning Man is to create a society in which every individual is connected with each other as well through the participation in community as through creativity: The interaction, the art, the performance is created by the citizens itself and in fact, it is an amazing place, full of impressively interactive artwork (Smith, 2014). The festival attempts to change the paradigm of art, directing it in a perspective of shared experiences and creative expressions (Burning Man, n.d.).

During this nine days, people celebrate day and night in every possible way and besides meditation, yoga and many other workshops, even orgies, group masturbations, naked foam parties and events of this type take place (Olsen, n.d.).

critical-tits-ride-2009-4 — Burning Man, a crowd of bicycles

Among the Black Rock community commercialism doesn´t exist: Indeed, you can´t buy anything on the festival, excepted coffee and tea. In fact, the constructed city has a “gifting culture”, whereby people are gladly to share their goods with other participants (Smith, 2014).

The highlight of the week is doubtless the symbolic burning of a huge wooden effigy. By the way, the shape of the Man changes every year, relatively to the motto. This summer, for example it will have the form of a robot. Through this final ritual the attendees clean up themselves and return to their ordinary live by leaving no trace of their presence (Smith, 2014).

Burning_Man_2015_Galen_Oakes - 157 of 168.jpg — The burning of The Man’s effigy at the end of the week-long festival.

Certainly, the “spiritual journey” in this extraordinary place of unconventional lifestyle and extravagant art is for every participant an inimitable and enriching experience.

References:

Burning Man (1989-2018) The Event [online] Available at: <https://burningman.org/event/> [Accessed at 10.04.2018].

A crowd of bicycles, Pinterest, Available at: <https://www.pinterest.com/pin/485051822346018791/> [Accessed at 10.04.2018].

Burning Man, art work, Burning Man, Available at: <http://strategy7studio.net/burning-man/> [Accessed at 10.04.2018].

Burning Man, art car, Media Port, Available at: < http://www.mediaport.ua/burning-man> [Accessed at 10.04.2018].

Burning Man, crazy costume, Pinterest, Available at: <https://www.pinterest.com/pin/195132596327429896/> [Accessed at 10.04.2018].

Burning Man, the effigy, Burning Man, Available at: <https://burningman.org/> [Accessed at 10.04.2018].

Dodd, C. (2017) Burning Man: What´s it really like to survive nine days in Nevada´s Black Rock desert?, Independent, 04/09. Available at: <https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/americas/burning-man-how-to-survive-black-rock-city-desert-nevada-a7924581.html> [Accessed 10.04.2018].

Olsen, B. (n.d.) Sex, Lies, and Desert Dunst at Burning Man. [online] Available at: <https://www.perceptivetravel.com/issues/0109/united_states.html> [Accessed at 10.04.2018].

Smith, A. (2014) The crazy world of Burning Man – festival survival guide, The Guardian, 29/07. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/jul/29/sp-burning-man-festival-survival-guide> [Accessed 10.04.2018].

The burning of The Man’s effigy at the end of the week-long festival. (2013), Burning Man, Available at: <http://www.loupiote.com/photos/9909602225.shtml> [Accessed at 10.04.2018].

CREATIVE ACTIVISM: ARTISTS AROUND THE WORLD STAND UP FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

For this blog I decided to report on the arena´s building works in Qatar for the WM 2022 and it´s violation of human rights. Thereby, I would like to focus on these activists, who rebel against the FIFA sponsors in a provocative – but most of all, in a very creative way.

#Budweiser

In the year 2015 has been decided that the FIFA World Cup 2022 is going to take place in Qatar. Already during the first year of building the infrastructure, 1400 people have died and it was assumed that the amount would increase to 4000 until the stadium will be finished (Metro, 2015). This high fatality of workers was caused by the extreme weather and the unsafe working conditions. According to advocates, those migrant workforces succumb to deadly conditions, miserable accommodations and low wages (Norman, 2016). As a result, Qatar has come under intense criticism and protests. A further critique emerged due to the exploitation of the migrant workers through the Kafala-System: Employers confiscate worker´s passport and the latter would get back their passports only after finishing their employment agreement. Therefore, many Nepalese workers were not allowed to return to their country to attend funerals after the grave earthquake (Metro,2015).

#SONY

However, human rights activists are calling these terrible working conditions “the modern slavery” (Norman, 2016). Artists around the world speak out against World Cup sponsors, reworking their logos. The aim behind these anti-logo is to embarrass the sponsors and to make them aware of the impacts of their financing, tending to encourage them to withdraw from World Cup (The Express Tribune, 2015). Among others concerned brands, the most popular are Coca Cola, McDonald´s, Budweiser, Sony and Adidas. Creative activists remark logos using slogan, like “proud sponsor of human rights abuses of World Cup 2022,” or changing the originally slogan, for instant, in the case of Adidas: “”impossible is nothing with slave labour.” and in the case of Sony: “SONY make. slavery” (The Express Tribune, 2015).

#adidas

These anti-logos are designed by creative activists all over the world and are collected on Bored Panda. It is an online platform which was established in year 2009. This viral blog is accessible for everyone and free to can submit art works, pictures and stories.

As a result of this activism, sponsors (especially Coca Cola and Visa) were determined to react against FIFA: they exerted pressure on FIFA and urged it, to act against human right abuses (obviously, needless to say, it was in first place a decision in order to upgrade their bad image) (Norman, 2016). However, at the end of 2018 the stadium will be finished and despite all the efforts for these initiatives during the last three years the worker conditions couldn´t be really improved.

#VISA

With this blog I intended to show the impressionating way, in which artists stand up for human rights. Even if the activists couldn´t really achieved their goal yet, they have definitely been able to ensure all sorts of insurrections and critiques.

#Coca Cola

References:

Norman G. (2016) Critics call foul as Qatar´s 2022 World Cup city built with “slavery”, Fox News Sports. Available at: < http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2016/06/24/critics-call-foul-as-qatars-2022-world-cup-city-built-with-slavery.html> [Accessed 14.04.2018].

Metro News (2015) people are designing “anti-logos” to protest against the alleged abuse of workers in Qatar. [online] Available at:< http://metro.co.uk/2015/05/26/people-are-designing-anti-logos-to-protest-against-the-alleged-abuse-of-workers-in-qatar-5216140/> [Accessed 14.04.2018].

The Express Tribune (2015) Creative activism: Artists speak out against FIFA sponsors. [online] Available at: https://tribune.com.pk/story/893752/creative-activism-artists-speak-out-against-fifa-sponsors/> [Accessed 14.04.2018].

#adidas, Bored Panda, Available at: <https://www.boredpanda.com/qatar-2022-world-cup-human-rights-sponsor-anti-advertisement/> [Accessed 14.04.2018].

#Budweiser, Bored Panda, Available at: <https://www.boredpanda.com/qatar-2022-world-cup-human-rights-sponsor-anti-advertisement/> [Accessed 14.04.2018].

#Coca Cola, Bored Panda, Available at: <https://www.boredpanda.com/qatar-2022-world-cup-human-rights-sponsor-anti-advertisement/> [Accessed 14.04.2018].

#VISA, Bored Panda, Available at: <https://www.boredpanda.com/qatar-2022-world-cup-human-rights-sponsor-anti-advertisement/> [Accessed 14.04.2018].

DHARAVI´S ONLINE MARKET – slum artisans’ way to their success

In the heart of the Metropolis Mumbai we can find one of the world´s biggest slum: Dharavi. It is not just a place of poverty, dirt and misery – but rather a hub of economic activity.

In fact, there are 15,000 small manufacturing units and cottage industries, which generate a revenue of 1,5 billion US $ a year. Most of them are located to one-room tenement or sometimes even just up in attics, where 4-5 artisans are working hard and often under unhealthy conditions. However, many of these manufacturers are part of a global supplier system of international operating large companies (Shukla, 2014).

yourstory_Dharavi_InsideArticle2 — Despite long hours of often gruelling work, many artisans lived in poverty, but new internet markets are beginning to change things

Dharavi is especially known throughout India as well as all over the world for its leather products (especially handbags, briefcases, purses and belts). In addition to this, they also produce outer clothes which get in part onto the global market. Furthermore, there are production branches like pottery, jewellery and food processing especially bakery products and savoury biscuits (Fuchs, 2011).

Certainly, in Dharavi labour law doesn´t really exist and many people are working between 70 and 80 hours a week. It is estimated that 90% of the production facilities in Dharavi aren´t approved or registered (Fuchs, 2011). Megha Gupta, a journalist, urban planner and social entrepreneur explains, that the artisans have a big talent and they produce high qualitative handcrafts. She is convinced, that the artisans especially need “proper branding, marketing and a chance to reach a larger consumer base” (Shukla, 2016).

However, the biggest profit on artisan´s exported products make the middlemen. Therefore, Gupta decided to stand up for Dharavi´s artisans: In 2014 she created the online platform “Dharavi Market”. The aim of this online marketplace is to give slum´s artisans the opportunity to sell their products online. It´s success is just hardly to overlook: Indeed, the online market started with 10 artisans and during the last few years it has grown to about 200 members. Currently, leather goods manufacturers, potters, shoe makers, jewellers and various accessory manufacturers uses dharavimarket.com as a market and sell their handcrafted products in more than 100 countries all over the world (Shukla, 2016). The members of this e-commerce portal can simply upload photos of their products through an application on the mobile phones. Obviously, these costs are assumed by Gupta and her team and by numerous volunteers. Therefore, the online market gets a percentage on the sold products (Salian, 2016).

E-commerce puts Dharavi artisans in the limelight

However, the dharavimarket.com aimed to increase artisan´s independency from local shops. Due to the provided opportunity, the average of artisan´s income has already increased by 20-25% (Nazmy, 2016).

Until today the online market has not only been evolving into a profit-making company, rather than in to a chance for Dharavi´s dwellers to valorize their image: distancing it from the stereotypes of an impoverished, miserable and frowsy community, moving it forward into a place where artisans all over the country get together and create a community full of life and creativity.

References:

A man works in the Kumbahrwada pottery area, Dharavi Slum, Available at: <https://bethanyclarke.co.uk/editorial/stories/slums/> [Accessed at 17.04.2018].

Despite long hours of often gruelling work, many artisans lived in poverty, but new internet markets are beginning to change things (2016), India´s online marketplace for Mumbai´s slum artisans, Available at: < https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/07/india-online-marketplace-mumbai-slum-artisans-160712084024483.html> [Accessed 17.04.2018].

E-commerce puts Dharavi artisans in the limelight, Firefly Daily, Availabla at: <http://www.fireflydaily.com/slumdog-millionaire/> [Accessed at 17.04.2018].

Fuchs, M. (2011) Slum als Lebenswelt – Dharavi, Mumbai, Südasien, 2/2011. Available at: < http://www.suedasienbuero.de/index.php/archiv/211-2-2011> [Accessed 17.04.2018].

Nazmy, Y. (2016) Dharavi market puts artisans from Mumbai´s slums online. [online] Available at: < https://progrss.com/communities/20160824/dharavi-market-puts-artisans-from-mumbais-slums-online/> [Accessed 17.04.2018].

Salian, P. (2016) India´s online marketplace for Mumbai´s slum artisans. [online] Available at: < https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/07/india-online-marketplace-mumbai-slum-artisans-160712084024483.html> [Accessed 17.04.2018].

Shukla, A. (2016) Artisans from Dharavi slums go online. [online] Available at: http://ourfrontcover.com/homepageposts/artisans-dharavi-slums-go-online/ [Accessed 17.04.2018].

Graz– UNESCO City of Design

For my first blog, I decided to report on Graz, as a „city of design“. I am really keen on my university city because as far as the eye can see, one can recognize the lively creative scene of this city. With her unique flair, the European cultural capital can be seen as a heart of cultures, in which designers, musicians, architects and writers take a prevalent role.

26916978206_0a99a6908e_b — *Lendwirbel, Graz 2016*

Worldwide, 180 cities were nominated to be part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, whereby Graz entered in the year 2011 as a “City of design” (Creative Industries Styria, 2012). These creative cities are all characterized by following features: a significant culture heritage, a creative scene that is varied and lively, and the engagement to deploy the potential of the creative milieu of the city for the social and economic development of the region (Graz UNESCO City of Design, 2012).

In the last seven years, due to numerous projects, competitions, lectures and discussions, design has been an omnipresent topic in Graz. In the year 2009, the CIS (Creative Industries Styria) founded the “month of design”. During this month, the potential of the domestic creative economy is externally visible. The “month of design” offers space for innovative projects, thereby the importance of design as a process of development and value added can be refined. Exhibitions, festivals and an extensive discursive programmes could also achieve international importance. In addition to this, Graz could also gain influence as an international education location: In fact, the course of study “Industrial Design” was chosen by the US-journal “Business Week” as one of the world´s best schools of design and many students around the world decide to further their studies in Graz. Due to the creative potential, the city increasingly becomes a hub of international interest. In particular, the expected economic and touristic impulses fortify Graz as an attractive site as well as a smart city (Kulturzeitung 80, 2016).

istock_000016966717_870px — Kunsthaus Graz

The raising creative economy in Styria got through the nomination as a „city of design“ with a further boost. The creative scene could be networked more intensely with craft, trade and industry. As a result, the creative economy achieved a markedly larger percentage of the whole Styrian value added and it is of the strongest and fastest growing sector. Every tenth company belongs to the creative economy, which includes 4000 enterprises, including graphic design, software and game design, architecture, media and fashion. The creative enterprises employ 14000 people and they make a turnover of 1,5 billion Euros yearly. It is clearly recognizable that design and creativity is mainly an urban phenomenon, because half of the whole creatives of Styria are active in Graz (Kulturzeitung 80, 2016).

The aim of Graz is to still focus on the aesthetic component of design on the one hand, and on the other hand to improve the quality of life in this way and make the daily life of its urbanite more enjoyable (Graz UNESCO City of Design, 2012).

References:

Creative Industries Styria (2012). UNESCO City of Design. Retrieved from: https://www.cis.at/projekte/unesco-city-design/ [Accessed at 27.02.2018].

Creative Industries Styria (2012). Graz UNESCO City of Design. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNBHEYmJBrQ [Accessed at 27.02.2018].

Graz UNESCO City of Design (2012). Graz als city of Design. Retrieved from: http://www.graz-cityofdesign.at/de/graz-design/graz-als-city-of-design [Accessed at 27.02.2018].

Graz UNESCO City of Design (2012). UNESCO Cities of Design. Retrieved from: http://www.graz-cityofdesign.at/de/graz-design/unesco-cities-of-design [Accessed at 27.02.2018].

Kulturzeitung 80 (2016). Graz, die Stadt der kreativen Köpfe: Jahre City of Design. Retrieved from: https://achtzig.com/2016/04/graz-die-stadt-der-kreativen-koepfe/ [Accessed at 27.02.2018].

Kunsthaus Graz. Retrieved from: https://www.google.at/search?biw=1252&bih=600&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=LhanWo7pHcuEgAb_0ZjACg&q=kunsthaus&oq=kunsthaus&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i67k1l2j0l8.5764.6974.0.7298.10.10.0.0.0.0.111.890.6j4.10.0….0…1c.1.64.psy-ab..0.4.351…0i24k1j0i10i24k1.0.vX3iaUE47Mg#imgrc=xy9qbgCS8YldWM: [Accessed at 27.02.2018].

Lendwirbel, Graz 2016. Retrieved from: https://www.google.at/search?biw=1252&bih=600&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=yRanWpC_DMrfgAahyLXQDA&q=lendwirbel+&oq=lendwirbel+&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0j0i24k1l2.9805.10474.0.10965.6.6.0.0.0.0.140.481.3j2.5.0….0…1c.1.64.psy-ab..1.1.106….0.fMeBqiiOaqY#imgrc=JQEUdF9kim_lfM: [Accessed at 27.02.2018].