Creative Industries: Isfahan's New Path Linking Cultural Heritage to a Sustainable Economy

ISFAHAN – The special assistant to the governor for cultural heritage and creative industries said creativity and innovation can turn the cultural capacities of cities such as Isfahan into sources of wealth, employment and sustainable development.

According to the report of Mehr reporter, Mohammad Ali Izadkhasati on Wednesday evening at the night of creative industries, which was held with the presence of handicraft artists of Isfahan province at the world base of Chehelston Palace Museum, pointed out the need to review the position of handicrafts in the urban economy and stated: The main issue is how the cultural and creative capacities of cities like Isfahan can become the engine of sustainable development, job creation and wealth generation.

Explaining the philosophy behind the formation of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, he added: This network emphasizes the importance of creativity and innovation as a driver for the sustainable development of cultural cities. An approach that can provide the context for the return of cultural capacities and creative industries to the field of wealth production and civilization building.

The special assistant of the governor in the field of cultural heritage and creative industries, referring to the civilizational background of Isfahan, said: this city has had a cultural impact on wide areas of its surrounding geography in different historical periods, and part of this historical position is due to its ability to produce and expand local culture, art and skills.

Izdakhasi continued: In some periods of contemporary history, industrialization was considered as the main path of economic development, and in this process, some of the capacities of cultural and creative industries were weakened. In such a situation, instead of continuing to work in the family workshop, the son of a craftsman considered working in a factory or office as a more favorable path for his future, and this change of attitude led to the weakening of the transfer of skills and the continuation of the activities of traditional workshops.

Stating that the experience of some industrial cities in the world has highlighted the need to review development patterns, he added: creative industries can provide employment and income generation in addition to preserving cultural heritage and reduce some of the pressures caused by excessive reliance on heavy industries.

Referring to the history of Isfahan's membership in UNESCO's creative cities network, Izadkhasadi stated: During that period, the issue of creative city was pursued at the theoretical and research level, and efforts were made to recognize, localize and develop this concept in accordance with Isfahan's capacities. However, a gap was created in the continuation of this path.

He added: Now with the governor's order to revive this approach, an opportunity has been provided for the capacity of creative industries to once again find a more serious place in the development plans of Isfahan. In the past months, plans have been made to establish a relationship between Isfahan handicrafts activists and creative industries activists from other parts of the country.

The special assistant of the governor in the field of cultural heritage and creative industries, referring to the networking meeting and workshop on the sidelines of this event, said: In this program, the handicraft artists of Isfahan tried to establish direct communication with the activists present in the field of creative industries in order to provide a basis for dialogue, exchange of experience and the formation of joint cooperation.

He continued: In order to continue this process, plans have been made with the participation of the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of Isfahan Province and the Handicrafts Union so that the communication between the activists in this field goes beyond the level of occasional meetings and leads to practical cooperation.

Izdachedi considered the dispersion of production capacity and the lack of effective links between handicraft workshops as important issues of this sector and said: Many workshops operate independently and on a limited scale, and the production capacity of each one alone is not enough to respond to large orders and create sustainable export routes.

He added: If these workshops are connected to each other and organize their production capacities in the form of cooperation networks, the possibility of aggregating production capacity, increasing the scale of activity and providing conditions for the presence of investors to develop domestic and export markets will increase.

The special assistant of the governor in the field of cultural heritage and creative industries, emphasizing that the development of handicrafts cannot be achieved simply by increasing product production, stated: some of the products produced in this field do not have complete mechanisms of marketing, design, target market identification and effective introduction to customers; While these components, along with production, are essential components of the value chain of creative industries.

Pointing to the role of areas such as design, media, marketing and market development in completing this chain, he stated: Communication between handicraft producers and creative industry activists can help to solve some of the existing shortcomings and provide the basis for transforming Isfahan's artistic and skillful capacity into a larger scale economic activity.

Emphasizing the necessity of taking the economy of creative industries seriously, Izadhakshi said: the economic value of cultural and creative products is not limited to their physical production, but capacities such as design, intellectual property, exploitation rights and market development can also play a role in creating income and employment.

Referring to the experience of countries active in cultural industries, he added: In some economies, cultural products and capacities related to them have become important sources of income. From this point of view, Iran's handicrafts also need a more effective link between production, design, marketing and target markets in order to achieve a position that matches its artistic and historical capacities.

The special assistant of the governor in the field of cultural heritage and creative industries pointed out the importance of a specialized visit to the country's creative industries exhibition and noted: Knowing the existing capacities and establishing communication between activists in different fields can help to identify opportunities for cooperation and development of this sector.

He expressed hope that with the continuation of networking programs and strengthening of cooperation between artists, production workshops and creative industry activists, a new path will be provided for the development of handicrafts in Isfahan, the expansion of the product market and the increase of the share of this field in the city's economy.