Creative Settings: The Influence of Place on Urban Cultural Creativity Processes

Abstract

Zarlenga analyses the incidence of place on urban cultural creativity processes from a sociological perspective based on an empirical analysis of visual art production in the districts of Poblenou in Barcelona (Spain). Zarlenga offers the concept of Creative Settings (CS) as a critical concept to articulate the spatial and social dimensions of the creative cultural process from a situational perspective. Through his analysis, he defines three types of Creative Settings (CS): open, closed, and dissonant. Open CS have weak limits; they are hybrid settings with multiple purposes. In contrast, Closed CS has firm limits; they are homogeneous settings which configure professional-creative frames. Finally, Dissonant CS are heterogeneous places with conflicts between creators about their limits. They are potential places in terms of content and forms of cultural productions.