The audio-visual Phad tradition consists of three core elements: Phad Painting, Phad Narrative, and Phad Performance. Originating from Rajasthan, Phad Paintings celebrate the heroic deeds of local deities like Papuji and Devnarayan Ji. Despite the tradition's evolution over time, existing literature provides limited insight into the distinction between traditional and contemporary Phad paintings. This research aims to address this gap by identifying the variables that differentiate and categorise various forms of Phad Paintings. This study is conducted in three phases utilising a qualitative research approach: first, understanding the Phad Tradition and its broader categories by conducting 22 interviews and analysing 96 Phad Paintings; second, identifying semiotic variables in Phad paintings at different cognitive levels; and third, understanding the evolution of Phad Paintings deploying comparative analysis between identified semiotic variables and Phad categories. Overall, this research paper proposes a methodological pathway for studying similar subject matter and provides variables that may be examined to understand this or similar crafts and their evolving patterns.
The Chinese film industry's ability to create internationally appealing content remains limited, despite significant growth. Previous research has attributed this partly to limited talent development, insufficient support for short-film creation and distribution, and the constraints of censorship that continue to shape what stories can be told and how they are represented. Yet, in 2022, three Chinese short-films achieved notable international success-outliers that merit closer exploration. This article therefore investigates these award-winning short films-Southern Afternoon (2022), I Have No Legs, and I Must Run (2022), and The Water Murmurs (2022)-to identify the narrative elements underpinning their global success. From this analysis, the authors tease out and explicate a narrative paradigm to support Chinese filmmakers in creating films capable of resonating across cultures. To evaluate the framework's efficacy, a short-film was produced in Mainland China and submitted to international festivals. After a year-long festival circuit, the film was selected by 21 of 110 festivals and received four awards. This 19% selection rate-significantly above the typical 5% benchmark-demonstrates the framework's potential effectiveness. The findings suggest that the proposed model can strengthen the Chinese film industry's engagement with international audiences while promoting more diverse global screen storytelling.
Software has been fundamental to the transformation of music production in the past few decades. Digital tools have replaced many hardware-based equipment once almost exclusively available in large recording studio contexts. This article examines the possible resurgence of hardware as a tool in an emerging environment and explores this process as an example of 'masstige'. Here, brands associated with large-scale music production create cheaper hardware for mainstream markets. It considers the SSL SiX desktop mixer as an example of this phenomenon. This article argues that the hardware form intervenes in a previously stigmatised and disused tool in home production, and the prestige of SSL potentially redefines the cultural status of the technology.
This article explores the role of folk musicians in historical re-enactment events in Portugal, with a particular focus on medieval fairs. Building on a previous study (2000-2020) in which we examined these musicians' practices and values regarding music publishing, promotion, and the viability of sustainable careers through autonomous-often described as DIY-modes of production, we now turn our attention to medieval fairs as a case study.1 Medieval fairs present a unique setting where folk musicians navigate processes of negotiation, compromise, and resilience, shaping both their musical practices and the professional conditions that structure their participation.2 Our analysis will address three key dimensions: first, the motivations driving musicians to perform at such events; second, their engagement with medieval music repertoires; and third, the contractual frameworks governing their involvement in these events. This discussion is situated within broader debates on autonomy and independence in 21st-century musical careers, with particular attention to the distinctive position of folk musicians in this context. We will engage in a critical and sustained dialogue with theories on art worlds and DIY music production, as explored in recent scholarship (a.o.). Additionally, we consider systemic perspectives that balance the musicians' autonomy against the structural effects of capitalist cultural production.
During a crisis, art museums focus on branding as they contribute to a museum's relations, target multiple audiences, and embrace the community they are committed with. Branding depends on the sizes and salaries of boards, employees, and volunteers, who combine their efforts and they mix advertising and fundraising with branding. Advertising and fundraising expenses can therefore signal the branding effort. IT (information Technology) expenses may show commitment to branding. Considering the 100 biggest US art museums, this paper analyzes the branding effort in the pandemic according to accounting and the sizes of boards, employees, and volunteers. As the economic result of relations with all stakeholders, total revenue results are positively correlated with salaries, sizes of boards and volunteers, and fundraising expenses, as contributions prevail with the lockdown of museums. Without previous literature on the magnitude of branding efforts and performance, this research may represent a benchmark for challenging time, while museum branding analytics is still looking for trustworthy measures.
In this study, it is aimed to create new recipes with artificial intelligence using chemical products used in molecular gastronomy and then to visualise these recipes. It is important for chefs and researchers to use artificial intelligence in the field of gastronomy and thus create new recipes, menus and plate designs. Document analysis, a qualitative research method, was used in the research. Within the scope of the study, the basic chemical products used in molecular gastronomy were determined. The determined chemical products were entered in the artificial intelligence chat section, and a recipe was asked to be created with these chemicals. It is stated that visuals will be created by artificial intelligence from the created recipes. Bing Co-pilot, powered by OpenAI, and Grok interfaces, supported by X, were utilised for AI-driven visual generation. The results demonstrate that artificial intelligence can be used to create basic molecular gastronomy recipes and visuals. Furthermore, a comparison was conducted between the visual outputs of two different systems. The recipes generated are not standardised and vary each time depending on the queries entered into the system. Nevertheless, the recipes and visuals are produced in a manner that can assist chefs and researchers effectively.
Film production companies play a key role in hiring companies and professionals that will carry out specific activities, which, in turn, are produced by organising temporary teams, in projects. Observing the structuring of Brazilian cinema production in networks, the need to confirm these assumptions with information from the field itself can be observed. This study aims to understand the existing relations between production companies, as well as companies and professionals of different activities related to film production, especially in terms of hiring and selecting these professionals. To this end, a survey was conducted with Brazilian feature film production companies. Complementarily combines the propositions about the different capitals - economic, social and cultural - existing in society and diversely valued in social and economic situations, as markers of the relations analysed here. As results was thus possible to understand some characteristics of the field, such as the organisation by projects, the contracts mostly in independent professional Legal Entity regime, the variation between the criteria for selecting professionals according to the function exercised, the small internal fixed teams of production companies and the capital valued in certain activities and contexts.
In the early years of cinema, film editing was an activity mainly developed by women. However, as filmmaking became an industry, the profession underwent a marked masculinisation still evident today. This prevalence of men in positions of power aligns with the gender disparity observed across various positions of responsibility in the film industry. Based on data provided by associations currently affiliated with the International Federation of Film Editors' Associations (TEMPO), information on 4404 professional film editors in 24 different countries was compiled to conduct an in-depth analysis of the gender gap in this profession. The results revealed a clearly uneven gender distribution, as only 34.17% of film editors affiliated with TEMPO were women. Moreover, according to our prospection, some countries with the biggest film industries in terms of production, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, exhibit the most serious levels of inequality. Conversely, other countries with smaller film industries, such as Austria, Switzerland, Hungary and New Zealand, boast greater gender parity in their professional associations.
This study examines Black Myth: Wukong, China's first AAA (Triple-A) game, as a transformative medium that bridges traditional Chinese mythology and modern digital storytelling. Drawing from Journey to the West, a cornerstone of Chinese literary heritage, the game integrates advanced gaming technologies with immersive narratives, offering an organic reinterpretation of classical mythology for a global audience. Employing Walter Benjamin's theory of storytelling and Carly Kocurek's insights on interactive media, this research highlights how the game revitalises cultural narratives, fostering cross-cultural connections while maintaining authenticity. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the study integrates content analysis of narrative and visual elements, sentiment analysis of audience reception, and a dual deductive-inductive thematic analysis to uncover key trends and insights. This study also addresses controversies surrounding inclusivity and ethical storytelling, emphasising the challenges and opportunities in adapting traditional narratives to contemporary global contexts. By analysing the reception and cultural implications of Wukong, we underscore the potential of interactive media to serve as both a cultural bridge and an educational tool.
Digitalisation and datafication have brought structural changes to the music industry globally, creating new innovation opportunities as well as risks for industry role-players, including within the artist-audience relationship. In this context, extending the research understanding of independent music production, as Walzer has suggested, is increasingly important. This paper makes a methodological contribution to this research agenda, by demonstrating the use of autoethnography to in the study of a household innovation system, and the use of autoethnographic data for reflection on knowledge acquisition and knowledge combination as well as barriers to and enablers of innovation. The also makes a conceptual contribution to the literature on innovation capabilities within African informal settings, arguing for a conception of knowledge informality as a distinct feature of knowledge that can be combined with more formal codified knowledges during innovation processes. For public policy to orient to resource-constrained and knowledge-diverse creative communities, new sources of data and types of analysis widen and deepen the evidence-base for creative industry development broadly, and independent music production in particular.
In this interview, I discuss, with Argentine writer-director Nicol & aacute;s Tet & eacute;, his latest film What We Wrote Together (2024). Centred on the experiences of a young couple (Ezequiel Esteban Martinez and Santiago Magari & ntilde;os), the film follows their transition from the city to the country: it examines how Juan (Martinez) juggles between writing and promoting his (autobiographical) fiction, while his partner Mariano (Magari & ntilde;os) shifts careers from that of a graphic designer to those of a garden centre's proprietor and a future potter. Tet & eacute; is the producer, director, and writer of the fictional films Last Family Holidays (2013), Onyx (2015), and A Skeleton in the Closet (2020); and he is the co-director of the documentary Shineless (2018). These films have appeared in festivals including BAFICI, Mar del Plata, Punta del Este, San Diego Latino, and San Pablo Latino. Tet & eacute; is also the author of the short story collections Nada nos puede pasar (2021) and Aplausos (2025). This interview advances scholarship by looking at a film all about the life of writing, by exploring Tet & eacute;'s own meditations on writing today via his imaginative project, and by lending an international perspective to the creative process.
Artists' creative processes do not happen in isolation; they are informed by influences that artists borrow from their colleagues' works. However, artists must judiciously use influences, as mere imitation is often viewed unfavourably in art, where originality is highly valued. This article investigates how the anticipation of peer group evaluation affects visual artists' use of the artistic influences that circulate on online platforms. A qualitative analysis of 18 theme interviews incorporating a media go-along component, conducted with Finland-based visual artists, showed that members of the international artistic community share their latest works on various online platforms. This phenomenon allows artists to observe what kind of art their colleagues are making and integrate these influences into their own art making. An important finding is that, as these influences are widely known among art world insiders, they gain intersubjective meanings, which enable the anticipation of peer groups' evaluations. Based on this insight, this article introduces the concept of contextualisation device and an associated theoretical framework to explain how the anticipation of peer group evaluations regarding borrowed influences informs decision-making in the creative and cultural industries. The empirical analysis focuses on the distinction and identification that creators undertake in relation to fashionable influences.
In the era of creative economy and development of cultural and creative industries in China, numerous museums have established their cultural and creative brands to enhance visibility, improve financial sustainability, and preserve outstanding culture. The Beijing Palace Museum's cultural and creative products (Wenchuang, (sic)(sic)) stand out as a quintessential example, exemplifying a creative approach to balancing business operations and cultural value within museum management. In this regard, studying the effectiveness of its brand communication holds both practical and theoretical significance. This study, through a literature review, categorises the brand communication media of the Palace Museum Wenchuang into traditional mass media, Internet media, and point-of-sale media, quantifying the audience's brand perception of each. Furthermore, this study treats the brand communication cognitive effects as a mediating variable between the audience's brand perception and brand communication behavioural effects, delving into the mechanism of action between these variables. Quantitative research is conducted using questionnaire surveys. New scales are developed and subjected to reliability and validity tests, factor analysis, regression analysis, and structural equation modeling, drawing upon previous studies. Finally, the study provides strategies for managers of Wenchuang brand and discusses the limitations and future directions of the research.
This study explores the performance of startups led by entrepreneurs who possess creativity as a key asset, applying the Creative Class Theory (CCT) to firm-level analysis. While CCT has been extensively utilized to understand regional economic performance, its application to the micro-level dynamics remains limited. Using data from the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics II (PSED-II), this research examines how including entrepreneurs with creative occupational backgrounds impacts startup outcomes. The analysis considers four performance indicators: firm survival, time to hire the first employee, the number of employees hired, and time to reach profitability. To analyze these outcomes, Cox proportional hazards models were employed to assess the timing of these key events. Additionally, zero-inflated binomial regressions were applied to handle employment data. Results show that entrepreneurial teams with more creative members accelerate job creation and, potentially, achieve higher employment levels but no effects on survival or profitability were found. This study emphasizes that tacit knowledge derived from creative occupations significantly influences startups' employment outcomes, extending the understanding of human capital beyond traditional formal-education-based metrics. By identifying the specific contributions of creative entrepreneurs, the findings offer valuable insights for policymakers aiming to enhance employment and innovation through tailored support for creative talent.
This article presents a comprehensive account of the development of Gala, an interactive virtual reality film. This accessible approach involves a single designer working within the constraints of a limited budget while utilising the game engine Unity, the Zoom video conferencing platform, an iPhone, and the software Reallusion. The significance of Gala lies in its capacity to serve as an exemplar of accessible technologies, underlining its pragmatic use of 3D assets, avatars, and real-world data, all of which collectively emphasise innovation, making it not only accessible but also a relevant example of contemporary technological advancements driving new forms of expression. The article examines how these techniques might be used to create new forms of interactive and immersive storytelling and to create a new cinematic language within VR filmmaking. There is evidence that virtual film production is expanding as digital production equipment becomes more widely available, accelerating the development of virtual production tools and workflows. This study is significant for the traditional film production industry as it transitions to digital production technology.
This paper looks at England's regional writing development agencies (RWDAs) and considers the ways they make contemporary writing happen. Focussing on New Writing North, it starts by describing the projects delivered by organisations that though influential, are often overlooked in studies of 'the institutional ground of contemporary literary production' (McGurl). It then turns to the suggestion made in Sarah Brouillette's critique of UNESCO initiatives, that bodies like NWN deploy literature as a resource in the service of instrumental goals and considers the role RWDAs play in the cultural industries, asking about the extent to which that approach obscures the precarity of professional of writing. Having established these positions, the paper qualifies them, arguing that rather than cheerleading for the creative industries, an organisation like NWN is actually involved in negotiating various policy agendas in the service of nourishing an enabling literary ecology. Culture industries discourse is just one of many agendas, part of a mix of relationships that RWDAs must balance to address the needs of the communities they represent. The argument is that it's NWN's ability to navigate the competing pressures of its production context that gives it its central role in the North East's vibrant literary ecology.
