Culture is bad for you!

‘Cultural occupations shape which stories get told and which do not. Which stories get told is a result of how cultural production is organised’ (Brook, O’Brien and Taylor, 2020: 14).

This informal discussion session will be led by students from BCU’s Media and Communications degree who will host a conversation with Dr Dave O’Brien (University of Edinburgh - @DrDaveOBrien) on the findings of his co-authored book Culture is Bad For You: Inequality in the Creative and Cultural Industries (Brook, O’Brien and Taylor, 2020).

We will be considering who gets to forge a career in the arts and cultural industries?

How this relates to cultural consumption (who watches/ listens to / attends what)? Why people might be so keen to hold on to the ‘illusion of meritocracy’… and what this all means for emerging creatives hoping to break into the creative and cultural industries?

Dave and our students will be joined by BCU’s own Dr Karen Patel (@KarenPatel) whose work addresses similar issues within the UK craft sector to consider what can be done to make the creative and cultural industries a more inclusive space in the future. If you are interested in planning for the creative revolution, join us.

Everyone welcome!