Developing the Rural Creative Economy ‘from Below’: Exploring Practices of Market-Building amongst Creative Entrepreneurs in Rural and Remote Scotland

Abstract

The article draws on material gathered as part of three research projects, the first, ‘Supporting Creative Business’ was funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council, the second, ‘Towards a model of support for the rural creative industries’ was funded by the University of Glasgow’s Knowledge Exchange fund and the third, ‘The effects of improved communications technology of rural creative entrepreneurs’ funded by CREATe, the Research Councils UK Centre for the Study of Copyright and New Business Models in the Creative Economy. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted at a range of sites around the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, this paper argues that despite recent attempts to develop the creative economy in remote and rural Scotland, the current institutional infrastructure is lacking. The paper explores creative practitioners’ responses to the opportunities and challenges posed by ‘place’. Therefore, the paper documents the tactics that creative entrepreneurs employ to aid the development of the creative economy ‘from below’, focusing in particular on the opportunities posed by improved communications technologies.