Florens 2012

Andy Pratt was invited to discuss the creative economy on a panel organised by Fondazione Florens on Cultural Production. The event took place on 29 October in the magnificent surroundings of the Palazzo Vecchio, Firenze. Andy is on the scientific committee of the ‘Florens 2012’ event which seeks to be a ‘Davos for the creative economy’. The debate linked the shift of cultural and creative industries policies away from a focus on consumption and tourism towards cultural production, what was called the ‘gold economy’. Certainly, sitting in the hall of the Medici’s, it was possible to see how one version of a link between commerce and the state managed to support great art and culture. The aim is to find a new settlement that works into today’s political, economic and cultural environment. Andy wrote a short article about the creative economy that was published in the Italian national newspaper ‘La Repubblica‘ on the 29 October.